“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.” Genesis 12:3 (ESV)

I’m sure you share my horror as I learned about the evil terrorist attacks against Israel on October 7 and see the atrocities by Hamas that continue, especially against innocent civilians and children.

My shock and grief are heightened even now, as a significant number of people in our own country are against Israel’s right to defend herself—protesting in our nation’s capital, in cities, and on college campuses.

Biased news stories, media spin, misused terms, and disinformation are exacerbating an already precarious situation. As we stand with Israel, it’s imperative that we understand the news and help share factual information.

First, some basic definitions to help you more fully understand the terminology surrounding this attack:

• Hamas—the Islamist militant group who conducted the brutal murder of the most Jewish people at one time since the Holocaust. Hamas was designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization in 1997. Their founding charter calls for the destruction of Israel. In 2006, Hamas won elections in the Palestinian legislature and became the governing authority in the Gaza Strip. While civilians in the Gaza Strip live in very poor conditions, Hamas has amassed abundant resources for its terrorists.
  
• Gaza Strip—Gaza is a Palestinian city inside the Gaza Strip, but the words “Gaza” and “Gaza Strip” are being used interchangeably to refer to the 140-square-mile territory in the Southwest of Israel along the Mediterranean Sea. Israel is currently conducting a counter offensive within the Gaza Strip with the goal of destroying Hamas. Israel gained control of the Gaza Strip in 1967 during the Six-Day War.  In 2005, Israel withdrew its soldiers and settlers while maintaining control of the borders and transferred governing responsibility to the Palestinian Authority (which Hamas took over one year later).
  
• Palestinian Authority—the governing body of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Even though these territories are not a country, they have a governing body that was established in 1994 as part of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)—an umbrella organization formed in 1964 to advocate for a Palestinian state (and which was responsible for many terrorist attacks against Israelis). Until 1998, the PLO’s charter called for the destruction of Israel.
• Palestine—Just asking what Palestine is generates controversy! Palestine is both a political entity and geographical region. The borders of the geographical region have varied throughout history. From a political standpoint, there are two territories: the West Bank and Gaza. Gaza is now governed by Hamas, while parts of the West Bank are governed by the Palestinian Authority and other parts are governed by Israel. However, Hamas regards all of Israel as Palestine and believes the creation of a Palestinian state should exclude Israel . . . and her people.

Additionally, here are more terms and phrases that are important to understand:

#1. Ceasefire

This is a term you might have heard from several members of Congress, the United Nations, and Capitol protestors. These people have called for Israel to suspend military activity in Gaza—in other words, to stop fighting the terrorists. Another term they use is “de-escalation.” The assumption behind these calls for a cease-fire is that Israel is not morally justified in its efforts to destroy Hamas.

The Cambridge dictionary defines ceasefire as “an agreement, usually between two armies, to stop fighting in order to allow discussions about peace.” As you hear calls for a ceasefire, don’t ignore the fact that Hamas is dedicated to destroying Israel. It is in their founding charter. They do not want peace. How is Israel supposed to negotiate with them?

#2. “Free Palestine”

A particularly insidious chant among some protestors is the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” What are they really saying? The “river” is the Jordan river—Israel’s eastern border. The “sea” is the Mediterranean Sea—Israel’s western border. So, this slogan is really calling for Israel to be abolished.

A post shared by Israel’s Prime Minister explains the slogan in chilling detail.

#3. Occupation

Pro-Palestine student groups in some of our top universities have issued statements actually justifying Hamas’ barbarism against Israelis, whom they call “occupiers” and “colonizers.” You might be confused by these terms because Israel hasn’t occupied Gaza since 2005.

The land that they think Israel occupies includes . . . all of Israel. Consider this statement from Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at George Mason University:

“From the River to the Sea, we will continue to support resistance until we are able to return home to a unified Palestine.”

Remember that “From the River to the Sea” is the nation of Israel. Once again, Israel is being forced to defend her right to exist.

#4 Genocide

Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race. Those who claim Israel is committing genocide are trying to equate Israel’s war against terror with the Holocaust. In fact, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has gone to great lengths to minimize civilian casualties while Hamas uses human shields and purposely establishes military bases in and around civilian infrastructure . . . making it impossible to stop terrorism without unneeded suffering of the innocent.

What Can Judeo-Christians Do?

Although a very real earthly battle, this is also a spiritual battle. Right now, please join me in urgent prayer for the nation of Israel. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!” (Psalm 122:6) Pray for wisdom for Israel’s leaders and for justice to be done. Pray for the families who have lost loved ones, for the captives, for soldiers, and for civilians in harm’s way. I invite you to use this prayer guide by one of our partners.

Pray that through all this, the nations would know that the Lord is God, and that many people would turn to Him and be saved.

Pray for our leaders as well. Pray for them to recognize that if we bless Israel, we will be blessed, but if we curse Israel, we will be cursed (Genesis 12:3).

And remember that this is why we must persevere as informed, active voters. Our elections matter not only for our country, but also for the world.