Master Minded Ministries Newsletter - December 2023
Confused and Uncertain about the Israel-Palestinian conflict?
by Dave and Jerri McGarrah
I’m hearing this from so many people these days as they listen to the news and hear of the “disproportionate” actions of the Israeli Defense Forces clearing Hamas from Gaza. So, let’s take a look and let me give you some background. This is a quick, simple overview that deserves a deeper dive, but time and space in this newsletter doesn’t permit a thorough teaching.
First and foremost, this issue is both spiritual and historical. Let’s start with spiritual. It starts back in the book of Genesis with the story of Abraham and Sarah when God promised them a child, but didn’t fulfill the promise in their timely manner, so Sarah decided to do God’s will her way. The end result was, and still is, disaster. Ishmael was born of Sarah’s handmaid, Hagar. (Gen. 15-16) This child, Ishmael, the bible says was going to have a difficult future. “Ishmael would be a “wild man” and that “his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him” (Genesis 16:12). In the Islam religion Ishmael is considered to be a prophet and actually an ancestor of Mohammad. So not only do we see Ishmael in the Bible, but you can read about him in the Quran as well. This is where it all started. Abraham is the father of both Arabs and Jews.
NOW, FAST FORWARD…
Hatred for the Jews is something which has existed since Genesis 16. Of the two sons born to Abraham, only one was called the child of promise, whose line would bear the blessing and the continuation of God’s chosen people. And that would be through Isaac.
Every year at Passover, the Jews are reminded of their history. As they read through their Haggadah, which is their text for the evening, it reads, “In every generation, our enemy rises up to destroy us”. No one would have predicted the sudden spontaneous combustion of Jew hatred which has emerged throughout the entire world, calling for the Jews to be gassed and the annihilation of the entire race. It’s almost inconceivable that the hatred exposed through the Holocaust would once again rear it’s ugly head, and the world would be chanting, “from the river to the sea.” Meaning, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, the Jews should be pushed off the face of the earth through mass drowning. This is the continuation of the spiritual issue.
After watching and learning about the horrific details and massacre of October 7, wouldn’t you think that sympathies would lie with those who suffered the unspeakable killing of over a thousand innocents, which included babies to senior adults? Look at the protests in cities and on college and university campuses. Listen to the professors and even some of our own Congressional leaders, AKA “the Squad.” We’re now moving into the historical side of the issue.
As you look at the participants of these anti-Israel protests, it’s plain to see that most are under the age of 40, with, perhaps, a few exceptions. Since many of these gatherings happen on campuses, this confirms that the age group is generally from 18-30. While they are all well-equipped with anger, rage and profane slogans, they would be hard-pressed to articulate over what. They’ll tell you that a genocide is being committed in Palestine, but that’s about it.
They are void of the history, geographical and political implications, as well as the external and internal causes which have contributed to the suppression of the Palestinian people, and they have unwittingly joined forces against Israel and the Jewish people.
They know nothing about the 2,000 years of wandering, persecution and numerous attempts to eradicate the Jews. They know nothing about the 1947 Partition Plan of the UN, calling for a Jewish state, supported by world majority. They know nothing about the many wars fought by Israel to survive as a nation, and they especially don’t understand that the greatest oppression and disregard of those who live in Gaza comes from the surrounding Arab nations who care nothing about them. These are crucial facts which have escaped their attention.
So, Other Than Their Deliberate And Willful Ignorance, What Else Does This Generation Have In Common?
THEY ARE ALL CONNECTED TO SOCIAL MEDIA
Which feeds into their lack of knowledge and instead, is an Instrument of indoctrination, often based on skewed factors which are useful in promoting a warped narrative. Polling groups are telling us that, “more Americans are getting news on TikTok,” showing the greatest trend in the 18-29 age group. A quick video clip here, and a sound bite there, gives them enough information to be dangerous. What’s worse, is they share it with other like-minded friends. In the end, it’s causing this group to look through a distorted lens of injustice.
For the past fifty plus years, World leaders have insisted that the Palestinians want peace. They want a state of their own. They want Israel to leave the Gaza Strip, Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem. And once they get these things, they will live at peace with Israel.
One US administration after the next have felt the same way and as a result, many nations have put pressure on Israel to give away land in order to make peace. Israel itself has been very vocal about desiring peace with its neighbors. Numerous offers have been made by Israel and rejected by the Palestinians. In 2005 Israel gave up the Gaza strip as a way to show the world that they were serious about having peace through a two state solution.
The Palestinians were set up for success. Beautiful farms and vineyards, great beaches and homes, not to mention significant buildings for businesses. But in just a matter of months, the true intentions of the Palestinian people were put on display.
