Never Again, Never
Reference Link: Ben Shapiro Show, 2023-10-09
Over this past weekend we heard about yet another uprising near Gaza in the State of Israel. Like many Americans I know, I myself was concerned, but this happens with enough frequency that while terrible, it didn’t really catch my attention like it probably should have. This was a bomb that took the breath away from many…
The terrorits in the Gaza Strip have very much surpassed their gorilla-warfare-like tactics. Their actions over the weekend are truly beyond description. A few clear facts appear to be bubbling up to the top very quickly:
- This was a very coordinated attack and not just a small gang of thugs. They were able to leverage para/glider shocktropps, cyberwarfare and rocket attacks beyond that of ground forces. This was a full invasion.
- Though very temporary, they were able to capture and hold several small Israeli towns.
- The deliberate, brutal and…Their actions are nothing less than pure evil.
“But Matt, I’m sure you’re getting details from some right-wing group. The Palestinians want peace. It’s Israel who is the occupier, the aggressor.”
And you are welcome to hold such an opinion or some derivation thereof despite it’s wide departure from objective reality. Unsurpisingly, this fiction seems to be the opinion of main US politicians and news outlets. Israel gave away Gaza in the mid-2000s. Terrorists who, in their own founding charter, vow to destroy the Jewish State moved in and have controlled it ever since.
I posted a link to a political commentator I enjoy named Ben Shapiro at the top of this post. Have a viewing, but not with ANY children around regardless of age. It’s wildly inapproriate for anyone young or those who have yet to release their utopian indifference in favor of objective reality. Our 1970+ generations have only lived in the shadow and rumor of war here in the US. We haven’t seen what actual Fascism can do. We haven’t seen what unbridled communism can do apart from China which has, of course, never done anything bad…ever. 9/11 was one of the few times our country was thrown out of our dream-like slumber into the real world of real threats, real issues and the potential of real and practical solutions.
The video clips included in Ben’s episode today have been released by Hamas, publicly, deliberately and in full celebration. The same kind of celebrating seen in certain businesses the morning of 9/11 right here in the US mind you.
These persons are truly barbarians and have rejected their own humanity in favor of a tangible and extremely practical hatred. We can read how the Jews were treated in Germany in the 1930s and 40s. We can watch movies such as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and catch of glimpse of a culture who openly while not universally embraced those evils. We can visit places like Yad Vashem and feel some of the lingering darkness from the now decayed edges of tools, weapons and banners. Unfortunately, the infection spread and is now on display once again. Once it was the Führer, a single passionate man. He was charismatic and a passionate nationalist trying to rebuild a country and many people rallied. Now it is their god that calls them and nations rally to the call because the god in their religious text cannot possibly be wrong. Side note, I’ve taken time to study their texts in context. This among many other peaceful things they are commanded in order to earn their connection with god, war is also what their prophet told them to do. ie. Do not be friends with Jews or Christians. Jews are to be considered apes and pigs and so god has rejected them., etc. etc. There are also many calls for violence against both groups. For some contrasting context, I know many real-life active Muslims who reject these and other such notions. They are polite, peaceful, often hard working and respectful people. I have worked with many in the past and enjoy an online community with some now. It’s an odd duality in their text they need reconcile and speak out about. Words are only relevant if the choices a person, a community make are aligned.
Since the dark days of the Holocaust, the Jewish State of Israel has clung on to this phrase, Never again. This is in direct reference to their people being flung across the planet and hatred following their footsteps ever since. Rome renamed their land Palestine in an attempt to erase their claim (btw) after a terrible long siege against Jerusalem. The Spanish had their Inquisitions where the bones of dead Jews were dug up and put on trial. The Russians had their Pogroms. The Germans had their ghettos and developed their would-be Final Solution as an answer to the Nazi Mein Kampf. The UK and US (we’re not blameless either) refused to assist Jews and other targeted groups fleeing Germany or German conquered regions both ahead and during the times of the concentration camps.
The Jewish response is Never Again.
