• After Hamas violated the terms of the Ceasefire by refusing to release the remaining women they are holding in captivity and launching a barrage of rockets into Israel - Israel resumed the military operation over the past week, pushing from northern Gaza into the south.

• US State Department explains that one of the reasons Hamas broke the ceasefire was that they did not want the women to tell the world “What happened to them” in captivity.

• This week, the United Nations women's advocacy group, after over seven weeks, in the face of overwhelming evidence, finally condemned the rape and mutilation of women committed by Hamas on October 7th.

• Israeli doctors are reporting that several of the women were sexually assaulted in Hamas captivity

• The United States is putting pressure on the IDF to be “more surgical” in their approach in Southern Gaza, particularly due to the number of refugees who have moved south from Gaza City throughout the opening stages of the war. The White House did not set a date when it will pressure Israel to end the conflict at this time - something that has happened in just about every previous conflict.

• Photos circulated of a few dozen Hamas fighters - photographed in their underwear awaiting transfer to Israeli prisons. This sparked some outrage online - suggesting that the Israelis were humiliating Hamas prisoners. In fact, it is standard practice to make Hamas terrorists strip their outer clothing off to check for suicide vests - which are common for Hamas terrorists.

• Extremist Israeli Settlers wrecked an EU-funded school in the West Bank, leading to outrage from Palestinians and Israeli activist groups calling on their government to prevent the destruction of Palestinian property.

• The Presidents of Harvard, Penn, and MIT all testified before the House of Representatives on Wednesday, asked to account for their failure to prevent harassment of their Jewish students over the previous weeks. Several viral moments ensued, most notably this exchange between representative Elise Stefanik and the University of Pennsylvania President, Elizabeth Magill, where Magill explained that calls for the genocide of Jews did not violate the university’s code of conduct. Each president appealed to the First Amendment protections of freedom of speech - ironic as Harvard and The University of Pennsylvania ranked dead last on The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression's (FIRE) yearly campus rankings.

A Closer Look

Ceasefire Breakdown, Israeli War Aims, and Palestinian Prisoners

Ceasefire Breakdown

I mentioned last Friday that I would give a more substantive look at the Ceasefire and breakdown when more information came out, and we could get a bit of perspective of what it meant, why it happened, and what it means for the longer term future of the conflict, our closer look section today will begin with that report.

Between November 24th and December 1st Hamas freed 110 hostages, 80 Israelis and 30 foriegns nationals. In exchange, Israel has released 240 Palestinian prisoners, all women or teenagers. The exchange broke down when Hamas refused to release the ten women scheduled for release on December 1st. The US government is reporting that Hamas is refused to release the next wave of Israeli women to prevent them from “sharing what happened to them”.

A quick scan through the names, ages, and photos of the remaining hostages shows a gut wrenching fact: Hamas kept the women between the ages of 18-32. They refused to give them back becasue they have almost certainly been repeatedly raped by their captors. God help me, I pray that I am wrong about this, but considering the widespread evidence and confirmation of sexual violence committed by Hamas on October 7th, testimony from captured Hamas terrorists in the intervening days, and statments made by Israeli doctors that released hostages had witnessed and been sexually assaulted in captivity, I do not think I am. I fear these beautiful innocent souls are being subjected to the worst of evils by their bloodthirsty and perverted captors.

Understanding this horrifying reality is central to understanding the Israeli resolve to continue fighting the war. Calls for a permanent ceasefire will do nothing to impact the Israeli resolve to remove Hamas from power and dismantle their capacity to wage war. The IDF will continue to attempt to limit civilian casualties, perhaps more so under United States pressure, but there is absolutely zero chance of and Israeli government ending the war with Hamas’s military leadership and infrastructure intact. The United States could halt all funding to Israel or even sever its relationship with the State of Israel and the IDF would continue the fight until its war aims are, to some degree, accomplished.

Israeli War Aims

The Israeli War aims are as follows:

1. Remove Hamas from power and destroy their capacity to wage war

2. Rescue the Hostages taken from Hamas on October 7th

The temporary ceasefire was in service of one of the war aims as it managed to free 110 hostages for relatively minimal cost. Now that Hamas has broken the ceasefire Israel will pursue their other primary objective of removing Hamas from power and destroying their capacity to wage war. As the IDF encircles the remaining underground military instilations in the Gaza strip the physical risk to the remaining hostages grows, as does, perhaps counterintuitivly their possibility for freedom. 62 days into the war the IDF has lost 92 soldiers - while Hamas is estimated to have lost between 3000-5000 fighters. The IDF is currently facing intense fighting but, thus far, they seem fully capable of dismantaling the tunnel network and dealing massive damage to Hamas fighting forces. As the noose closes in around Yayha Sinwar and other Hamas leaders, the hostages may end up being the bargaining chip they are able to play to save their lives. This seems to be the strategic calculus being made by the Israeli war cabinet at the moment although a few key variables will determine its efficacy:

1. Time

   1. Each passing day the situation for the hostages grows more dire. The Red Cross has not been permitted access to the hostages even to give perscription medicine to those with medical conditions. The hostages released all had lost weight, if this drags on for months there could be very severe medical conditions faced by the hostages.

   2. Essentially every Israeli military operation is on a clock held by the United States. As the days roll on and the Gazan civillian death toll mounts it is quite possible that the Biden administration will begin to pressure the Israeli’s to bring the conflict to a close. Thus far, the Biden administration has specifically said that they are not putting the IDF on a clock, but how long that holds remains to be seen. Israel could potentially continue the operation without US support, but it would be quite difficult to maintain in perpetuity, especially with the menace of Iran looming over the horizon. Israel can defeat Hamas on its own, but if Hezbollah and Iran joined the fray, US support would likely be essential to Israeli defense.

2. Gazan Civillian Casualties

   1. As stated above, it is the opinion of the US state department that the IDF was less careful in the opening of their incursion into Gaza than they have been in previous operations. The US maintains that the IDF has not violated the international laws of armed conflict, but they are signaling strongly that the operation in the south needs to be much more precise given that the population density in southern Gaza is greater than that of the north. In order to execute a more precise operation, the advance will be much slower than we saw up north and much more dangerous to IDF ground forces.

3. Hamas Leadership’s Instincts for Self Preservation

   1. It is clear that Hamas has no regard for Gazan life but rather sees Gazans deaths as part of their weaponry to be used against the state of Israel. What remains to be seen is how committed Sinwar and other top leadership are willing to die for the war they started. Asking Israel for some sort of pause or ceasefire in exchange for the leaderships relocation to Qatar or Turkey and the remaining hostages requires a Hamas leadership that wants to live, and live with the shame of fleeing for their lives. In my opinion this is probably the weakest link of the Israeli theory. It seems to me that “martyrdom” is preferable to life for Islamists and thus the death of Hamas will likely mean the death of the remaining hostages. From what I have read and heard from Israeli commentators most know this but few wish to discuss it openly.

4. Internal Pressure from Israeli society

   1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netynahu’s political career is finished when this war is done. While Israel is very unlikely to remove him in the middle of the war, his political career and perhaps his legacy will end in infamy. His government was the cause of the most contentious period of Israeli civil division in its pursuit of judicial reform leading up to October 7th and his government presided over the worst military failure in Israeli history. Confidence in Netynahu is at an all time low. As I mentioned in a previous article, the redemption of hostages is massively important to the people of Israel - it would be unprecidented durring a time of war but not unimaginable that outrage over the continued hostage crisis could lead to a failure of Bibi’s government.

Palestinian Prisoners

A bit of a nonsequitor, but I wanted to close write a quick note on the Palestinian prisoners who were exchanged for the Israeli hostages. I spent a good bit of time last week deliberating on what language to use to describe who these people were and what landed them in Israeli jails. All of the 240 Palestinians released were women and teenagers who were arrested by the IDF in the West Bank for crimes related to terrorism of some sort. Some, like the woman with the disfigured face who went viral last week, attempted terrorist attacks like car bombings. Others stabbed either IDF personnel or Israeli civilians and some were imprisoned for throwing Molotov cocktails or stones at IDF personnel at checkpoints or in street corners in places like the Old City of Jerusalem.

Now, here’s the tricky part, there were some who were tried and convicted in an Israeli military court. Others, were being detained while awaiting trial. So, it would not be true to call them all “Convicted Terrorists” though many of them were - it also must be noted that these Palestinians were not convicted by a jury of their peers but rather an occupying military force. This is one of the consistent complaints from Palestinians in the west bank - that their civil rights are curtailed or non existant when dealing with the IDF1. The Oslo Peace process tried to offer some remedy for this by allowing civil governance administrated by the Palestinian Authority, but when a 15 year old throws a rock at an IDF soldier he winds up in an Israeli military courts system and most likely in jail.

I have a good deal of sympathy for the IDF, who, almost always shows great restraint in the face of stone throwing. They could shoot every single kid dumb enough to hurl a rock their way, I am quite glad they don’t, as teenage stupidity is a universal phenomenon and thus demands some degree of allowance. But, this point illustrates the persistent problem created by Israel’s occupation of a population that does not wish to be under Israeli rule. Israel finds itself in the unenviable position of holding the wolf by the ears - withdraw from the West Bank and quite possibly deal with groups like Hamas digging tunnels and launching rockets from the positions previously held - stay in the West Bank and be forced to spend Israeli blood governing a population that hates it.

Closing Note

I hope you have found these newsletters helpful over the past few weeks. I intend to continue them for the foreseeable future. There are several topics I would like to do a deeper dive on such as the theory of war from Hamas and other Islamist groups when it comes to Israel - particularly how the French abandonment of Algeria looms large in their thinking. As well as a deeper dive into how the United Nations and international media became so abjectly horrendous at covering Israel with any degree of credibility. But, I would also love to know what you would like to know more about. Drop me a comment below with questions you have about the conflict and I will try and answer them over the next few weeks.

