On Saturday, October 7, Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,000 Israeli civilians—men, women, and children—wounded thousands more, and seized more than 100 hostages. The Palestinian Arab terrorist organization fired thousands of rockets into Israel, killing Israelis indiscriminately, a murderous rampage that marks the bloodiest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust. Hamas even implored Israeli Arabs to continue the bloodshed by killing their Jewish countrymen.

Regardless of what happens next, not even time will heal the wounds of those in Israel devastated by Hamas’s terrorism.

Israel quickly declared war for the first time since the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, almost 50 years to the day. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded effectively, countering Hamas’s attack with strikes of its own on the terrorists’ military targets in Gaza. But regardless of what happens next, not even time will heal the wounds of those in Israel devastated by Hamas’s terrorism.

Deceiving the Masses

It boggles my mind to consider how anyone could possibly continue to stand against Israel after what has transpired over the past week. In a war, armies attack each other. In an act of terror, people murder civilians. Clearly, Hamas committed terror by kidnapping and killing the innocent, sparking the war that has followed. 

Yet many who mindlessly swallow up fabricated stories of Israeli oppression praise the Palestinian-led genocide campaign against Jewish Israelis. Israel’s enemies hail the calculated killing of regular civilians, including children, as an honorable achievement. 

Many organizations and celebrities have thrown their public support to Israel and the Jewish people, a sensible stand given that it seems impossible not to side with these victims. But those with a death wish on Israel still refuse to see the truth. Scroll through Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), or Instagram, and you’ll find a litany of posts, many supported by thousands of likes and shares, insulting and cursing Israel and its people while praising Hamas terrorists.

Praising Terrorism as Liberation

With blind hatred, Palestinian supporters justify more than 1,000 murders by citing a corrupted version of history in which Hamas is a righteous voice for oppressed Palestinians who have been trampled by the racist apartheid State of Israel. But what is righteous about an unprovoked killing spree? What makes the kidnapping and torture of women, children, and elderly Israelis palatable? How can the beheading of dozens of Jewish babies be found acceptable?

Hamas builds its infrastructure in densely populated areas of Gaza, effectively using human shields as an insurance policy against the IDF’s retaliatory strikes. The terrorists set up shop next to hospitals, schools, mosques, and private homes, daring Israel to make a move that would cast the IDF in a poor light if any civilians near these military targets were harmed. Hamas has implemented this tactic many times, violating international humanitarian law.

Palestinian leaders have tried to brand Israel as a colonialist, occupying force, leading people to believe they can enact social justice by persecuting the nation. Hamas attempts to make Palestinian terror synonymous with the U.S. civil rights movement, creating a dangerous false equivalency that emboldens people with little knowledge of Israel to call for its annihilation.

Vindicating the Jewish State

In reality, Israel is the Middle East’s only democratic nation, surrounded by intolerant neighbors that endlessly seek its destruction. Too many rebels without a cause have foolishly hitched their wagon to the Palestinians, believing them to be enslaved to Israel. So they condemn Israel and praise terrorists, even when the facts that validate the Jewish state’s justice are right in front of them.

Israel’s enemies intend to portray the nation as an apartheid state in which Jewish people lord over and suppress poor Palestinians. Yet Israelis and Arabs reside and work side by side in Israel, a fact anyone can easily attest to after spending time in the nation. Two million Arabs—20% of Israel’s population—most of whom identify as Palestinians, live in Israel. 

But no Jews live in Gaza today because they cannot survive there, despite a 2,000-year Jewish presence in this territory. In 2005, violent riots caused Israel to unilaterally withdraw its remaining 9,000 residents from their homes in the Gaza Strip, which Hamas took over in 2007 and has ruled ever since. Hamas leadership carries out attacks on Israel at the expense of supplying its civilians with food, water, and healthcare. 

This catastrophe screams to us that war is never far from Israel’s doorstep. It confirms Israel’s tragic necessity for mandatory military service, as the little nation of 9 million faces incessant existential threats from countries far larger who constantly seek the opportune moment to strike the Jewish state. 

“I will plant them (Israel) in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them” (Amos 9:15).