Just months after Israel’s withdrawal, elections were held and the Palestinian people overwhelmingly voted in Hamas as their leadership. The following year, after months of infighting, Hamas violently seized control of Gaza from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.
Due to the hatred of this group towards Israel, along with blatant attacks from Hamas, both Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on the territory, monitoring the flow of goods and people in and out. For nearly two decades, refusing to stop the attacks, the closure of borders has crippled the local economy, sent unemployment skyrocketing, and emboldened militancy in the region, all due to the refusal to have a relationship with the Jews of Israel. All the while, Israel has continued to supply electricity and water to Gaza.
Through four wars and countless smaller battles with Israel, Hamas has only grown more powerful. In each subsequent conflict, Hamas has continued to fire multiple thousands of rockets into Israel, and secured more sophisticated rockets from Iran that travel farther. Hamas has displayed a growing array of weapons. Its top leaders have survived, and though cease-fires have been secured, they are consistently broken by Hamas.
Throughout the years, Israeli political leaders, military leaders, academics and journalists have produced a multitude of reports that exposed the P.A.’s support for and involvement in terrorism. They have produced encyclopedia-length records, documentary movies and intelligence reports exposing how its education system indoctrinates children from birth to embrace the cause of annihilation of the Jews, and instituted a mindset of the entirety of Palestinian society of genocidal, jihadist outlook that seeks the utter elimination of Judaism and Jews from the face of the planet.
One More Important Truth: You will hear people saying (including the Biden administration) they insist that Hamas does not represent the Palestinians. Most Palestinians, including those in Gaza, simply want to make peace with Israel that includes a Palestinian state, it does not stand for the dignity of the Palestinian people, they say.
I WISH THAT WERE TRUE.
A recent survey of the Palestinian people was done by Birzeit University near Ramallah. You can access it here. This survey was done through face-to-face interviews with Palestinians throughout Judea and Samaria, and also in S. Gaza.
WHAT YOU’LL FIND IN SIMPLEST TERMS IS THIS:
75% of the Palestinians support the Oct. 7 Hamas slaughter. They thought it was a terrific accomplishment.
75% also said they seek the annihilation of Israel. They want to see “from the river to the sea” carried out.
AFTER READING THROUGH THE SURVEY, I THOUGHT
If Hamas doesn’t represent the Palestinians, it’s hard to understand who represents them. 76% percent of Palestinians support Hamas. 88% percent of Palestinians in Judea and Samaria support Hamas, and 60% of Gaza residents support Hamas. The P.A. enjoys the support of just 10% of Palestinians.
AS TO US WESTERNERS...
Insisting the Palestinians are peaceful and hate Hamas, the Palestinians hate us (the great Satan) as much as they hate Israel: 98% of Palestinians hate the United States and 97% hate Britain.
On the other hand, the Palestinians are hopeful. 78% percent of Palestinians say that the pro-Palestinian demonstrations being held under the banner, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” fill them with hope for the future of humanity.
In short, the results from the Birzeit poll do not expose a peaceful people interested in coexistence and peace. They present a clear-cut portrait of a genocidal society. We live in times described as Isaiah spoke, “No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.” (Isa. 59:4) As I often say, we are living in Bible times. God choosing Israel as His people shows how evil the world is by their turning on His people of the covenant.
God’s faithfulness is abundantly seen regarding Israel. The survival of the Jews as a people is nothing short of miraculous as no nation or people in history has survived this long (nearly 2,000 years) out of their land and remained as cohesive as have God’s chosen, Israel. It confounds reason that the world takes no notice of this one irrefutable fact. Had not God favored the Hebrew people, they would have vanished from the face of the Earth long ago. Throughout the centuries, they have suffered extreme persecution from the Romans, the Spanish Inquisition, in the pogroms of the Russian Empire of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and faced annihilation under both Hitler and Islam.
Watching our times has caused many to wonder why the Jews are the object of such hatred. The answer is simple, sobering, and obvious—because the Jews are engaged in a spiritual war. The current physical war in the Promised Land may be the most blatant conflict to a world blinded by the devil, but don’t be deceived into thinking it either begins or ends there. Its roots are spiritual, and the outcome will also be spiritual.
About Masterminded Ministries
Discovering the Jewish Roots of Christianity
Master Minided Ministries is a non-profit ministry that teaches, disciples and preaches the Jewish roots of Christianity. We support a radio program called “The Teacher and the Preacher” that can be heard each week on 20 different stations across the US. Each weekly program features Pastor Dave and Aaron Lipkin, an Orthodox Jew who lives in Israel, talking about the ways we can learn from each other and benefit our Judeo-Christian country. It is common to hear from guests who contribute new and fresh insights from what’s really happening on the ground in Israel, to what’s the best thing we can do to love and support each other and bridge the gap for Christians and Jews.