Happy Hannukah to my Jewish friends - a holiday my Rabbi Jesus certainly celebrated. I continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the protection of Jews everywhere from the despicable rise of Jew hatred across the world. I also pray that this war can be brought to a swift and just end. That Hamas can be defeated and the hostages rescued and a lasting peace can be made in the Middle East. Only God can make it so, so we ought to continuously make the request.

Zachary McCartney

Quick Hits

Hostage Deal

• A temporary ceasefire and hostage for criminally convicted Palestinians exchange has been agreed upon between Israel and Hamas. Here are the details:

  • Hamas will release thirteen women and children on Friday and ten each day for the next five days. The ceasefire can be extended an additional day for every ten additional hostages released.

  • Israel will release 150 prisoners accused or convicted of offenses such as stabbing IDF officers and car bombing who are women and adolescents.

  • Hamas will permit the Red Cross to observe the hostages and ensure they are being cared for

  • Israel will permit aid trucks to come into Northern and Southern Gaza

  • Israel will turn off their aerial surveillance capabilities for six hours per day.

• Friday, November 24th, Hamas released 13 Israeli women and children. Hamas also released 10 Thai agricultural workers kidnapped on October 7th in a separate deal mediated between the Thai government and Hamas mediated by Iran.

• Saturday, November 25th, after a tenuous delay, Hamas eventually released 13 more Israeli women and children alongside four foreign nationals. This was following a series of false accusations that Israel violated the agreement by not allowing enough aid into Gaza. In return, Israel released 39 prisoners.

• Sunday, November 26th, 14 Israeli women and children were released on Sunday in exchange for 42 Palestinian prisoners 3 more Thai prisoners were released in a separate deal mediated by Iran.

• Monday, November 27th, 11 Israeli women and children were released on Monday in exchange for 33 Palestinean prisoners.

• Tuesday, November 28th, the ceasefire was extended, and 12 Israeli women and children were released in exchange for 30 Palestinian prisoners.

• Wednesday, November 29th, the ceasefire was extended an additional day, and 10 Israeli women and children were released alongside 4 Thai nationals and 2 Dual Israeli-Russian nationals who were released in a separate deal.

• Thursday, November 30th, 6 Jewish Israeli women and children were released alongside 2 Israeli Arabs. Several deceased bodies are apparently being returned to Israel by Hamas, but these reports have yet to be confirmed.

Other News

• On November 25th, a mob of Palestinians in the West Bank lynched two Palestinians who were purported to have provided information to the IDF. Their bodies were strung up on electric poles to warn others of the consequences of “collaboration.” The link to the video is here, but viewer discretion is heavily advised.

• Hamas has violated the terms of the ceasefire twice in the first two days of the ceasefire, first by firing rockets into southern Israel 15 minutes after the start of the ceasefire and second by “delaying” the release of the second round of hostages. Qatari and Egyptian mediators are said to have stepped in to prevent the total collapse of the ceasefire.

• Thursday, November 30th, two Hamas gunmen killed 3 and wounded 6 Israeli civilians at a bus stop in a senseless terror attack and yet another violation of the ceasefire. The murderers were shot down at the scene of the crime.

• Thursday, November 30th, Hamas released a video filming themselves telling the father of 10-month-old Kfir Bibas, 4-year-old Ariel Bibas, and 34-year-old Shiri Bibas that his wife and children have been killed. The Hamas filmers blame the IDF for the family’s death. We do not know if this is true or not as of Thursday night. 10-month-old Kfir was the youngest hostage taken on October 7th.

• A Skynews reporter asked an Israeli spokesperson if Israel values Palestinian life less than Israeli because they are getting one Israeli hostage for three Palestinian prisoners. An astonishing asininity emblematic of the absurd double standards consistently faced by Israel from mainstream media outlets.

Quick Hits

• IDF forces have subdued the Al Shifa hospital complex. International journalists were invited inside to view, and the IDF released a video of both tunnels and weapons caches along with security footage from October 7th confirming that Hamas was using the Hospital as a base of operations.

• The BBC released an apology video and retraction for running with a libelous Reuters story claiming the IDF were targeting Arab speakers and medical personnel in the Al Shifa hospital. When, in fact, the IDF were sending in Arab speakers and medical personnel to assist in medical care for patients within the hospital.

• In Washington D.C., on Tuesday, November 14th, around 290,000 attended the “March for Israel.” It was said to be the largest gathering of Jews in US history. Speakers included Israel’s President Isaac Hertzog. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, and other leaders from both sides of the political aisle. (More Below)

• A massive march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem took place last week to try and put pressure on the Israeli government to rescue or secure the release of the almost 240 remaining hostages. (More Below)

• Embedded Reporters with the IDF, along with reporting from inside Gaza, have more or less confirmed that Northern Gaza is uninhabitable, leaving over a million people without homes and in desperate need of resources.

• It appears as if a deal has been met for a four day ceasefire in exchange for 53 hostages of the 238 held captive in Gaza. This is a breaking news story as of Tuesday November 21st so we will have more to say in Friday’s Newsletter

March to Jerusalem - Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

Over the course of about three days, 30,000 Israelis marched from Tel Aviv to the Prime Minister’s offices in Jerusalem to demand that the Israeli government bring the hostages home.

On October 7th, a combination of Hamas fighters and a Gazan mob took over 240 hostages. Since the 7th, four hostages have been released by Hamas, one was rescued, and one has been confirmed dead. What policy the Israeli government should take regarding the remaining 238 hostages is one of several impossible choices foisted upon the Israeli government after October 7th. Hostages, however, have a particular history and create a particularly salient political crisis in the Israeli context. Let’s look into that now.

Hostage Taking in Israel—a Brief Explainer

The security and protection of its citizens is perhaps the most foundational covenant made between a people and her government. Perhaps the quickest way for a government to fold is for its citizens to lose confidence in their government’s ability to guarantee their safety. This reality makes hostage-taking such a conundrum for the government facing a hostage crisis—if an enemy government or terrorist organization takes hostages, the government has a duty to the safety and security of their citizens, but if they pay for the hostages in money or a prisoner exchange, they then set a precedent that incentivizes the taking of hostages in the future. Iran and Russia have taken advantage of this reality multiple times, with the USA most recently being the exchange of a Russian arms dealer for the WNBA player Brittany Greiner.

Beyond the normal challenges all governments face in hostage situations, Israel faces several unique challenges related to its religion and national ethos

The first challenge comes from Israel’s national ethos. The central ethos of the state of Israel is the protection of the Jewish people. As was mentioned in our deep dives the state of Israel was born from the experience of European and Middle Eastern Pogroms and the horrors of Holoucaust. A core argument made by the founders of the state of Israel was the necessity of a Jewish state to protect Jewish people. For 2000 years Jews depended upon the goodwill of the people groups in the countries they were scattered throughout for their safety. For 2000 years they were let down. Zionist argued that a Jewish state would be the only guarantee for the saftey of Jewish people because a Jewish state would pursue every avenue to secure the release of her citizens. Throughout its history the IDF and the State of Israel has pursued this promise vigorously. Putting forth herculean efforts to free captives and protect its people. No man woman or child will be left behind this is the fundemental covenant between the State of Israel and her people. This is known by every Israeli citizen and by her enemies.

The second challenge stems from the Jewsih faith. There is a treasured command in Judaism stemming from both the Torah and Talmud called “pidyon shvuyim” or the “redemption of captives or prisoners”. Near the beginning of the Torah we see an example of this principal in Abraham himself when he rescues his nephew Lot from a foreign army. God then redeems his people Israel from bondage in Egypt—and gives them many laws concerning the redemption of fellow Hebrews in bondage of one form or another. The Talmud states that redeeming captives is among the most important of mitzvah (commandment). While not every Israeli follows the Torah or is religious at all, Israeli society has been profoundly shaped by these priorities found in the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud. This too is know by every Israeli citizen and by her enemies.

The third challenge is one of historical president. Israel has a history of making very lopsided deals flowing from these principals—most notably is the case of Gilad Shalit. In 2006 near the Gaza Strip. IDF soldier Gilad Shalit was abduction by Hamas forces and taken to Gaza. Shalit was held captive over five years while Israeli officials attempted to bring him back. A national campaign was launched to demand the Israeli government to do whatever it takes to bring him home—appealing to the first two priciples stated above. In 2011, the state of Israel greenlighted a historic deal. The state of Israel freed over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit's release. Included among the prisoners freed was Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the October 7th massacre. This exchange, while powerful in one sense, created a massive strategic challenge for Israel’s defense going forward because it created a massive incentive structure for enemies of Israel to take hostages.

These three realities make the political position of Israel’s leaders incredibly difficult. Israeli civilians expect their government to rescue hostages by any means necessary, but doing so will only ensure more hostages are taken in the future. The government faces an impossible choice—voilate core principals or continue to incentivinse the kidnapping of its citizens in the future. These factors are at the heart of the protests we saw last week and will be the rational for any deal that Israel makes for hostages over the next few days and weeks. The pressure is now on Netenyahu’s government. We will see how they respond.

March for Israel - Washington D.C.

As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, I attended Tuesday’s March for Israel in lieu of my usual analysis. I’m going to offer the reflection I wrote on November 14th after the event. I hope you will indulge me in this journalistic impropriety as I am no journalist—I have never claimed to be a dispassionate observer in these matters, but I have striven to be objective in my presentation of facts.

As I said from the outset of these newsletters I believe in Israel’s right to exist as a country in safety, in the return of the hostages, and in the Jewish people’s right to safety and self-expression around the world. These were the aims of the March, and I was proud to be there. As Churchill once said: “I decline utterly to be impartial between the fire brigade and the fire.” There is no moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas I stand on the side that seeks to avoid civilian casualties rather than attack civilians and hide behind them. I do however promise you, dear reader, that I will report to you any credible story of Israeli overreach and the humanitarian plight of the Palestinians in Gaza. They are made in the image of God and deserving of protection, dignity, and self determination. I long for the day when they can peacefully coexist with Israel as a state of their own.