As people who love Israel, we are angry. God demonstrated His righteous anger often throughout Scripture; and likewise, we must follow the instruction to “be angry, and do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26). We seek peace—an end to the bloodshed that is ravaging the Holy Land. We seek justice—that Hamas would be subdued and held accountable for its crimes. And we seek redemption—that hearts would be moved to seek the Messiah in the midst of evil. We must bring these petitions to the Lord as we seek for His will to be done. 

We can take great comfort in God’s promise to Israel: “I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them” (Amos 9:15). God will preserve His Chosen People forever, and He has promised that the land of Israel will be their eternal home. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6) and all Israel, knowing only He can deliver them from their deadly enemies once again.

If you feel called to help Israel find hope in these dark times, you can help save lives with a gift to the Israel Relief Fund. Thank you for your faithful support for Israel and the Jewish people.

Photo Credit: Ziv Koren/Polaris/Newscom

About the Author

As I stood there holding charred and splintered pieces of the military jeep, my heart was flooded with grief. It was on this blackened piece of asphalt just 18 months earlier that IDF Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib lost his life to a precision-guided anti-tank missile fired by Hamas in Gaza. And here was a piece of his jeep, also destroyed by the missile, in my hand.

Tabib, only 21 years old, was the first military casualty of Operation Guardian of the Walls, the 2021 Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas. At Omer’s funeral, his mother, Tali, said that he was just weeks away from his official military discharge.

Two other soldiers were seriously injured in the attack. A civilian from Kibbutz Netiv Ha’asara saved the lives of the soldiers by loading them into the back of his pickup truck and driving them to emergency medical services that were stationed further away.

It was here at Kibbutz Netiv Ha’asara that I met with this civilian hero and paid my respects to Omer at a makeshift memorial in his honor (pictured above).

Scorched pavement from the Hamas missile that killed IDF Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib

Danger on the Kibbutz

Kibbutz Netiv Ha’asara is situated directly on the border and is the closest community to Gaza. A kibbutz is a communal settlement in Israel, usually involved in agriculture or tourism. This kibbutz was founded in 1982 as a result of the Camp David Accords.

Despite the constant threat of missile attacks, breaches in the security wall, and terrorist tunnels, this brave community continues to thrive—working, living, and learning in this town only 400 meters from those who would like to wipe them off the face of the earth.

My colleague and I viewed Gaza from an overlook, not shielded from the view of a Hamas militant in his own lookout, which was spray-painted with an antisemitic threat on the side in Hebrew to their Israeli neighbors. I could see him quickly making phone calls to his commanders about us women peering at him through binoculars (sorry, Mom!). We did not stay there long.

Hamas watchtower in Gaza

Operation Lifeshield

Our guide for this trip to the border was my friend, Rabbi Shmuel Bowman, executive director for Operation Lifeshield. The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry (FOI) partners very closely with Shmuel and Operation Lifeshield to help protect vulnerable people in Israel by installing bomb shelters and firefighting equipment.

Every time the sirens sound, FOI bomb shelters protect as many as 1,100 Israeli civilians at schools, bus stops, playgrounds, sports fields, and city streets.

Through our partnership with Operation Lifeshield, FOI’s Israel Relief Fund has installed 55 bomb shelters throughout Israel. Every time the sirens sound, FOI bomb shelters protect as many as 1,100 Israeli civilians at schools, bus stops, playgrounds, sports fields, and city streets. And we are working hard to install more bomb shelters every day—because the threat is not over.

Bomb shelters are just one of many ways The Friends of Israel is working to save physical and spiritual lives in Israel.

Serving Jesus’ Brethren

Today, with the nation of Israel reborn, the need to help the sons and daughters of Jacob continues. Our Israel Relief Fund’s sole purpose is to help with Israeli humanitarian needs. Jesus once said that when we help to feed, clothe, shelter, protect, or heal a Jewish person in need, we have done it to Him (Matthew 25:37–40). 

Because our salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ comes through God’s covenant promises to Israel, we are indebted to help the Jewish people materially: “For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.” (Romans 15:27).

