hamas

A Nuanced Look at the Israel Palestine Conflict

Since the inception of the latest explosion of violence between Israel and Hamas, American evangelicals have stridently supported Israel. They instinctively and automatically rush to Israel’s defense whenever Israel is attacked.

I condemn in no uncertain terms the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israeli civilians. It’s beyond me how anyone can justify the rape, murder, mutilation and kidnapping of civilians, including children and babies.

And I accept that Israel has a right, indeed a duty, to respond to this atrocity be seeking to annihilate Hamas.

But Hamas isn’t synonymous with Palestine, Hamas enjoys the support of less than 50 percent of the population in Gaza, and the Palestinians in that enclave are as much victims of Hamas as are Israeli civilians.

Evangelicals see the Israeli Palestinian conflict in black and white terms, good vs evil, democracy vs terrorism. But the truth is more nuanced, Israel is an apartheid state where Israeli Palestinians face discrimination, and Palestinians in the West Bank live under military occupation and are treated like second-class citizens. As for Gaza it’s basically the world’s largest open-air prison.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is an indicted corrupt politician who entered into a coalition government with far-right racists in order to cling to power and avoid conviction and incarceration.

The Palestinian Authority that has nominal control of the West Bank under their Israeli overlords is politically corrupt and has never unequivocally denounced terrorism. If the Palestinian Authority wasn’t so corrupt, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups wouldn’t enjoy so much support.

America must advocate for the rights of the Palestinians to their own homeland as much as we condemn terrorist attacks against Israel. We must be concerned about the innocent Palestinians in Gaza who are being killed by the Israeli war machine as much as we mourn the death of Israeli civilian at the hands of the Hamas monsters.

Violence Perpetuated by Both Hamas and Israel Must End

Evangelicals are besotted with the nation of Israel; they view the Jewish state through the prism of Jehovah’s promise to Abraham:

“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Evangelicals consider it an article of faith to defend Israel unreservedly, and they consider anyone who criticizes Israel emissaries of Satan.

Evangelicals rallied support for Israel after Hamas terrorists invaded the border area and indiscriminately killed, raped, kidnapped and tortured innocent civilians.

Mainline protestant denominations expressed more nuanced statements calling for an end to violence perpetuated by both Hamas and Israel.

My thinking is more in line with the mainline protestant denominations. I unequivocally condemn the barbaric attack on innocent Israeli civilians by sadistic Islamic terrorists, but from a 30,000 feet perspective I have as much sympathy for the Palestine population as I do for the Israeli victims of Islamic rage.

It’s not antisemitic or unchristian to criticize the racist policies of the corrupt Netanyahu and his coalition government riddled with racists and homophobes.

The modern state of Israel isn’t a paradise where Jewish citizens and Israeli Arabs live in perfect harmony. Israel is a racist an apartheid state where Palestinians living in Israel face systemic racism and Palestinians living in the West Bank are treated like prisoners. Gaza is the world’s largest open-air prison, Israel tightly controls the flow of goods and people in and out of enclave, and maintains an air and naval blockade on the territory.

Christians should pray for the peace of Jerusalem, but they most also pray for freedom for the Palestinians. Yes, Hamas must be destroyed, but the apartheid system in Israel must also be destroyed.

The endless cycle of violence will only end when Palestinians achieve autonomy via a two-state solution or another way.

Israel, Hamas and American White Evangelicals

The white Evangelical movement in America supports the nation of Israel blindly and without any reservations. They castigate anyone who condemns the racists policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as anti-God liberals and communists.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, is a deeply flawed politician who has been indicted for breach of trust and accepting bribes. In his new term as prime minister, he formed a coalition government with virulent racists and homophobes like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

White evangelicals compare the racist and corrupt Netanyahu to King David, just like they compare the racist and corrupt Donald Trump to Jesus Christ.

These religious fundamentalists view everything through the prism of evangelical eschatology. They believe the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948 was a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy and the establishment of Jewish settlements in the West Bank God’s will.

Evangelicals salivated over the brutal attack of Hamas on Israeli military and civilians, because they view it as a sign of the End Times. They are secretly hoping that the Hamas atrocity will trigger Iran, Syria and Lebanon to attack Israel and usher in the Apocalypse.

I unequivocally condemn the Hamas terrorists’ attack on civilians; the rape and murder of civilians and taking them as hostages are war crimes and sins against humanity. The sins of the apartheid state of Israel in no way, shape or form can justify these atrocities.

Americans can condemn the barbaric actions of Hamas and at the same time condemn the way Israel inhumanely treats Palestinians as second-class citizens.

I long for the end of terrorism by Hamas as much as I long for an end to the oppression of the Palestinians at the hands of the Jewish state.

Biden Must Demand Netanyahu Immediately Declare Cease-Fire With Hamas

Joe Biden who loves American muscle cars as much as Donald Trump loves lean East European whores was behind the wheel of the new F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck – the mother of all photo-ops.

When a female reporter asked if she could ask “a quick question on Israel … since it’s so important?” The gaffe-father ruined the moment by making a terrible joke:

“No, you can’t! Not unless you get in front of the car as I step on it.”

The car-loving commander-in-chief insisted he was “only teasing”, but instead of taking the female reporter seriously and answering her question he raced away on a Michigan race track.

Biden needs to face the music: answer tough question from reporters and demand that Israel immediately declare a cease-fire with Hamas. Geraldo Rivera is spot on:

“Twenty times as many Palestinians are being killed than Israelis-including children. The fact the US is providing Israel many of the weapons Israel is using to kill Palestinian civilians-without even demanding a ceasefire-makes us complicit in an ongoing crime against humanity.”

Being dismissive with a female reporter is no joke. Allowing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue his horrific crimes against the Palestinians is no joke. Biden should stop joking around and do his damn job.