Anyways, enough justification, here’s what I wrote the night of November 14th:

I’ve never been to the National Holocaust Museum.  The last time I was in Washington, D.C. I was twelve years old, footsore, and too afraid to see the horror of what Europe did to her Jews.  Sixteen years later, I returned to Washington for the March for Israel; I feared no longer but knew it was the proper place to begin the day.  I knew what lay within; having been to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and becoming a Holy Land tour guide, I knew I must not look away. So, I watched the story of Jew-hatred unfold throughout the 1930s and 40s. Beginning with public bullying and ending in the gas chambers–the museum lays out the story of what people can do to a hated minority, provided good men and women refuse to stand up to the progressive ideology of the day.  The heartbreaking tale of how six million souls were snuffed out while the majority of their neighbors and the “international community.” shuffled their feet and shifted the blame for why they really couldn't do anything more to aid the cause of the Jews. On each floor of the museum, the Jewish plight gets more desperate, and I am filled with rage, sadness, helplessness, and hopelessness. Why did we not do more? How could we let this happen? Never again.  

On October 7th, 2023, 1200 Jews were butchered by Hamas terrorists in an orgy of unadulterated barbarism, and 240 hostages were taken from their homes to untold terrors in Gaza.  The “international community” has responded and responded decisively, with an overwhelming rise in Jewish hatred.  Firebombing synagogues, killing protestors, attempting to ram cars into Jewish schools, and Jew hunting in an airport in Daghastan are among some of the thousands of incidents of Jewish hatred October 7th unleashed.  The ADF has reported an over 400% rise in antisemitic incidents in the past 40 days.  How on earth does the massacre of Jews lead to the targeting of Jews? How could we, not even a century removed from the horrors of Auschwitz, be witnessing the return of pogroms in the name of a new progressive ideology– have we learned nothing? 

It is with profound pride that I can write on the evening of November 14th, 2023, in the United States of America we have learned.  I watched almost 300,000 of my fellow countrymen rally to the nation's capital for the sake of the Jewish people. I watched the leadership from both of my country's political parties give speeches in support of the Jewish people and the Jewish state. I watched people of different faiths, nationalities, ethnicities, and political persuasions rallying together against the scourge of Jewish hatred.  I stood among them, a Christian American of Irish descent deeply committed to my faith, and was welcomed and thanked for my presence and support.  I had countless backslaps and thank you’s from folks in the crowd for being a Christian who showed up for my Jewish countrymen, and I was and am deeply proud to have done so.  

I am proud to have stood in the shadow of the Washington Monument and lived out the words he wrote to the Jewish community.  To be an American that gives “bigotry no sanction, to persecution, no assistance” to be an American that extends his blessing to “the Children of the Stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the goodwill of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.”

There are many troubling problems in American democracy.  But today was a good day, a day where our nation's leaders were profoundly correct in their moral judgments.  Where people stood together in peace and solidarity, upholding the nation's values and making a statement to Jews around the world.  You are not alone.  The United States stands with you.  Never Again has not failed today.  

• As of last Monday, November 6th, the North and South of the Gaza Strip were cut in two. Gaza City was surrounded. Their progress has been slow and deliberate, sending teams of combat engineers who scan and sweep for signs of tunnels and munitions—one of which they found under a child bed.

• With Hamas unable to control the civilian population, tens of thousands were able to evacuate the city. The IDF has announced daily humanitarian corridors to facilitate the safe evacuation of Gazan civilians.

• An HonestReporting news report documents and raises questions about the level of foreknowledge and participation freelance journalists and photographers working with the New York Times, CNN, and AP had of the October 7th massacre. I’ll discuss some of the broader implications and complexities below.

• “Pro-Palestinian” protests continue around the world, calling for violence against Jews and several turning violent, disrupting roads, intimidating law enforcement officers, and menacing Jewish populations.

• Israel’s Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu says that the IDF will remain in control of “overall security responsibility” over the Gaza Strip for an indefinite period of time. Mahmoud Abbas reiterated on Friday that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is ready to retake control of Gaza as part of a comprehensive political solution along the 1967 Broders.

A Closer Look

Northern Gaza Evacuates as IDF closes in on Hamas Stronghold.

Last week, we discussed the reports that Hamas was demanding its citizens to ignore the IDF’s evacuation orders and even shooting at its citizens who were attempting to flee to safety as well as a new instance from this week here. One Gazan woman speaks about it in this clip. Israel has announced that they will be facilitating a daily 4-hour evacuation, neighborhood by neighborhood, where residents will have three hours’ notice before the window begins. Tens of thousands have taken them up on this offer, leaving south Gaza in desperate need of humanitarian supplies. Some Gazans are choosing to collect supplies and relocate temporarily amid fears of starvation, loss of property, or even reprisal in the south of Gaza. Once again, we are seeing the desperate situation Gazan citizens face because of the actions of their government, Hamas, as well as Hamas’s utter lack of care for the well being of the people under its rule.

The IDF has long documented Hamas’s warcrime of operating from hospitals, schools, and mosques. It has long been know that the Al Shifa hospital is a headquarters of sorts for Hamas’s military operations. IDF forces are steadily advancing towards the hospital in order to disable its military capabilities and assets therein. Such a move places doctors and patients in the hospital at great risk alongside the sevaral thousand people whom Hamas officials claim are sheltering there, leading to many in the international community to oppose the IDF’s actions. The IDF have called for an evacuation of the Al Shifa as their forces close in.

Media Companies Paying October 7th Terrorists?

Honest Reporting released a detailed analysis of videos and photos taken by Gazan “reporters” who provided photographs and videos of the October 7th attacks as well as other reports and photos throughout the subsequent war. It raises some serious ethical questions alongside some practical ones as well so let’s take a look.

It is now clear that October 7th had been planned for months if not years in advance, with a high degree of sophisticated training and support from Iran. Forces assembled in the early hours of the morning on October 7th to set off on their murderous campaign and somehow reporters contracted by outlets such as CNN, AP, and Reuters as “Stringers” just so happened to be at these events and rode along with the Hamas terrorist to commit their atrocities. Now, this does not mean that these media outlets had foreknowledge of these attacks, but it does mean that people they pay in Gaza for reporting, information, and access are not only connected with the terrorist group Hamas but might be terrorists themselves.

Before we can go any further, we need to understand what a “stringer” is and how they work in the news business. A stringer is essentially an independent contractor that a news outlet regularly hires in a region to help cover news events. News outlets are attempting to cover breaking news stories from around the world—in order to get access to people and knowledge of the local environments they need to have connected local people on the payroll who can get them access to the people, pictures, and information they need. This is relatively easy in wesetern democracies where people generally believe in the freedom of the press and the neccecity to allow journalists to operate and inform the public in a (hopefully) dispassionate manner. It gets much trickier in places like Gaza or Russia where authoritarian regimes demand a vice grip on information and have no compumctions of imprisoning or even executing those who report inconvient facts.

So, the media outlets have a choice, deal with morally compromised persons who can get them access to ‘some infomration’ or report only in places where their journalists can be protected and operate with freedom. It is a genuinely difficult position for media outlets and has been for a very long time.1 Complicating the matter still is that Israel has vowed to treat all of the participants in the October 7th massacres as terrorists to be brought to justice and see these actors (particularly the one videoed with a hand grenade) as a participant and not a journalist.

In response to the report CNN has terminated the association with its stringer who was implicated while The New York times has vehimetnly denied the accusations made against its own man (not the one with the hand grenade) and suggested that raising such questions is dangerous and a disservice to the public interest.

Ultimately, this is a story to keep an eye on—we do not know the extent of the connection and involvement of these stringers. But, we must recognize that they have deep connections with Hamas and thus the information they provide is, at a minimum, permissible to Hamas officials who are almost certainly keeping an eye on their work.

Closing Item

Next Tuesday I will be attending the March for Israel on November 14th in Washington D.C. The March’s aims are to demand the release of the 240 hostages as well as demanding the US government to combat Antisemitism here in the United States. I wholeheartedly endorse both of these aims and so will be proud to stand alongside my Jewish neighbors. I thought it necessary to disclose this to you all as I am covering news stories. You should know my positions and my political activity. I stated my priors here in my first newsletter.

I hope to present facts as best as I can and cover stories that are relevant regardless of if they support my preconceived narratives. But, you the reader have a right to know where I am coming from.

Till Next Week,

Zachary McCartney

The State of Israel and the First Israeli-Arab War 1948

With Britain pulling out on the region's governance, the United Nations attempted to resolve the conflict. The UN proposed a two-state solution—a Jewish state on the Coastal Plain, Negev desert, and part of the Galilee, and an Arab state that includes the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, and Western Galilee. Jerusalem would be neither Jewish nor Arab but become an International Territory governed by the United Nations.1 The Jewish community accepted this resolution despite concerns about the defensibility of the borders allotted to them. The Arabs rejected the plan, believing that over time and with the financial and military backing of the Arab world, they would be able to eliminate the Jews and establish a singular Arab state.2

Following the Arab rejection of the UN plan, The Jewish leaders declared the state of Israel in 1948. They were quickly recognized as a nation by the Soviet Union and the United States, the two most powerful nations in the world following World War 2. No Arab or Muslim country recognized the new state of Israel. Instead, they declared war on the Jewish people and attacked, starting the first Israeli-Arab War. The combatants: Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Yemen against the fledgling state of Israel; after two years of hard fighting, the State of Israel still stood, making small gains in the southernmost portion of the land but, overall keeping the borders allotted to them in the 1948 partition plan.