We do what the Lord has tasked us with: We feed, clothe, protect, provide medical equipment, and save lives through relief and humanitarian aid in Israel.

And so we do what the Lord has tasked us with: We feed, clothe, protect, provide medical equipment, and save lives through relief and humanitarian aid in Israel. 

As I stood there with the piece of Omer’s jeep in my hand, by the side of Israeli heroes, I couldn’t help but be grateful for the continued service and sacrifice of the Israel Defense Forces, who make it safe for you and me to walk in Jesus’ footsteps in the Holy Land, but who also protect God’s precious people and their right to live in the land the Lord promised to them.

If you wish to participate in blessing Israel, you can give to the Israel Relief Fund. Your gift will be used to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of the Jewish people in the Holy Land.

About the Author

In September, the Associated Press published a report titled “Palestinians mourn boy who died ‘of fear’ of Israeli troops,” claiming a 7-year-old died of cardiac arrest after being chased. However, upon further investigation, the story of his death was fabricated—the young boy had fallen from the balcony of his home.

In January, an NBC News headline read “Deadliest Israeli raid in decades fuels fears violence could spiral.” But NBC buried deep in its story that the raid was a counter-terrorism operation that killed seven terrorists.

Also in January, Agence France-Presse (AFP) published the headline “Israeli Civilian Kills Palestinian at West Bank Farm.” The title insinuates an Israeli killed an innocent Palestinian, but it’s not until you begin to read the article that you find out the Palestinian, Tariq Maali, tried to stab the innocent Israeli civilian.

If you peruse these headlines on your phone, you might begin to think Israelis are walking around killing innocent Palestinians—which is a lie.  

These three misleading headlines have all been published in the last few months. So trust me when I say there is plenty more where that came from. 

Is this just bad reporting, or is there more to the media’s image of Israel than meets the eye?

Intentional Targeting

Matti Friedman seems to think there is an intentional effort among journalists to fashion a narrative about Israel to show a “Jewish moral failure.” In his 2014 The Atlantic piece “What the Media Gets Wrong About Israel,” he describes the journalistic culture of Western reporters in Israel as a pipeline that’s beyond rusty; it’s been “intentionally plugged.”

There is an intentional effort among journalists to fashion a narrative about Israel to show a “Jewish moral failure.”

As a reporter and editor in the Jerusalem bureau of The Associated Press (AP) between 2006 and 2011, Friedman saw for himself when the foreign press would break ethical standards after journalists abandoned their “objective observer” position to help pro-Palestinian institutions, organizations, and NGOs.

For instance, the former AP reporter recalls a student rally at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem when Palestinian students were supporting the armed fundamentalist group Islamic Jihad. Actors pretended to be dead Israeli soldiers as a line of masked men stood close by with their hands in a Nazi-like salute. Hundreds of students were present for the event. 

Ironically, Al-Quds University, where the rally took place, is just down the road from the offices of the hundreds of foreign journalists based in Jerusalem. For some reason, the editors didn’t consider the student demonstration newsworthy. However, the foreign press did publish that the U.S. State Department would provide a slight increase in funding for the Palestinian Authority on the same day as the rally.

Anti-Israel Foundation

I’m sure the cutting room floor of these press rooms is full of stories the world needs to read about. Still, the international press ignores, hides, or manipulates “the uglier aspects of Palestinian society” that disrupt the Israel narrative they create for you to read.

The international press ignores, hides, or manipulates “the uglier aspects of Palestinian society” that disrupt the Israel narrative they create for you to read.

Friedman suggests that this problem among Jerusalem-based journalists is deeper than their personal opinions toward Israel’s politics and security policies. He believes it’s more about how the press deprecates the “Jews of Israel” because of what they symbolize:

In these circles, in my experience, a distaste for Israel has come to be something between an acceptable prejudice and a prerequisite for entry. I don’t mean a critical approach to Israeli policies or to the ham-fisted government currently in charge in this country, but a belief that to some extent the Jews of Israel are a symbol of the world’s ills, particularly those connected to nationalism, militarism, colonialism, and racism—an idea quickly becoming one of the central elements of the “progressive” Western zeitgeist, spreading from the European left to American college campuses and intellectuals, including journalists. In this social group, this sentiment is translated into editorial decisions made by individual reporters and editors covering Israel, and this, in turn, gives such thinking the means of mass self-replication. 

