I have been recently considering the situation in the Middle East and how so many people are

against Israel and the Jews, believing that they literally have no right to have their own land and
country. This has come upon them again and again, in spite of the concessions that Israel has
made.

What the media tells us is how much the Palestinians suffer at the hands of the Israeli state, yet
rarely if ever do we hear of what the Palestinians perpetrate against Israel. When we do hear
anything, it is seen as retaliation for something Israel has done.

The truth of the matter is that what the world hears via news bureaus is not really the truth.
That should surprise no one.

A few months ago, Marv Rosenthal reported in a special bulletin the truth regarding the
situation in the Middle East, specifically as it relates to Israel and the Arabs around her.
“Today’s inhabitants of Gaza are Palestinian, a name given to the land by the Romans almost
fifteen hundred years after the Jews settled the land. The Palestinians living in Gaza are
separated by about 45 miles from the larger Palestinian community in the West Bank of the
Jordan Valley.”1

Rosenthal continues by stating “Today, Syria refuses to speak to Israel about peace without the
precondition that Israel give to Syria the Golan Heights – the very mountain range from which
she shelled Israeli farm communities near the Sea of Galilee almost daily for nineteen years
(1948‐1967) while it was under Syrian control.”2

Rosenthal speaks of Yassar Arafat’s climb to power and how his actions clearly indicated a
complete lack of concern for his own people. He was more intent on gaining and keeping the
power he sought through the PLO.

The area which Israel occupies (as well as people known as Palestinians) goes back to biblical
days of the Old Testament. “When the children of Israel under Joshua entered the land of
Canaan, the tribe of Dan was to capture the area of Gaza. Instead, the tribe of Dan moved north
and settled near the base of Mount Hermon. As a result, the Philistines became a major “thorn
in the flesh” to Israel for centuries.”3

1
Marvin Rosenthal, Truth Siege (Zion’s Fire 2009), 1
2
Ibid, 2
3
Ibid, 3

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Today’s Palestinian people have no clear origin (see newspaper article on page 3). Scholars
have determined that they do not descend from the ancient Philistines, who gave Israel so
many problems to and beyond the time of King David.

If we segue to modern day, we see the beginnings of new groups and their stated purpose is
essentially the destruction of Israel. Rosenthal comments “In 1987, Hamas was founded by
Sheikh Ahmad Yasin. Hamas is an Arabic acronym for “The Islamic Resistance Movement.” Its
stated purpose is to establish an Islamic state in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. To
achieve its purpose, Israel and the Jews must be destroyed. And therefore, peace with Israel is
not an option to be considered under any circumstance.”4

In 1993, Hamas began carrying out unprovoked attacks on Israeli civilians and opposed any
agreement between the PLO and Israel. At the time, the agreement would have included the
complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the West Bank and autonomy “in both the Gaza
Strip and the West Bank for the Palestinians.”5

In 2007, Hamas seized full control of the Gaza Strip, which created problems for PLO, Israel and
other neighboring people. “After more than fifty years, the West Bank leadership wanted to
move toward peace with Israel; while at the same time, the concept of peace with Israel was not
even an option to be considered by the Hamas leadership who now controlled Gaza.”6

Because of Hamas’ new position in the West Bank, they lobbed thousands of rockets into Israeli
territory over the past eight years. The number of rockets launched is near the 6,000 mark.
Interestingly enough, the rockets, along with other military hardware and weaponry were being
smuggled into Gaza through tunnels. These tunnels were on the Egyptian border, and were
approximately 70 feet or more below ground with at least some of the tunnels being a half mile
or longer in length. So far, 90 such tunnels have been located and destroyed, although some
place the full number at over 300 tunnels remaining (see diagram on page 4).

It is generally accepted knowledge that Hamas is funded in large part by the Iraqis and Syria and
Hamas itself is safely headquartered in Damascus, among the civilian population. This situation
grew to the point of becoming intolerable for Israel and she launched an offensive against
Hamas. When Israel went on the offensive, there were three goals ahead of her: “first, to stop
the rockets; second, to destroy the Hamas infrastructure that makes their launching possible;
and third, to make certain that after her troop withdrawal, the rockets will not be reintroduced
into Gaza to again harm Israel.”7

4
Marvin Rosenthal, Truth Siege (Zion’s Fire 2009), 3
5
Ibid, 3
6
Ibid, 3
7
Ibid, 3

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Had Israel wanted to do so, she could have destroyed the entirety of the Gaza Strip within
hours. Because Hamas was certain of an Israeli strike, they (Hamas) deliberately used women
and children to shield themselves, by placing them on the rooftops of Hamas buildings. Prior to
Israel launching their attack, they dropped thousands of leaflets to the people in the targeted
area, warning them of the upcoming attack. By doing so, Israel lost the element of surprise, but
saved untold lives in the process, which was her aim.