Nakba

We now enter into one of this conflict's most hotly debated issues. What Arabs call Nakba (disaster in English) is perhaps the defining controversy of the entire conflict. I will begin with the undisputed facts.3

The facts of the case are as follows: by the end of the conflict, somewhere between 300,000 and 700,000 Arabs were displaced from their homes during the war and found themselves on the Arab side of the fighting lines. Some chose to leave voluntarily, not liking the prospect of living under Jewish rule; others left voluntarily, bolstered by Arab expectations of rapid and comprehensive victory. Some Arabs were forced to flee because they were in the way of the two armies clashing. Some were encouraged to move by the Arab commanders, who did not want them caught in the crossfire. Some of them were forcibly expelled by the Israeli army or by armed Jewish militia operating outside of the regular army.4 At the end of the hostilities (no formal peace was declared), these refugees sought to return to their villages and homes and were denied by the Israeli government.

From the Arab perspective, the Israeli government stole the homes of these people and refused to give them back when the war was over. This is why, in today’s headlines, you will hear the talk of “Refugee camps,” but you will see established cities with walls and homes. The governments of Egypt and Jordan named the villages and settlements “Refugee camps” to remind their people that the Israelis (from their perspective) stole their homes. Thus, today, some seventy years later, we have the third and fourth generations of “refugees.”5

Conversely, the Israelis would point out that they were fighting a war against five armies (seven countries but five armies) for their very existence. The Arab peoples had rejected peace and sought to annihilate the Jews in the region. The slogan bandied about in the Arab armies was “drive them into the sea,” a credible threat of genocide, especially to the Jewish people who had just been systematically murdered in the Holocaust for the past decade. There were plenty of Arabs who did not rise up against the Jewish state or leave their homes. All of them were incorporated into the State of Israel. Israel, they would say, had no obligation to bring people into their country who would have been more than happy to see it destroyed by the Arab forces—that wars have consequences and the Arabs would have no sympathy for the Jews if the roles were reversed. They would close by reminding the Arabs that Israel did not start the war. They accepted the UN resolution for peace. It was the Arab world that attacked.6

Arab Retaliation to the State of Israel

Regardless of who won the rhetorical war, Israel won the physical war. The Arab armies failed to meet their objectives, and an armistice agreement was signed in 1949, ending the formal hostilities. Critically, the Arab states did not recognize the Jewish state’s right to exist. In retaliation for the Jewish victory and the refugees not being permitted back into the state of Israel, Arab nations forcibly expelled 900,000 Jews from their respective nations, seizing their homes and properties. Many of these Jewish communities were in place for thousands of years, ever since the Jewish deportation to Babylon in 586 BC. Forced relocation was an all too common experience for the Jewish people over the centuries, but this time, there was a new factor for the Jewish people: the State of Israel.

For the first time in over two thousand years, the Jews had a refuge from pogroms, persecution, and extermination. While Misrahi Jews (Middle Eastern Jews) mourned the loss of their homes, Jews everywhere celebrated the fact that their people finally had a place of refuge, not dependent on the goodwill of Christian, Secular, or Muslim majorities, but rather a place where Jews had power and self-determination. To the Jewish people, the State of Israel was a beacon of hope, a promise that Jews would never again be forced into ghettos and concentration camps—unable to gain entry into other nations due to their ethnicity and religion. When antisemitism raises its persistent head—the Jews have a state.

Before we launch into the next phase of our history, let’s take a look at a map and see where the borders stand.

These are the borders of 1949. It ought to be noted that no Palestinian state existed, nor was there a movement to create one. Jordan annexed the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and Egypt annexed the Gaza Strip.

Six Day War

Almost Twenty years passed, and Israel maintained a relative peace. Outside of a brief armed conflict with the Egyptians known as the Suez Crisis7, the IDF was not militarily engaged with the nations around them. But, a lack of direct military action did not mean peace was real or lasting. The Arab world was regrouping and waiting for the next time to strike, political careers being made on the promises to rid the Middle East of the “Zionists.” Israel was not idle. Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, ran extensive operations to gather intellegence on the nations around them—preparing for the inevitable war with their neighbors.

In 1967, as Jordan, Egypt, and Syria were gathering their forces to strike Israel, the state of Israel preemptively struck, dealing massive damage to the three armies arrayed to attack. Perhaps most critically, they demolished the Egyptian Airforce, ensuring air superiority throughout the conflict. Within six days, the IDF conquered the West Bank, Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula. Had they not been halted by the United States, the IDF would have likely captured both Damascus and Cairo.

This overwhelming military success both solved and created security issues for the State of Israel. Acquiring the Golan Heights from Syria meant that the Israelis could protect the high ground above their settlements and prevent Syrian snipers and artillery from raining down on the Kibbutzim in the Galilee8. The Jordan Valley, a flat land where any ground invasion of Tel Aviv would be staged, was now under Israeli control. The southern border was well secured by obtaining the buffer zone in the Sinai Peninsula, not to mention the oil fields therein—crucial for a small country with limited resources who are barred from purchasing oil from Saudi Arabia.

While the territory was viewed as essential to Israel’s security apparatus, the civilian populations who lived in the territories created one of the most significant threats to the state of Israel. The responsibility of governance of the populations living in the West Bank and Gaza now fell to the Israelis. This created an existential problem—Israel is the only Jewish state in the world. It exists to be the place of refuge for the Jewish people in times of crisis. Israel is also a Western-style democracy—the only one in the region. The Knesset (Israeli Parliament) has representatives elected by the citizens, who then form coalitions to make governments. If Israel were to annex the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the populations therein, then it is quite possible that Israel would no longer be a majority Jewish state. It would become a majority Arab-Muslim state. As Israeli journalist Haviv Rettig Gur put it, “Israel is a paradox deciding between two existential threats: the prospect of a Palestinian state and the absence of a Palestinian state.”9

Ultimately, at the end of the Six Day War, Israel did not annex the territories10. Instead, the Arab territories in the West Bank and Gaza were governed under a military occupation that, in a form, continues to this day.11

Yom Kippur War and Camp David Accords

Six years passed in the new state of play with Israel’s borders greatly expanded. The Arab militaries had been humiliated by the IDF and were desperate to expiate their shame and retake the lost territories—primarily the Golan Heights for Syria and the Sinai Peninsula for Egypt. On Yom Kippur, the highest Holy Day for Jews, the entire nation was closed down, and most of the citizens were fasting—Syria and Egypt launched a surprise attack on Israel.

The first three weeks of fighting were quite brutal, and the Jewish people took heavy losses and began to lose some territory. However, after the military got things together, they retook essentially all of the territory they lost, fighting the Arab coalition again to a stalemate. Most significant in this conflict was the change of mindset among some in the Arab world. Israel proved itself to be more than a match for all of the Arab nations in military might. No longer could they persist in the delusion that Israel was a paper tiger and just needed proper coordination from the Arabs to be beaten, and if you cannot beat Israel militarily—it may be in your interest to make peace with them and learn to live with the new Jewish state.

That is exactly what Anwar Sadat, the ruler of Egypt, eventually did in 1978 at the Camp David Accords. Israel traded Egypt the Sinai Peninsula (and all of its oil reserves) in return for Egypt’s diplomatic recognition of Israel’s right to exist, with the United States providing security funding to Israel to make up for the lost revenue from the oil reservoirs, which would be returning to Egyptian hands. During negotiations, Israel attempted to give the Gaza Strip back to Egypt—Sadat refused flat out. He wanted no part of the governance of the region far too many security concerns, particularly from a group called “The Muslim Brotherhood12 that had been operating in the strip since the 1950s.

At the end of the negotiations, a deal was struck, and Egypt became the first Arab nation to recognize Israel’s right to existence.13 A historic move to put Israel on the path to peace, a move that Sadat paid for with his life. Sadat was assassinated on October 6, 1981, by members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Despite Sadat’s death, the treaty with Israel has held relatively stably to this day.

Occupation and Intifada

1979 into the 1980s was a period when Israel moved off the main stage of the world’s attention in the Middle East. With the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, the global community was not focused on the Israel-Palestine Conflict. A lack of attention did not mean calm inside the West Bank and Gaza. Military occupation grew honorous for the Palestinian people, viewed as both illegitimate and unjust. There were many complaints the Palestinians had against the state of Israel. I’ll list a few:

1. Loss of Land—Israeli settlements began popping up in the West Bank during this period. A move vehemently protested against by the Arab residents who saw it as a slow territorial theft by the Jewish state.

2. Violations of Human Rights—freedom of movement was restricted, the police detained Arabs in the region sometimes without cause, and accusations of harsh treatment by the police.

3. Economic Hardships—restrictions were placed on trade for Israeli security concerns. Palestinians claimed that these inspections and restrictions hampered their economic prosperity.

4. Settler Violence—Israeli settlers at times harassed or even attacked their Arab neighbors, not facing significant punishment for their actions.

5. Lack of Political Autonomy—this one is self-explanatory. Resolutions would come in the 90s

6. Disputed Jerusalem—The Arabs of the West Bank and Gaza (at this point, they were referring to themselves as Palestinians, so I will make the switch) believed that Jerusalem would be their capital. Israel also named Jerusalem as their capital, which led to conflict.

7. Unresolved Refugee Issue—compensation for lost homes or the right to return is demanded from the Israeli government by many in the West Bank and Gaza.

From these tensions began the first Intifada (Arabic for Uprising or rebellion) in the West Bank and Gaza.

The first Intifada was a response to all of the grievances listed above. While violence did break out and both Israelis and Palestinians were killed, the protests were mostly peaceful, doing much to draw attention back to the land of Israel and the plight of the Palestinians. These uprisings and international pressure eventually resulted in the beginnings of a peace process between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, known as the Oslo Accords.