If his critique is correct, then news from the foreign press will always arch toward an anti-Israel bias since each article is written on an antisemitic foundation. This isn’t journalism; it’s anti-Israel advocacy. 

Finding Trustworthy Sources

Here’s the good news (no pun intended): Friedman’s article was written nearly 10 years ago, and a lot has changed. As seen in the headlines above, journalists are still twisting headlines to write their ugly Israel narrative. However, there are resources you can access that can help you read between the lines. 

Honestreporting.com analyzes stories, articles, opinion pieces, and images that appear in the media’s coverage of Israel, exposing and responding to inaccuracies or bias. They are a great resource to help you find the truth behind what the media publishes.

Also, the majority of Israel’s major media outlets are available online in English to get reporting straight from the Jewish state, skipping over the foreign press. I regularly check The Times of Israel, The Jerusalem Post, i24 News, and Ynet News for my Israeli news. Of course, opinions vary among Israeli journalists; but at least you can be sure they don’t see themselves “as a symbol of the world’s ills.” 

Before you let an article change your opinion of Israel, consider the slant the writer or the publication might have. Israel faces an uphill battle because of the united journalistic efforts to portray it as the enemy. No country is perfect or justified in all it does, but if you read the facts of a news story about Israel with an open mind, you’ll learn to spot the journalistic tactics used to tear down Israel, and you’ll find Israel to be better than its reputation suggests.

About the Author

I remember years ago traveling to Israel as a volunteer at a hospital outside of Tel Aviv. One evening I was roaming the aisles of a grocery store looking for some shampoo when a tall elderly man stopped me and asked, “Are you one of the volunteers at the hospital in town?”

I replied with surprise, “Yes!” 

He told me he recognized me and asked, “Why would an American come to volunteer in Israel?” 

With joy I explained, “I’m a Christian who loves and supports the Jewish people because God loves the Jewish people.” 

Before I could finish my thought, the elderly man abruptly and awkwardly hugged me in the middle of the grocery store aisle. He held me there for quite some time. Mid-hug, he shared that Israelis feel alone in the world and wonder if anyone actually likes them. 

I get it—everywhere they look they see and hear criticism about their country. Journalists portray Israel negatively, famous musicians cancel concerts or skip over the Holy Land out of fear of being boycotted by the angry Twitter mob, and political pushback has become more common in Congress and parliaments around the world. 

My softhearted fellow shopper was happy to meet a friend of Israel because when every major social institution vilifies your homeland, you can quickly lose heart.  

Here are three social institutions that vilify Israel.

Religion

Iran remains an existential threat to the State of Israel. Repeatedly the religious leaders who govern the Islamic Republic have called Israel a “cancerous tumor” that “will undoubtedly be uprooted and destroyed.” Recently, thousands of Iranians took to the streets vowing to destroy Israel on Quds Day. 

The hatred directed at Israel comes from the top down in Iran. Tel Aviv University Professor Meir Litvak argues Ayatollah Khomeini’s animosity toward Israel is “an essential part of his teachings and his religious worldview, and of the way he understood Islam and its historical destiny, in the shadow of its crisis in the modern age.” Khomeini’s religious beliefs drive Iran’s foreign policy in the Middle East. Iran invests heavily in proxies like Hezbollah (Lebanon), Hamas (Gaza/West Bank), and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Gaza/West Bank). 

Nearly half of Israelis see Iran’s aggression as an existential threat.

Ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day, The Jerusalem Post reported a new survey found 47% of Israelis are anxious that another Holocaust could be on the horizon. Fewer than 100 years since Hilter’s hostility toward the Jewish people, nearly half of Israelis see Iran’s aggression as an existential threat. 