The Palestinians of Gaza are not innocents. They voted in Hamas during a democratic election
and gave them their full support, knowing their stand against Israel.

We have all of this going on in the world, yet anyone who supports Israel is considered to be a
Christian Zionist, which is not a compliment. People, who refer to those of us who support
Israel’s right to land and autonomous rule as Zionists, apparently believe that Israel has no right
to land or autonomous rule in the Middle East.

What is more surprising is the fact that many of those who oppose what Israel is trying to
accomplish, are Jews themselves; Christian Jews, or Messianic Jews or whatever they call
themselves. The trouble is, not only have they been blinded by Replacement Theology, which is
normally part of Covenant Theology, but they have become part of something else that is
becoming more and more insidious.

Think about something for a moment. Forget religion for a moment and simply think about
what it is that the world is saying. In a purely secular world, what everyone seems to be saying
is that the Jews have NO right to have any land at all, nor should they be allowed autonomous
rule. This is patently absurd, yet this is what the world is saying, loud and clear!

In the Middle East, Israel is completely surrounded by Arab nations. The Palestinians
themselves are Arab, passing off as “Palestinian” as if this represents a separate culture,
language or ethnicity. It does not and thanks to PLO leader Yassar Arafat (you know, the guy
who looked like Ringo Starr), he created one of the best sleight of hands ever. He created a
situation in which the Arabs living in the West Bank were seen by the world as a unique species
of people. However, it is clear that the Arabs who call themselves Palestinians are so simply
because they live in the area referred to as Palestine. Yet, so did many, many Jews, but they
are not called Palestinians. They are still called Jews.

I support Israel’s right to have land and I support their right to be autonomous. The Arab world
has plenty of land and countries which surround Israel, yet they are not satisfied with that
because they want more. They have stated over and over again that they will not be happy
until the Jews are pushed into the Mediterranean Sea. So, the reality for the Arab is that they
want the Jews gone; out of the land entirely. They do not want a two‐state solution. They

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want to eradicate the Jews. Frankly, I’m sure they will not be happy until they saw every last
Jew dead and they have stated as much. This of course will never occur.

Though the world seems to disagree vehemently, from a secular standpoint, Israel has every
right to exist as a nation. It doesn’t matter that the world’s opinion is stacked against them. In
fact, to see how much oppression they have suffered and yet still maintain what they maintain
is remarkable. They keep pushing on in spite of the odds against them.

It is also remarkable when you stop to consider how much the world is against the Jew and
Israel being their own nation, ruling themselves in general. From a purely pragmatic point of
view, it is an unfair position that the world has put Israel in. Israel has every right to fight back,
push for autonomy and push back against a world that is attempting to force them to do it their
way.

It is interesting how the world does no such thing against the Arab world. Interesting indeed.
For decades they have lobbed rockets into Israel space from Jordan. They have dug tunnels
from their countries into Israel; tunnels which they have repeatedly used to smuggle in
weaponry used against Jews. The world does nothing. It blames the Jews and Israel for its own
problems.

The absurdity of this position is seen when placed against the backdrop of the world’s opinion
and resultant actions.

I will continue to support Israel’s right to land and autonomous rule, if for no other reason than
they are the underdog. I will also support those rights for Israel because of biblical reasons as
well.

Ultimately, I believe what occurs in the Middle East is in God’s hands. I believe it will work out
according to God’s timetable and will. Certainly that remains to be seen, however, for the time
being, Israel should have its own land and nation solely because it currently has it and the Arab
nations are plentiful. They do not need another nation on the West Bank, or anywhere. But
don’t tell the rest of the world that because it appears that they believe Israel has too much
already and the poor Arab has nothing.

Wake up, world! Israel has rights too.

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