The Oslo Peace Process

The Oslo Peace Process refers to a series of agreements and negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) that began in the early 1990s. The process aimed to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and lay the groundwork for peaceful coexistence and the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state. Here are the key aspects of the Oslo Peace Process:

Oslo Accords: The Oslo Accords consisted of two main agreements:

• Oslo I (1993): Also known as the Declaration of Principles, Oslo I established a framework for gradually transferring authority from Israel to a newly created Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It also outlined a five-year interim period during which final status negotiations were to occur.

• Oslo II (1995): This agreement, also known as the Interim Agreement, further defined the division of responsibilities between Israel and the PA. It divided the West Bank into three zones (Areas A, B, and C), with varying degrees of Palestinian control.

• Mutual Recognition: As part of the Oslo Accords, Israel recognized the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people, while the PLO recognized Israel's right to exist in peace and security. This mutual recognition is significant and a point of tension between the PLO and groups like Hamas.

• Palestinian Authority: The PA was established as a self-governing body with limited powers responsible for governing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories. Yasser Arafat became the head of the PA.

The Birth of Hamas

Rival to the PLO and the PA is the group in the news today; you all know Hamas. Hamas, short for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya (Islamic Resistance Movement), was founded in 1987 during the First Intifada. Its founders included Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a charismatic cleric, and other Palestinian activists. Hamas was initially established as a social and political organization but quickly evolved into a militant group, employing violence and terrorism as means to achieve its objectives. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, the European Union, and other countries. In contrast to the PA, Hamas rejects the recognition or cooperation with the State of Israel, which it views as illegitimate.

Rejecting a State—The Second Intifada

While much progress was made during the 1990s14, the process came to a tragic and dramatic end in 2000. President Bill Clinton brought together Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority leader Yassir Arafat for a summit that aimed to establish a Palestinian state once and for all.

The Palestinians were offered 97% of the current West Bank and Gaza in exchange for giving up their “Right of Return” grievance for the Arabs of ‘48. Israel would be able to keep a military outpost in the Jordan Valley, and the Palestinian state would have airspace integrity and the entirety of East Jerusalem, including the Old City. Arafat rejected the peace and statehood, and Barak lost the next Israeli election in a landslide. President Clinton was astounded by his decision, describing Arifat’s decision as “a colossal mistake.”

Several months later, after an incident on the Temple Mount, the second and much bloodier intifada began. From 2000 to around 2005, Palestinian terrorist groups launched numerous suicide bombings and attacks against Israeli civilians, including the targeting of children and teens. In response to these terror attacks, Israel constructed security barriers around many Palestinian settlements and began to enforce a more significant series of checkpoints. The barriers were eventually successful in stopping the terrorism but added to the burden on the Palestinians in the occupied territories.

More than anything else, the Second Intifada severely damaged the Israeli left, who were committed to a two-state solution and peace with the Palestinians. The Israeli left for years believed in the peace process and staked much of their political credibility on the seriousness of the PLO in coming to peace. Not only did Yasser Arafat not accept a peace deal that Clinton characterized as the best possible offer the Palestinian people were ever going to get15, he did not rein in the terrorist militant groups brutally attacking Israeli civilians. Israeli civil society learned a lesson—offer peace and get suicide bombers in return.

2005 Gaza Withdrawl

Throughout the Second Intifada, several hundred Israeli civilians were killed, and over a thousand IDF soldiers were killed, many in the Gaza Strip. In 2005, Israel decided that the defense of the Israeli settlements in Gaza, some of which predated the state of Israel, was untenable given the number of soldiers killed in Palestinian attacks. So, in 2005, the "Disengagement Plan" was enacted. Israel’s military unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, mandating the evacuation of all Jewish settlements from the Strip—21 settlements in Gaza were dismantled, exhuming graves and displacing 9,000 Israelis. Full civil authority and police power were transferred to the PLO and Palestinian Authority. However, Israel restricted the importation of weapons and goods that could be used to make weapons.

2006-2023 Managing Hamas in Gaza

After a tense year, the economic situation was not good in Gaza, and the Palestinian Authority was unpopular with the people of Gaza. In January 2006, the people of Gaza elected Hamas as the ruling party of the Gaza Strip. Hamas, who are committed to Islamic Jihad rather than Western-style democracy, proceeded to dismantle the election system and kill the members of the PLO/PA.

In response to Hamas’s bloody takeover, Israel implemented a blockade that Egypt later joined. This blockade imposed severe restrictions on the movement of goods, people, and materials in and out of Gaza. The blockade, while militarily understandable, has affected the daily lives of Gazans for the better part of sixteen years. Various efforts to aid the civilian population of Gaza have taken place throughout that time, including many efforts by the Israeli Kibbutzim living near the Gazan border, who were generally pro-peace and on the Israeli left. Internationally, billions of dollars have been invested in the region to develop infrastructure and finance economic projects. Large portions of it were mismanaged or outright stolen from the humanitarian groups to aid Hamas’s Jihad against the Jews in the Land.

Hamas’s interpretation of the Quran demands not only the subjugation of non-Muslim populations but the outright extermination of the Jews in the land and, eventually, all lands. Since Hamas has taken over the Gaza Strip, they have shot thousands of rockets into Israel, attempting to cause as much death and mayhem as possible. To avoid retaliation, Hamas fires these rockets from children’s schools, mosques, and hospitals to try and keep Israel from retaliating.

Iron Dome, Mowing the Grass, Abraham Accords

After the failure of Oslo in 2000 and the withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, peace seemed to stall between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel focused instead on economic development and peace with other Arab nations decoupled from the Palestinian conflict. For this strategy to work, Israel needed relative peace with the Palestinians, as other Arab nations are outraged by any Israeli military movement against the Palestinians, justified or not. Since Hamas was committed to Jihad, firing rockets at Israel, the Israelis came up with a novel solution: Iron Dome.

The Iron Dome is an advanced missile defense system designed to protect civilians from short-range rocket and mortar attacks. It consists of radar systems that detect incoming threats, a battle management unit for threat assessment, and interceptor missiles designed to destroy incoming projectiles in mid-air. When a threat is identified, the system calculates its trajectory and, if necessary, launches an interceptor missile to neutralize it before it can hit populated areas. Beyond this, Israelis built bomb shelters in every community and siren systems to warn people to take cover—with these innovations, Israel attempted to treat rocket fire like Oklahoma treats tornadoes16.

Unfortunately, this strategy did not eliminate the need to deal with military attacks from Hamas in more conventional means. To try and buy periods of peace where development could occur, The IDF began to employ a strategy called "Mowing the Grass," a series of periodic military campaigns to weaken and disrupt the infrastructure, weapons caches, and leadership of Hamas. These operations involve airstrikes, ground incursions, and other military actions aimed at targeting the militants' assets while minimizing civilian casualties.

The great success of this strategy came in 2020 with the Abraham Accords. The Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. These agreements marked a significant shift in Middle East diplomacy. Before, the Arab nations isolated and refused to deal with Israel as a block. After, all sorts of possibilities arise. They were aimed to promote stability and cooperation in the region while addressing their shared major concern, the growing militarism and capability of Iran.17

If the Abraham Accords were the great success of the “Mowing the Grass” strategy, the October 7th massacre was its great failure. Iran, who is the main financier and backer of Hamas, and Hamas itself struck a blow against the nation of Israel and this possible future. No longer would containment be possible for Israel’s defense. Hamas proved themselves unmanageable, forcing Israel to come in and cut them out root and branch. Perhaps the removal of Hamas will pave a path to peace—I do not know—the Saudis and others may come back to the table after all of this—but that is the subject for another newsletter.

Concluding Thoughts

So, there we have it, 586 B.C. to October 7th, 2023. There is much I included I wish I could spend more time talking about, and some events I left out entirely. I hope this gives you a better picture of what has happened in the region and what the major grievances are between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Share with a friend if you find it useful—I’ll do my best to answer any questions you have in the comments below.

• The Israeli ground invasion began in earnest late on Friday, October 27th. Israeli officials are calling it a “Limited Ground Invasion” and “Stage Two” of a longer operation. While on the ground, knowledge is difficult to acquire, it appears as if the IDF intends to surround Gaza City and route out Hamas operatives, military assets, and tunnels in the area.

• The Israeli Air Force (IAF) conducted an air strike on a neighborhood in Jabalya, killing a top Hamas leader. The airstrike triggered a series of collapses in the ground underneath the area where Hamas had dug tunnels and stored weapons, leading to catastrophic damage to several apartment buildings and the death of dozens of civilians. (More Below)

• There is growing evidence that Hamas is killing Gazan civilians attempting to comply with the IDF’s order for them to flee south and get out of the way of the Israeli military operation targeted at Hamas. The IDF released audio of their conversation with a Gazan citizen, and a video taken by a Gazan in the Gaza Strip shows a series of people shot in the street in an area where no IDF forces are currently located.

• As of Thursday, the United Nations Human Rights Council is now being chaired by Iran. Despite a long history of human rights abuses, most recently the training and funding of Hamas and the killing of a 16-year-old girl for failing to wear her Hijab in public. The United States is boycotting the council in response.

• Hezbollah1 leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a speech. Friday, November 3rd, his first remarks since October 7th, where he said…very little. Most notably, he did not commit his forces to an escalation with Israel beyond the current smattering of rocket fire coming from their forces at the Lebanon Border.

A Closer Look

IAF Bombing of Jamalyiah

Early this week, the IAF struck Hamas tunnels in the Refugee Camp2 of Jamalyiah. The operation was successful, leading to a collapse of the terror tunnels beneath the Refugee Camp and killing a senior Hamas commander, Ibrahim Biari, along with multiple Hamas fighters who were hiding beneath the Camp. In the course of the destruction, it was reported that dozens of civilians were killed as well. This story illustrates in vivid detail the moral complexity of the conflict, and so I think it is worth our time to pause and think through it.

In this situation, we have a few things at play. A known group of Hamas combatants with one of their leaders hiding in a military fortification stockpiled with weapons and likely booby-trapped in the event of an invasion. They have an opportunity to kill one of the masterminds of October 7th and take a commander away from the Hamas forces, weakening their military cohesiveness. Beyond this, they face a network of tunnels that absolutely qualify as a military fortification under international law. These tunnels are filled with war-making supplies and would be a death trap to Israeli troops if they attempted to clear them out. Furthermore, the use of ground forces would not eliminate civilian casualties, but it would likely reduce them. If the ground troop option were selected, the Hamas commander would almost certainly escape.

The IDF had a decision: if they did not strike Jabalyiah, they would miss the opportunity to kill the Hamas commander, dramatically increase the number of their own soldier’s deaths, but reduce (not eliminate) the number of civilian deaths. They assessed that the military benefit of eliminating the Hamas commander, destroying the military fortifications, and protecting their soldiers was worth the dozens of civilian casualties who had been duly warned to leave the area days prior. I think people of good conscience can disagree with this assessment. They can say that it is the responsibility of the civilized government to risk the blood of its sons and daughters for the sake of noncombatants. But, the people who make this assessment should hold that position consistently—and criticize every other military in the world for all of human history—as they would have made the same assessment.

A Broader Look at the Moral Considerations

Over the past weeks, one of the more common responses I have seen from both social and traditional media is a rapid leap to a so-called “nonviolent” position, such as a call for a “ceasefire” or a “humanitarian pause” that fails to evaluate the breadth of the situation faced by the Israeli people and their defense force. Let’s review the current situation:

• Hamas sent 2-3 thousand terrorists who targeted, tortured, raped, dismembered, murdered and desecrated. Over 1400 Israeli citizens and foreign nationals taking over 200 hostages back into Gaza, where they are being held in tunnels beneath the ground.

• Hamas international spokesman told a journalist this week that they would repeat October 7th a hundred times until all of Israel is cleansed of the occupiers.

• Hamas has stolen billions of dollars that were intended for humanitarian relief and economic development and used it to build weapons and dig tunnels underneath densely populated areas to conduct military operations.

• The IDF has ordered civilians to move south to avoid getting caught in the crossfire of their operation in the north, giving several days for the people to be able to flee.

• Hamas is ordering the people to stay where they are to maximize the number of civilian casualties and increase pressure on Israel.

• Hamas is reportedly killing civilians who are fleeing south to enforce their order that the civilians remain.

It must be noted that every single one of Hamas’s actions are war crimes under every standard of International Law, and based on the knowledge we have now, none of Israel’s actions have violated International Law.3 Israel is facing an enemy that has absolutely no regard for human life, in fact, they are doing everything they can to maximize the number of civilian deaths, both Gazan and Israeli. A ceasefire right now would guarantee more civilian deaths in the future as Hamas leadership has told international reporters this week they will repeat massacres like October 7th again and again until Israel (and they mean every Jew in the land) is dead.

So, the Israeli military faces a series of terrible choices.

1. Cease Military Activity—accept the likely deaths of the 200+ hostages—perhaps permit Hamas to fire rockets indiscriminately at their civilians and hope Iron Dome intercepts them. Build defensive fortifications around the border wall and hope Hamas is not able to take any more hostages or kill, rape, and murder their citizens again.

2. Cease Airstrikes relying instead upon ground troops alone, creating a much slower war with all that that entails (shortage of basic goods, etc) and a far more dangerous war for Israel’s soldiers who would be attempting to take over heavily fortified positions filled with booby traps and ambush positions. Continue to attempt to rescue the hostages but recognize that they are likely going to be slaughtered by Hamas.

3. Proceed as they have been. Continuing targeted airstrikes but allowing a safe crossing corridor of passage out of the military targeted zones to limit the civilian casualties. Attempt to rescue the hostages but recognize that they are likely going to be slaughtered by Hamas.

4. Hold all of Gaza responsible for the actions of their government and carpet bomb Gaza indiscriminately, wiping out terrorists, hostages, and civilians alike and ending the security threat from Gaza once and for all.

All four choices are logistically and militarily possible for the Israeli government. A key differentiator between Israel and Hamas is that Hamas, given the chance, would undoubtedly pursue option 4—Israel has not and will not. The words “Genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” are often bandied about when speaking of the actions of the IDF—they are libel. Israel absolutely has the military capability to wipe Gaza from the face of the earth; it chooses not to use the full extent of its military might because of the value it has for human life, even the lives of civilians who hate them and who celebrated in the streets upon hearing about the massacres of October 7th. Choice 4 is utterly unthinkable and would never be taken by the Israeli government.

But, unlike most media outlets, we must not forget that Israel is not the only moral agent in the conflict. Hamas, too, has choices:

1. Continue to hide behind women and children and fight their suicidal Jihad against the Jews in the region. Release, kill, and hold the hostages at strategic times to garner international sympathy or to demoralize and destabilize Israel. Fight to the last and die as “martyrs” and hope that Allah is pleased with the rape and butchery of women and children.

2. Distinguish themselves and their military operations from the civilian population to limit the number of civilian casualties. Cease shooting rockets from schools, mosques, and hospitals. Dismantle their headquarters underneath the largest hospital in Gaza and relocate to a remote area that—if struck—would not result in the death of children. Try and trade the hostages for concessions in policy or in exchange for security or safe passage out of Gaza and to Qatar, where your leadership is currently living in luxury hotels.

3. Surrender themselves to Israel. Return the hostages and accept the consequences for their crimes. Israel does not have the death penalty, so their lives would likely be spared.

Hamas started this war, and they can end it at any time by surrendering and returning the hostages. Any moral consideration or advocacy for action must recognize the agency of all parties involved. Leading to our last group of moral agents. The civilian population of Gaza. They, too, face choices, albeit terrible ones:

1. Attempt to flee to the south and incur the wrath of Hamas in the south or on the road south where Israel has said it will not bomb at certain times to permit civilian escape.

2. Remain in place and risk getting caught in the military actions of Israel and Hamas.

3. Revolt en masse—hand over Hamas to Israel—free the hostages and sue for peace.

All three of these options risk death. There is no option for the citizens of Gaza that do not risk death. They are in a horrible situation and deserve our prayers, sympathy, and our government’s concerns. Exacerbating their problems is Egypt’s refusal to admit any Gazan refugees. It is a historically understandable move, considering the violent role Palestinian terrorists played in Jordan and the Lebanese Civil War, not to mention Hamas’s actions in the Arab Spring in the early 2010s. But all the historically understandable reasons in the world do not improve the circumstances of the true innocents stuck with terrible options.

These are the choices faced by the key groups. Any assessment of what ought to be done must recognize the agency to all parties involved. We also must remember that nonaction is a moral choice with consequences. Hamas wants the destruction of Israel. The security of civilians is the government's responsibility under every sane political theory of governance. Israel would be criminally negligent if it were to permit Hamas to rearm and launch further attacks on its people when they know for a fact that Hamas is intent on doing so. Israel did not ask for this war; it was forced upon it by a wicked group of sadists serving a demonic god who, according to them, desires Jewish blood. Hamas is the great barrier to lasting peace between the two peoples. There is no moral equivalency between these two groups of people.

Israel earns its reputation as a civilized democracy because of its restraint in the extreme circumstances of war. Therefore, it is right for us to ask questions of them when actions have occurred that are or seem outside of the moral law. We must keep asking questions; they keep civilized militaries honest and can legitimately save lives. But we also must recognize that the actions of wicked men sometimes leave the good with terrible choices. Pray that they make the best one.

Early History

As an Old Testament Professor, I must begin with a date I make my students memorize in the first unit of our Intro to the Old Testament class. That is, 586 B.C., in 586 B.C., the Babylonian empire destroyed Jerusalem and forced marched the Judahites (Jews) out of the Land of Israel and into Mesopotamia. This is the beginning of the Jewish diaspora.1 Around seventy years later, the Babylonian Empire fell to the Persian Empire. Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and Judea and rebuild the Temple and its walls. Crucially, not all Jews returned to Judea when Cyrus permitted them to; many stayed in communities in Mesopotamia (Modern-day Iraq and Syria). These communities endured for thousands of years until the advent of the modern state of Israel (more on that below).

The next great upheaval for the Jewish people was in A.D. 70 when the Roman Empire destroyed the Judean army, destroyed the Second Temple, and took thousands of slaves from Judea into Europe and North Africa.2 Despite the destruction of Jerusalem, many Jews remained in the Land of Israel, although many began to settle in Galilee, the Northern part of the Land. While Rome soundly beat the Judean army, it did not stamp out the Jewish desire for self-rule and religious fidelity. From 132-136 A.D., a second Jewish revolt occurred, known as the Bar-Kokhaba Revolt. The Jewish people erroneously believed that Bar-Kokhaba was the Messiah who would free the Jews from Roman slavery; they were led into another military disaster, one that enraged the Romans so much that Emperor Hadrian banned the Jewish people from living in Jerusalem and renamed the region Palestina (Philistine) as an insult to the Jews.

So, in the second century, the Jewish people were forced out of Jerusalem and Judea. Some stayed in the surrounding areas, while many others took refuge in the Jewish communities spread out in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. There is evidence that some communities of Jews moved back to Jerusalem during the Christian period of the Roman Empire (Byzantine), but they were banned from it several times.

Islamic Period (634 A.D-1917 A.D.)

We now come to the period of Islamic conquest and expansion. Before we can understand Israel’s significance to the Arab people, we need to cover a bit about Islam in general.

Muhammad was born around 570 A.D. in Mecca, a city in the Arabian Peninsula. He belonged to the Quraysh tribe, which was involved in merchant trade. At 40, Muhammad claimed to receive revelations while meditating in a cave on Mount Hira near Mecca. These purported revelations continued for 23 years and, around two centuries later, were compiled into the Quran.

Muhammad preached monotheism against the paganism of Arabic culture. He attracted followers but faced hostility from Meccan leaders threatened by his movement. This culminated in one of the defining moments in Islamic history, the Hijra. In 622 A.D., facing persecution, Muhammad and his followers descended from Mecca to Yathrib (later known as Medina) in an event known as the Hijra. This marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.

In Medina, Muhammad established an Islamic state, creating a constitution and building a community (ummah) that followed Islamic teachings. All the while building alliances and growing in military might. Eventually, they stormed back to Mecca, wiping out the armies of the polytheists, and seized control of Mecca in 630 A.D.

The early Muslim community engaged in several battles with Meccan forces. After a series of conflicts and negotiations, Muhammad and his followers took control of Mecca in 630 A.D., with most Meccan tribes converting to Islam. Communities of Christians and Jews were permitted to live as second-class citizens, while any pagan tribes were put to death.

Muhammad died in 632 A.D. However, before he died, he was purported to have a key vision to our story. The “Isra and Miraj” According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad was transported from the Great Mosque in Mecca to the "farthest mosque" (Arabic Al-Aqsa) by a creature called Buraq in the company of the archangel Gabriel. The location of the Al-Aqsa was later claimed to be in Jerusalem, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque was built around 685 A.D. on the Temple Mount, where the Second Temple was destroyed some 600 years earlier. According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad is said to have led other prophets in prayer at this site. For Muslims today, the Al-Aqsa is considered the third holiest site in Islam, behind Mecca and Medina.

After Muhammad's death, his successors, the Rashidun Caliphs, engaged in a project of rapid military expansion, bringing the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of the Byzantine and Persian empires under Islamic rule. The Islamic empires that followed—Umayyad and Abbasid—further expanded the territory controlled by Muslims and facilitated the spread of Islamic culture and the Arabic language.

Key to our story is 634 A.D., under the command of Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. The Arab forces seized control of the Land of Israel, taking it from the Byzantine Empire. Jerusalem was of particular importance to the Muslim invaders. After a prolonged siege, the city surrendered to the Arab forces in 637 A.D. The terms of surrender were negotiated by Patriarch Sophronius of Jerusalem and the Muslim general Umar ibn al-Khattab, resulting in the Pact of Umar, which guaranteed the safety of the city's Christian and Jewish inhabitants and the protection of their holy places.

The Arab Muslim rulers established their administration over the conquered territories, integrating them into the rapidly expanding Islamic empire. The new rulers treated Christians and Jews as second-class, imposing a submission fee known as the jizya. Still, they permitted Christians and Jews to practice their religions and live in relative peace.

Several Islamic Empires rose and fell during the 1300 years between 634 A.D. and 1917 A.D. Throughout these years, both Jews and Muslims were reported as living in the region. European Christians even established a brief Kingdom in the area during the Crusades. But, for our story, we will jump forward to the late 19th century and the decline of the Ottoman Turks, the last Muslim empire to rule all of the Land of Israel. The Turks ruled the Land of Israel from 1517 A.D. until the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War One in 1917 A.D. During this period, the Land of Israel fell broadly into disrepair. Numerous British Explorers commented in their journals on the relative depopulation and lack of productivity in the Land. Bedouin shepherds grazed their flocks, and there were small villages of Muslims, Christians, and Jews. But, outside of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Hebron, the Land was not densely populated.3

Zionism and the Fall of the Ottoman Empire (1880 A.D.-1917 A.D.)

It is here that we enter the modern streams of history which shape the situation we are presently in. Critical to understanding the forces that shaped the 19th century is understanding the rise of nationalism as a political movement. For centuries, Europe had been ruled by a network of aristocrats and monarchs whose territories crossed language, culture, and ethnicity. The Austrio-Hungarian Empire ruled by the Habsburgs from 1292-1917 included about twenty different ethnicities speaking at least seventeen different languages. Faced with the challenges of the Industrial Revolution, war, and famine, these Empires proved incapable of good governance in a rapidly modernizing world. A new model of governance began to gain significant currency among many in Europe. That a nation should consist of a people who share a language and culture. Rather than be ruled by the Austrio-Hungarian Habsburgs, Italian speakers wished to join with other Italian speakers and govern on the basis of a shared language and culture. A similar concept took root amongst the German people, leading to the idea of Germany.

In and among these European groups were Jewish people who had lived in the margins of European society for two millennia—enduring periods of great persecution and evil as well as periods of relative prosperity and peace. One man, Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), was born into this sea of ideas that a people who shared a culture and a homeland should govern a nation. After witnessing the intense and pervasive antisemitism in France in the Dryfuss Affair4, Herzl was committed to the idea that the Jewish people should be governed by a Jewish state in a Jewish homeland. His ideas captivated many Jews across Europe who organized and began advocating for support from the European governments to establish a Jewish state in the Jewish homeland called Palestine.5

Some, by choice, went beyond soliciting the governments of Europe—deciding to travel to Israel, purchase Land from the Ottoman Empire, and establish agricultural communities cultivating the Land cultivated by their ancestors that had fallen into disrepair over the intervening centuries. Others, in response to a series of Eastern European pogroms, were forced to migrate to the Holy Land. It is estimated that around twenty thousand Eastern European Jews migrated to Israel between 1882-1904; this was known as the First Allyah6. Further instability in the Russian Empire led to more pogroms, leading to a second Allyah (1904-1914). At this point, migration to the Holy Land halted with the outbreak of the First World War (1914-1917).

It must be noted that at this point, there was little to no objection to Jewish migration from the Arab population living in the land of Israel at the time. The Ottoman Empire accepted payment from the Jewish communities, and the Arabs of the region did not raise objections to the Jewish migration; this would change with the Balfour Declaration and the British control of the region that began at the close of the First World War.

The Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate (1917-1947)

Upon the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War, The British Empire took over the governance and control of the entire region: both modern-day Israel, Jordan, and the West Bank. In 1917, Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour issued a statment on behalf of the British Government supporting the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. The declaration did not specify the boundaries of Palestine and included provisions to protect the rights of non-Jewish communities in Palestine and the status of Jewish people elsewhere.

This declaration spurred on the Third Aliyah, where about forty thousand Jews migrated to the area, anticipating the establishment of a Jewish state. It is reasonable to hone in on this point as the start of the Arab-Israeli conflict. With the most powerful nation in the world seemingly behind the establishment of a Jewish state, the Arabs in the region violently pushed back. In March 1920 and April 1920, anti-Jewish riots occurred in Jerusalem and the Jewish settlements in Upper Galilee, respectively. Attacks continued in May 1921, with violence in Jaffa and large-scale assaults on other Jewish settlements. These events resulted in numerous casualties and sparked a small firestorm in the British Parlement.

For the next twenty years, tensions rose between Jews and Arabs in the region, and an Oregon Trail of sorts began. Both Arabs and Jews moved into the area, and violent clashes broke out from time to time. Britain, whose primary concern was the procuration of oil, began to reconsider their earlier promises made to the Jewish people. There was no oil in Israel or Jordan; for that matter, there were large quantities in other holdings, such as Saudi Arabia. For the British Empire to secure access to this most critical resource, they needed to appease the Arab leaders in the region. This began by imposing restrictions on Jewish immigration in the later 1920s and became a near absolute ban by 1939 when many Jews were desperately trying to escape the Nazi war machine and their attempt to wipe the Jewish people from the face of the earth. The British maintained this ban even after the extent of the Holocaust was discovered in 1945. The British denied 100,000 displaced Jews from across Europe who wished to join their brothers and sisters in the land of Israel. Being rather sick of the entire conflict, the British control of the region ended in 1948, leading to the next chapter in our story.

Sadly, I leave you on a cliffhanger. Next time, we will see the birth of the Jewish state, two Israeli-Arab wars, the Birth of the Palestinian identity, a few “Peace Processes,” the Arab terrorism that followed the “Peace “Processes, the Birth of Hamas, the withdrawal from Gaza, the Abraham Accords, and the menace of Iran. Oh, and the news of this week. So, I got my writing cut out for me; thanks for reading, and if you found this helpful, please share it!

Welcome to the first Friday Newsletter Update. The format will be as follows. A “Quick Hits” section where I will select the major stories from the week. A “Closer Look,” where I elaborate on each of the stories in “Quick Hits.” Later on, I will release other editions called “Digging Deeper,” where I go more in-depth on topics and give you a deeper understanding of history and context.

Quick Hits

• The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) invited dozens of journalists from international news outlets for a viewing of the footage taken by the terrorists of the atrocities committed on October 7th, where over 1400 Israeli civilians were murdered, raped, and mutilated. Reports said that there were many reporters deeply disturbed by the footage, including open weeping and gagging. You can read about this here and here.

• Two Hostages of the 224 taken by Hamas were released this week. Two women, aged 79 and 85, are back safe in Israel, though their husbands are still being held. They reported being beaten and force-marched across Gaza and through tunnels, although once they arrived in the underground prison, they were fed and treated with a modicum of decency. It should be stressed that both women's husbands are currently hostages so that reality shapes their comments.

• We are seeing shocking scenes of Antisemitism across the country. Genocidal slogans of “From the River to the Sea” and “Glory to the Martyrs” were projected on campus buildings at George Washington University. Jews were beaten or forced to hide by “Palestinean Supporters” here, here, and here. The Anti Defamation League, a left-wing Jewish organization harshly criticized by many American Jews for its anti-Israel posture, has reported a 400% rise in antisemitic crimes in the past three weeks.

• Rashida Talib, a sitting U.S. congresswoman, continues to put out Hamas propaganda on her social media feeds about the explosion near the Palestinian hospital despite her own party and president, insisting that it was a rocket fired from Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

• The leader of a Jewish synagogue was stabbed in front of her home in Michigan—an investigation is underway, and the killer’s identity and motives are still not known.