But the religious contempt isn’t just found in the flagrant antisemitism stemming from Tehran; Israel is also vilified in certain Christian denominations. For example, the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) has made the Jewish state a prime target of its Middle East agenda at their General Assemblies. They have adopted resolutions boycotting, divesting, and sanctioning (BDS) Israeli companies while supporting measures opposing anti-BDS legislation. 

Rabbi Noam Marans, the director of Interreligious and Intergroup Relations at the American Jewish Committee, responded to PCUSA: “The Church remains obsessively critical of Israel in its national utterances. For many years and in myriad ways, the PCUSA has gone beyond legitimate criticism of Israel and embraced demonization of the Jewish state.” 

In no way am I associating the Islamic Republic of Iran with the PCUSA. But for my friend who feels Israel is an island unto itself, it’s unsettling when both groups in the Muslim and Christian community look at you with disdain.  

Education

The Brandeis Center conducted a study in 2021 and found that 50% of Jewish students mask their Jewishness and more than half refrain from sharing their personal views on Israel. Additionally, two thirds of the students polled experienced or were familiar with acts of antisemitism. 

Where does this fear come from?

College campuses have become the playground for the vilification of Israel. It goes beyond criticizing the actions of the Israeli government. Anti-Israel groups inculcate college students with lies, calling Israel “genocidal” and accusing them of “ethnic cleansing.” These phrases leave lasting impressions on young adults trying to figure the world out.

Instead of teaching students that Israel is a beacon of freedom and the only democracy in the Middle East, schools often subject the Jewish state to extreme scrutiny.

It also didn’t help when college professors like Temple University’s Mark Lamont Hill said during a speech at the United Nations concerning the Palestinian people, “We have an opportunity to not just offer solidarity in words but to commit to political action, grass-roots action, local action and international action that will give us what justice requires and that is a free Palestine from the river to the sea.” The phrase, “free Palestine from the river to the sea” is a mantra to bring an end to the State of Israel.

Even some teacher’s unions in K–12 schools have adopted resolutions vilifying Israel, calling it an apartheid state.

Students carry these anti-Israel lies into their graduate studies and even their future places of employment. Instead of teaching students that Israel is a beacon of freedom and the only democracy in the Middle East, schools often subject the Jewish state to extreme scrutiny. 

Politics

The Petri dish of anti-Israel vilification can be found at 405 East 42nd Street in New York City—the address of the United Nations. In 2020 the United Nations General Assembly hoisted 17 resolutions against Israel but only six for the rest of the world. Last month, in the middle of Putin’s war in Ukraine, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) hit Israel with four resolutions condemning the Jewish state for human rights violations. Russia received one! 

Last month, in the middle of Putin’s war in Ukraine, the United Nations Human Rights Council hit Israel with four resolutions condemning the Jewish state for human rights violations. Russia received one!

You might have expected the UNHRC to adopt human rights violations against North Korea for unlawful killings by the government of its citizens, China for its inhumane treatment of the Uyghur Muslims, Iran for the execution of homosexuals, or Saudi Arabia for its discrimination against women. Yet Israel holds the record for being the most targeted country in the United Nations, despite the fact its Declaration of Independence guarantees freedoms not found anywhere else in the Middle East. Yet somehow, Iran is seen as the good guy and Israel the bad.

The Declaration says Israel “will be based on the precepts of liberty, justice, and peace taught by the Hebrew Prophets; will uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of race, creed, or sex; will guarantee full freedom of conscience, worship, education, and culture; will safeguard the sanctity and inviolability of the shrines and Holy Places of all religions; and will dedicate itself to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.”

That long, awkward hug in aisle 12 was sincere. My new Israeli friend no longer felt alone in the world. He knew someone else living somewhere else in the world believed the good about his homeland—and for a moment in time that made him feel alive. There are plenty of social institutions that vilify Israel, but religion, education, and politics play a major role in shaping minds to either think positively or negatively about the Jewish state. 

It’s important to know how to speak against falsehoods about Israel, but let’s not dwell here too long. Instead, let’s fix our gaze on the Lord our God, the Protector of Israel who neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4).