I’ll be the first to say that Israelis share a common trait with all of humanity, a beautiful brokenness. They aren’t a perfect people. They make bad decisions like each of us do everyday nor are they free of the same consequences we live under. That said, our American media has been lightning quick to sound off in this conflict. At best, they are laying this at the feet of both groups. The majority seem to think this is somehow Israel’s fault almost entirely. I honestly think their tune would be entirely different if it were rockets and terrorist flooding into El Paso, Texas or San Diego, California for well over a decade, but that’s just me. The high towers in California and New York don’t feel the sting, but I’m sure it would become a national emergency if they were to.
The public records from the past between those in Gaza and those in Israel are crystal clear. Hamas and the PA do not want peace. There have been hundreds of public statements and many more public actions from those in Gaza and their leadership to clairify their position up to and including their government’s on-air TV statements TODAY. They will accept peace…One piece at a time until Israel no longer exists. How often must they tell us who they are and what they will do before we in the West believe them?
Despite all attempts at rational discourse, under any circumstance and through whatever vehicle or mechanism chosen, one simple fact exists – it is impossible to make peace with someone who wants war. This is true in geopolitics just as much as across the dining room table. If someone really wants war, unless cowards and sympathizers dominate the populace on the opposed side, they shall have it and all the reprocussions contained therein.
What about civilians? Yes. It’s terrible and brutally tragic. There is no other way of saying it. That too is true across the dining room table as much as on the world stage. Stupid decisions will result in stupid prizes, but there is always emotional, physical and/or psychological shrapnel. Always. Innocent people will always be impacted when two groups oppose each other. Like it or not, we are a connected people. It’s like a rock thrown into a pond. The ripples impact everything even if you’re hundreds of feet away.
Uniquely in this Middle Eastern conflict we have differing philosophies in dealing with bystandards. Israel has publicly shown and documented the mirad ways they attempt to avoid civilian casualties upto and including preannoucing their targets and insisting non-combatants leave. The data is readily findable. Hamas choses a different tact, maximization. Their command posts are in the middle of dense civilian areas. Their bunkers and caches of weapons are in schools and hospitals. There is a ton of publicly available proof of these legitmate war crimes. Their leaders have even gone on record encouraging their populace to ignore all IDF warnings and remain where they are. It’s the largest known implementation of a double-standard in written history of which I am aware by our media.
Culture. Without going into much detail, because I don’t have the words, honestly, Hamas is breeding a culture of hate and abuse. Why else might a group of young children go on camera from inside Gaza with a very likely kidnapped and shellshocked Israeli child and bully him to cry out, “Mother” while hitting him with sticks while adults record it? Hamas had the audacity and gall to record and post these kinds of moments and many others much more graphic for the world to see. How can we or anyone truly see what is inside a person? Only their actions. ONLY their actions. This becomes an even sharper contrast in moments where their words paint another picture.
How do we in the West respond? Educate those you know about the public facts, the public statements and the public actions of both sides. We can donate funds to organizations who are on the group to assist the IDF military and civilian populations. Unfortunately, even our US State Department has made public statements as recent as today that US aid intented for Gaza civilians is almost certainly going to Hamas. I’m not sure what help those of us out here can be in that framework.
We of faith can learn more about the roots of our own faith, the history of our own faith and be able to provide something more than feelings and obligations as to why we believe. We can pray for Israel and her people. We can pray for the Sons of Ishmael that this feud would end and they would come to a saving faith in Yeshua. And we can pray and act like we believe it just might happen. We can pray as if G-d might be listening and will provide an answer because He is and He will. I’ve included a link to some bullet points below.
We need people to step up and end the convienent Sunday games and do something with their faith. Love, genuine Biblical love, is messy. It’s risky. It will actually cost you something. It doesn’t demand those hurting come to us. It hops in the mud, tells them there really is something better and then helps walk them out of their slippery, heavy and cold place.
There is so much more available than what a microwaved existance will allow for. Entertain the impossible. Play the game and see what happens.
Praying for Israel – Biblical Pointers
Giving Options: