On Saturday we woke up to horrific news from Israel as Hamas terrorists had cut through security fencing and infiltrated into much of southern Israel where they had gunned people down and taken hostages. They had also launched extensive rocket attacks on Israel. We are used to tensions in the Middle East but something seemed different and on another scale here. In fact, I was first alerted to what was happening by friends in Israel. Israelis, themselves used to living in the shadow of violence were shocked by the suddenness and extent.
Usually there is a significant level of protection through Israel’s highly effective intelligence services and the “Iron Dome” missile protection system. Some people have been quick to suggest, gleefully at times, that these both seriously failed. I’m sure that there will be questions about whether things could have been prevented but its worth remembering that like a goalkeeper, those defending have to stop everything from coming through whilst, the enemy like the goal scorer just has to get through once. British people will remember that here we developed very effective intelligence systems responding to the IRA but this did not prevent all atrocities.
Sadly, social media was not just full of condemnations of the attack or prayers for Israel, there were so many people saying that we should see this as a triumph for Palestine, the underdog the occupied fighting back. I’ve seen so called journalists working with particular political campaigns calling for celebration. In London, people took up this call, driving and honking their horns, flying Palestinian flags, causing Jewish residents to feel fearful and intimidated. All of this was being said whilst so many people were waiting anxiously for news of loved ones. All of this was being done whilst the stripped body of a young German woman who had been at a peace concert was being paraded around and spat upon by the terrorists and their supporters.
Now it’s worth observing that there are reasons why such a response was prompted and seen okay among some. Israel does not have a good reputation when it comes to the Palestinian question. It is true that there have been serious Human Rights failures and it is also true that there is a legitimate question about the possibility of a free, Palestinian state. Indeed, many Israelis would share those concerns and there have been protests against the Netanyahu government in recent times. It is not antisemitic to disagree with Israeli policy or to support the rights of Palestinians.
However, whilst some defenders of Israel can be blind to those things, there is another side which seems to ignore the history of modern Israel and create their own caricature of what has been happening. So, I thought it would be helpful for us to refresh our memories on this. Israel is the ancestral home of the Jews. It’s the land promised to Abraham, the land where this people settled after slavery in Egypt, the land where kings like David and Solomon reigned. It’s the land that they were exiled from by the Babylonians and returned to only to be occupied by the Roman Empire. It’s the land where Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again.
For much of history, the Jewish people were exiled and scattered, a diaspora, often facing antisemitism and persecution around the world. The worst example of this was the Holocaust. It was this that particularly prompted support for Israel to return to their land and in 1948, the British Mandate in Palestine ended and Israel were given their independence.
It is important to recognise therefore that Israel did not occupy the land of other countries and when eventually they occupied Palestine and Gaza, they were not taking away the freedom and sovereignty of the Palestinian people. Rather, this was land that had been under the control of Britain (who had taken the territory from the Turkish Ottoman Empire during the First World War) and was then separated out with Egypt taking the Gaza Strip and Jordan annexing the West Bank. It is not only Israel that have occupied the occupied territories.
In 1967, a coalition of Arab nations, who had all been committed at that time to the defeat and destruction of Israel launched a war against Israel. Not only did Israel successfully defend herself but she even took ground, pushing the opposing forces back, this is what led to the occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Israel’s stated intention in occupying territories around her recognised borders was in effect to maintain a security buffer zone. Things have evolved since then, particularly with the controversial move by Israelis to settle and develop communities in those occupied territories.
Those who are quick to attack Israel, not just criticise her but drift into antisemitic language or the disgusting calls for celebration at the loss of Israeli lives seem either oblivious to the history and the reality of the politics or wilfully ignorant. It is important that we are not ignorant. Furthermore, they will not mention the efforts that Israeli Defence Forces often go to in order to protect civilian life including the practice of roof knocking -using a single missile strike on the top of a tall building- to warn civilians of planned military action to deal with terror cells. However, as I said above, we also need to be open about the many ways in which Israel have failed to protect and uphold human rights.
All of this means that the situation in the middle east is more complex than many on both sides are prepared to admit. However, when it comes to the horrors of this weekend, our views on the rights and wrongs of past actions become irrelevant. All that matters right now is that
- Those horrific attacks were evil and without justification.
- Israel as a democratic nation has the right to defend herself.
- Many people have lost their lives, or suffered the loss of loved ones. Others continue to wait for news.
Christians are directly affected by this. There are Christian Israelis and Christian Palestinians as well as other believers serving God cross-culturally in the region. This includes friends and family of Christians here. All of this should inform our prayers today.
We are told in the Bible to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Much of the focus today tends to be on the Spiritual fulfilment of this and prayer for the New Jerusalem but today I believe we are right to pray for the literal peace of Jerusalem. We will want therefore to pray that hostilities will end quickly. This should, as we observed with Ukraine mean that we pray for a just peace, that perpetrators of evil will be brought to justice.
We will want to pray for safety and protection particularly for our brothers and sisters, our friends and family in Israel. More than that, we should pray that even in the midst of fear and suffering that they will remain faithful witnesses and that many will turn to Christ as their only hope, the only one who can bring true peace.
Faithroots 