About the Author

The Land of Israel has been contested by many groups who have tried to wrestle control from the Jewish people throughout history. Though Israel’s government and borders are well defined, many have disputed its authority in the land. Even today, in the middle of the Land of Israel, there are places that have broken free of Israel’s influence. Gaza and the West Bank, two well-known geographic areas in Israel, remain controversial for good reason.

Setting the Stage

Let’s start with some history. The Mandate for Palestine declared the land known as Palestine (the name the Romans gave the Jewish, not Arab, Kingdom of Judea after conquering it) would become the homeland for the Jewish people in the 1920s. This is because Jewish people were the indigenous residents of this land. The Mandate also gave Israel sovereign claims to its homeland including all of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and Gaza when the Jewish state declared independence in 1948.

Immediately after Israel became an independent nation, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq attacked. But Israel survived and was mostly victorious, though Jordan did seize areas in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, which it called “the West Bank.” Jewish people were temporarily expelled from these regions, but Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six-Day War resulted in the liberation of these territories, regaining its own land which had been taken by Jordan. 

Seeking peace, the Jewish state deliberated over what to do with the West Bank and Gaza. Half of Israel’s government wanted to give the West Bank to Jordan and Gaza to Egypt to establish peace, while the other half wanted to give these territories to the Arabs, who wanted to build their own state in Israel for the Palestinians, a name they began using for themselves at this time. Israel proceeded with the second option. But Palestinian leadership refused to even recognize or negotiate with Israel.

The PA showed no interest in peace with Israel, so it rejected the two-state solution, something it has done on all five occasions Israel has offered such a solution.

Ultimately, in 1994, Israel agreed to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority (PA). Twice, first in 2000 and then in 2008, Israel offered to give nearly all of the West Bank to the PA to build a Palestinian state in return for the chance to live in peace. Still the PA showed no interest in peace with Israel, so it rejected the two-state solution, something it has done on all five occasions Israel has offered such a solution. Though Israel still is ultimately sovereign over the West Bank, it has granted the PA the freedom to govern the Palestinians in this area. 

In 2005, Israel unilaterally left Gaza, abandoning every structure it had ever created in the area. This meant 9,000 Israeli residents, most of whom had lived in Gaza for years, had to leave their homes under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s initiative. Immediately after this (and repeatedly since), the Palestinians who took control of Gaza used the land as a base for terrorism, firing thousands of rockets from the area into Israel, instead of developing it to help their own people.

Gaza: Violence and Hatred

While Gaza is located geographically in Israel, today Hamas holds the governmental authority over the region. It borders Egypt to the south and Israel to the north and east. Just under 2 million people live within Gaza’s densely populated borders. It has a youth unemployment rate of 42 percent. Along with high unemployment, it has more than 10 terrorist organizations, which become recruiting sources for launching terror attacks in Israel. 

Throughout their education Palestinian children in Gaza learn that there is no Israel, Jewish people are their enemies, Israel must be annihilated, and their highest aim is to give their lives for Allah. “It becomes their life’s goal and a national duty to become a soldier of Allah and give up their lives and that of innocent people worldwide for the preservation and conquest of Islam.”1 The UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) has fueled Palestinian resentment toward Israel by helping publish educational materials used in the schools in addition to providing funds. For example, in 2020, 20 nations, headed by Germany, provided about $500 million dollars to Gaza. 

Because of the unemployment and the indoctrination of the children on how to view Israel, violence has become synonymous with Gaza. Just in May 2021, Hamas launched 4,368 rockets into Israel from Gaza. Also, incendiary balloons have ignited acres of Israeli farms and land, becoming a new form of attacking Israel. The primary donor for the terror funding is Iran, as it provides both arms and funds to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

Because of the unemployment and the indoctrination of the children on how to view Israel, violence has become synonymous with Gaza.

Israel and Egypt monitor Hamas’s activities in Gaza, including Israel’s navy overseeing from the Mediterranean Sea. Israel allows goods and services to flow into the Gaza Strip, the only prohibition being either weapons or explosives. One of Hamas’s most blatant offenses in Gaza is its use of terror tunnels. Because its operatives can’t simply walk over the border to set up shop in Israel’s land for attacks, Hamas digs tunnels from Gaza into Israel to commit terrorist attacks, including rocket strikes. Israel remains on high alert for the construction of these tunnels, each of which costs $1 million to build. 

The West Bank: Division and Dispute

The West Bank receives its name from its geographic location, as it is situated west of the Jordan River, including East Jerusalem. Today it is home to more than 3.2 million people, both Israelis and Arabs. Palestinians make up the biggest percentage of the population, while there are also hundreds of thousands of Israelis living in West Bank communities built by the Jewish state after the 1967 war. The largest city in the area is East Jerusalem, while Ramallah is the headquarters of the PA.

The United Nations has labeled this region as “the Disputed Territories,” while government and media sources refer to it as the “Occupied Territories.” However, the Jewish residents largely call it by its correct, biblical name “Judea (Yehuda) and Samaria (Shomron),” where most Jewish history and life occurred. 

The region has three areas, designated as Areas A, B, and C, decided by the Oslo II Accords. The separation was meant to improve Israel’s security efforts over its divided population in the West Bank and help the nation better care for its Arab inhabitants. Area A is under sole Palestinian rule. The Palestinian Authority and Israel administer Area B. Israel exclusively administers Area C. These divisions have helped Israeli security in the West Bank and allowed a large portion of the area’s Palestinians to live under Palestinian rule, but there is still much contention between the West Bank’s Israelis and Palestinians.

To be a good friend of Israel, we must know its history and the ongoing struggles it faces. This includes learning about the divisive neighbors who live within its borders. It’s no wonder Psalm 122:6 urges us, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.’” 

Endnote
¹ Brigitte Gabriel, They Must be Stopped (New York, NY: St. Martin’s Griffin, January 5, 2010), 112–113.

About the Author

“Free Palestine!”

“Zionism is like Nazism!”

“May God take revenge on you for what you are doing to Palestine!”

You could hear these attacks and many like them hurled at Israel in any number of cities across the globe last May after its conflict with the terrorist group Hamas erupted. These were the more “gentle,” less obscenity-filled phrases shouted or plastered across picket signs. That week when these insults escalated was certainly not the first nor the last time Israel has had to hear these things.

Israel finds itself in the crosshairs of people all over the world. A nation designed to be a safe haven specifically for Jewish people, who have been chased from their own land and persecuted for thousands of years, is simply unacceptable to a scary amount of people. That’s why every insult in the book is thrown at the revival of the nation God chose as His own. Racist. Oppressive. Apartheidlike. Terrorist.

A nation designed to be a safe haven specifically for Jewish people, who have been chased from their own land and persecuted for thousands of years, is simply unacceptable to a scary amount of people.

For the Jewish state and those of us who love it, it’s hard to hear these accusations. We seem to be outnumbered by the bloodthirsty critics. Once these critics learn that you love Israel, they might ask you, “How can you defend Israel?!” They’re outraged that you would dare to support the nation they consider an enemy. You might be a fervent supporter of Israel, but at the spur of the moment, maybe you don’t know a specific way to speak on its behalf. 

You might be left wondering the same question in a practical sense: “How can I defend Israel?” Isn’t there anything you can do to stand in its defense? Actually, yes. Here are two ways you can do this:

1. You can defend Israel with its own policies.

Even though they’re the two things on the list of “things you should never talk about,” politics and religion come up a whole lot in conversation. Israel is the intersection of the two. Some people have issues with its policies, some with its religion, and many with both (even if they won’t admit it). As much as it might make you cringe to hear, a conversation that disparages Israel is an open door for you to defend the nation. 

A Nation of Liberty

Its focus on freedom is a good place to start. You can point to the principles Israel was founded on. Its Declaration of Independence is rooted in its intention to serve as a homeland for Jewish people and to follow democratic principles. One paragraph states, 

THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. 

From its beginning in 1948, modern Israel was meant to be a homeland where Jewish exiles could regather, and its commitment to freedom and safety for all—regardless of whether they were Jewish or not—was made clear. It has kept those same qualities to this day, as Jewish immigrants flock to the Holy Land each year, and Israeli Arabs make up one fifth of the country’s population, enjoying the same rights as Jewish citizens. When some citizens claimed otherwise, such as Ethiopian Israelis, Israel instituted “programs to address social, educational, and economic disparities” between people groups. It actively responds to issues of equality, making international cries of outrage fall flat—and often hypocritical.

A Nation Where Life Matters

Another significant complaint against Israel is that it doesn’t value the lives of its enemies, that it is a merciless attacker. Yet this is a nation whose military takes every measure to protect life. Its members call residents in targeted enemy areas, send them text messages, and drop flyers to tell them their area is in danger and to evacuate quickly. 

On the other hand, many of Israel’s enemies, most notably Hamas, not only fail to do this, but often deliberately use their own civilians as human shields, willing to sacrifice others’ lives to save their own. They set up their arms and explosives manufacturing facilities in civilian homes and heavily populated areas. They exploit Israel’s policy of mercy by calling on Palestinian civilians to surround buildings targeted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for airstrikes, even ordering children to the roof to turn the IDF away. While they dare Israel to risk wounding the Palestinians they use as human shields, they don’t think twice about firing rockets to kill Israelis in their homes, even though the IDF doesn’t operate in such areas. They also fire rockets from built-up areas, sending children to play near their launchers to keep the IDF from destroying them. Their strikes often result in death and destruction on their own side when they don’t go according to plan. 

Israel has a clear motivation to protect and provide for its people, which stands out from its neighboring countries.

Like every nation, Israel is governed by sinful human beings with the capability of making poor leadership decisions. But there’s something different about this nation, something that makes it stand out and gives us hope it won’t turn its back on freedom and justice. That’s because Israel was built on a biblical foundation. The Bible provides the principles needed for Israel to govern its nation, and the Jewish state’s policies reflect that. Micah 6:8 comes to mind here, as the nation’s legislation and governing reflects a commitment to doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God (from a Judaic worldview). Israel has a clear motivation to protect and provide for its people, which stands out from its neighboring countries.

Beyond its practical methods and ethical codes, how can you defend Israel with an unchanging source of truth?

2. You can defend Israel with Scripture.

In God’s eyes, our defense of Israel will never go out of date. We honor and obey Him by standing by the side of His chosen nation. Take a look at these verses demonstrating His covenant love for Israel and its people:

Genesis 12:3: I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

God made this promise to Abraham, and its benefits extend to the present. Even as Gentiles, we enjoy the second half of this verse’s promise—that through Jesus, who comes from Abraham’s line, we could receive the blessing of salvation and a personal relationship with our Savior. We have Israel to thank for sharing this blessing with us!

Genesis 17:7: And I will establish my covenant between Me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.

Abraham’s descendants still live today—4,000 years later! This key verse proves God’s promise to make His covenant with Abraham’s descendants is an eternal one, so He will remain the God of the Jewish people and the signatory of their covenant forever.

Ezekiel 36:24–28: For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.

Ezekiel was given this prophecy 2,700 years ago, and we’ve seen it come to pass in modern times that Israel has returned to its homeland. We can trust that God will fulfill the entirety of this prophecy, as He always fulfills His Word.

Zechariah 2:8: For thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.”

Those who would harm His Chosen People make a direct attack against Him, and one day He will judge them for this attack.

Most of Israel’s critics would love to see harm come to Israel. God suggests otherwise. Those who would harm His Chosen People make a direct attack against Him, and one day He will judge them for this attack.

Malachi 3:6: “For I am the Lᴏʀᴅ, I do not change;
Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”

God doesn’t change; aren’t you thrilled by that? It’s for this reason that Malachi says Israel has not been destroyed. The sons of Jacob, Israel, will forever be His people.

Romans 11:1, 26–27: I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”

God will never cast them away—not 2,000 years ago, not today, not ever. Neither can we!

Israel will continue to hear criticism. All we can do is faithfully defend it by its actions and by God’s Word. Israel should know it has our support, and that starts on the ground level by defending them in conversation. The next time someone asks you, “How can you possibly defend Israel?,” remember the truth you have at your disposal to come to the nation’s defense as a true friend of Israel.

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