• Radical Settler Violence against Palestinians in the West Bank by non-IDF-sanctioned Jewish religious radicals is on the rise. The Israeli government in the past has checked these radicals with military action—but seems to be unable or unwilling to stop these attacks. Presumably, their focus is on Gaza in the South and Hezbollah in the North, but the defense of Palestinians under their occupation should be a top concern. Such violence could become a major issue for the IDF if the violence provokes an uprising in the West Bank. We’ll discuss more below.

• The past three days have seen an Israeli naval incursion into northern Gaza as well as two ground raid operations. The belief is that they are preparing for a larger ground invasion that appears imminent. Israeli government officials have publically stated that “a date has been set” for the ground invasion.

A Closer Look

IDF Screening of Atrocities

We began with the story of the IDF screening images and videos of the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas because it is essential to understanding this conflict. It is perfectly legitimate for questions to be asked of the IDF as to how they select their military targets and if they are doing enough to protect the civilians of Gaza during their military operation. But, it is essential to remember that Israel did not ask for this war; it was forced upon them by acts of unspeakable evil committed on innocent civilians, many of whom had spent much of their lives as peace activists advocating for the people of Gaza.

As we noted last week, American and International news consistently behave with a double standard towards the activity of the state of Israel. Holding Israel to standards they do not apply to any other regime in the world. The IDF is concerned that media outlets will default to the “both sides” pattern that has marked coverage for decades. The IDF’s message was clear at this screening: There is no moral equivalency between Hamas and Israel. When the IDF strikes Hamas, they seek to avoid civilian casualties often, going above and beyond the international laws of armed conflict. When Hamas attacks, civilians are the targets.

Frankly, that does not even state it properly. Jews are the targets. An audio call was recorded between a Hamas terrorist and his parents. Here is what he boasted of: “Father, I Killed 10 Jews! Check your WhatsApp! I sent you the photos! Father, I killed 10 Jews! I killed 10 Jews with my own hands. Check your WhatsApp. Father, be proud of me!” To which his father responded, “Allah be praised,” and “Allah protect you.” he then spoke with his mother and expressed a similar sentiment—you can listen to the horrible call here.

We hear much rhetoric in the West about “Decolonizing” and critique (some of it legitimate) of the Israeli occupation. But, these terrorists were not freedom fighters. The goal was not to “Kill the occupiers” or “Decolonize the Land.” It was not even “Kill Israelis”; the goal was to kill Jews—to kill as many Jews as possible. Those in America and around the world calling for a “ceasefire” are free to do so. But, they must recognize that they are calling on the Israeli government to permit a genocidal regime to operate with impunity on its borders.

Settler Violence and What to Make of it.

As stated in the quick hits section, radical settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank by non-IDF-sanctioned Jewish religious radicals is on the rise. I am currently working on a few “Explainers” that will hopefully give my readers a better sense of what is going on in the region, in particular, the history of how the borders got to where they are today and what the controversy about settlements and settlers, as well as how the people of Israel perceive them. But I will give you a briefer summary here.

(Image Courtesy of AFP)

The “West Bank” is the area in pink on the map above. It is governed by the Palestinian Authority who manages the day-to-day operations (Sanitation, Police, City Governance) of the West Bank. The West Bank does not have a military, nor does it have an international airport due to Israeli security concerns. But, in the day-to-day management, the Palestinians are supposed to be left to their own devices within the West Bank this has not been the case. Since 1967, there have been waves of settlers moving into the occupied West Bank for various reasons. You can read a Jewish source here and a neutral source here. I intend to discuss this further in an “Explainer,” but for now, you need to know that they are controversial within Israel, and they have done some really bad things throughout the years.

Perhaps the group responsible for most of the terrible things done by settlers is the hardline religious Israelis. They believe that God has given all of the land to the Jews, and thus, they must go and take it back as Joshua was commanded to by God in the Bible. This group, while a fringe group, has grown in popularity over recent years and even managed to get representation in the current Israeli government. These settlers have used this moment to attack their Palestinian neighbors, threatening them, destroying their property, and even killing them. It is imperative for Israel to stop these attacks and protect the civilians in the West Bank. First and foremost, because it is the right thing to do—but also pragmatically—they do not need to deal with an uprising in the West Bank that could very well be sparked by such violence from the extremist settlers.

I hope this has been a helpful newsletter—feel free to send it to whomever you think it may be useful to—I’d also love to know what questions you may have or things you want to be explained; it will help me know where to focus on the “Digging Deeper” editions.

The last few weeks have been harrowing to witness. Texting friends and fellow tour guides while they sit in bomb shelters bidding goodbye to their children who are suiting up to go to war. Seeing videos and images of the most barbaric atrocities imaginable done to innocent Israeli Jews and Arabs 200 of which were murdered at a music festival promoting peace. Seeing catastrophic destruction unleashed on the Gaza Strip attacking military targets that Hamas has deliberately hidden in civilian centers to maximize the death of their own people many of whom are peaceful people whose only crime is being born under a regime of wicked men.

Moreover, we have seen antisemitism raise its wicked head once again in our world. Thousands of “Pro-Palestinian” protests devolved into the celebration of the torture, rape, and murder of 1300 innocent people and taking around 200 hostages. Genocidal chants of “From the River to the Sea” rang out in major cities around the world including the United States, synagogues were destroyed in Berlin and Tunisia, a Jewish teacher was stabbed in the streets of France, and Jewish institutions around the world canceling school or employing armed guards to keep their families and communities safe. The American media has behaved with predictable unseriousness. The New York Times ran the headline “Israeli Airstrike hits Hospital killing 500, Palestinians Officials Say” when in fact the hospital still stands, about 50 people were tragically killed and the missile came from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, not Israel. This headline was picked up by international news outlets and led to riots throughout the world leading to the aforementioned synagogue destruction as well as attacks on US and Israeli embassies.

At the same time, the civilians of Gaza have suffered and will suffer tremendously over the coming months. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is gearing up for a ground invasion of Gaza to ensure Hamas is unable to carry out brutal terror attacks like those of October 7. Hamas has dug miles and miles of tunnels underneath civilian centers of Gaza in order to bury weapons and operate their genocidal war against Israel. Israel will be invading the Gaza Strip to destroy these military installations. To prepare for this ground invasion, Israel has conducted thousands of airstrikes against surface-level military installations in the Gaza Strip killing scores of Palestinian civilians in the process. This is a tragedy and demands our attention and prayers irrespective of the justifiable reasons for the military action. The people of Gaza are made in the image of God. They have lived under Hamas’s regime since 2007 and dealt with their bloodthirsty policies on a day-to-day basis interspersed with the indignities of a military occupation by the Israeli government and the intermittent loss of life and property in the military exchanges between Hamas and Israel. The people of Gaza have suffered tremendously and are suffering today. We cannot lose sight of this regardless of the outrageousness of the actions and intentions of Hamas.

What I will be offering with this newsletter is twofold. First, I will offer an analysis of the headlines of the week from a Christian perspective attempting to fairly evaluate what is happening in the conflict and how that news is affecting events around the world. Second, I will be doing a deeper dive into the history and complexity of the conflict and try and give you a sense of some of the deeper causalities shaping this present iteration of a much longer conflict. Over time, you will hopefully get a fuller picture of what is going on and why it is going on. I plan on releasing this newsletter every Friday with perhaps a quick hit to touch on a major story if it seems necessary. I will also release a few “Explainer” letters in the coming week to try and give you the necessary definitions and basic information about the conflict.

Hopefully, this newsletter will equip you to think through the relevant issues and speak and act in a way that is both just and compassionate. I will do my absolute best to tell you only the truth and interrogate my own assumptions as best as I can. But let me tell you a few of my prior assumptions so you know where I am coming from as I analyze events.

1. I think the State of Israel has a right to exist and defend itself from attack.

2. I think the Palestinian people have a right to dignity, safety, and self-determination. I hope for a 2 state solution where the Palestinian people can live in peace with Israel. I am not optimistic about its formation in my lifetime.

3. I think war is terrible but sometimes necessary—I also think that a just cause does not mean that all actions taken in war are just.

You’ll learn more about what I think if you stick with the newsletter. But these starting points will help you know where I am coming from in evaluating the conflict.

Father God, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  For the protection of the innocent and the destruction of the wicked.  We pray for discernment as we think through difficult issues.  We pray that you correct us when we are in error and never let us lose sight of the mercy you offer.  May it make us merciful. We pray this in Jesus name.  Amen

(Mount of Olives Overlook)

Our tour came to a close today, but not without being one of the most impactful days I've ever had in Israel. It began on the Mount of Olives, where we pointed out various features of the city and, more importantly, traced Jesus’s path into the city at the Triumphal Entry, the week leading to his death and resurrection. From here, we followed, somewhat, his path down the Mount of Olives and into a church known as “Dominus Flevit,” which means in Latin “The Lord Wept.” This church commemorates our Lord weeping over Jerusalem. It houses one of my favorite mosaics on its altar, symbolizing the Lord's compassion for the impending destruction.

(View from Dominus Flevet)

Continuing on, we walked to a garden on the Mount of Olives, where we shared communion together. We reflected on our Lord’s time in the garden, perhaps near where our group sang, sat, and shared. While it may not stand out in a newsletter, the quiet reflection before sharing in the Lord’s supper is likely one of the most impactful moments of the trip. We then moved to the church at the base of the Mount of Olives, which is surrounded by a 1000-year-old olive grove (not exaggerating). We sang the classic “I Walked in the Garden Alone” inside this beautiful church. It was quite something.

(Church of Gethsemane)

(Communion in/near Gethsemane)

We then proceeded to the Old City and the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. We learned about the ruins of the site and the pagan worship that took place there, shedding light on some intriguing words from Jesus in John 5. We then entered St. Anne's Cathedral, a Crusader-era cathedral with the best acoustics in the entire country. The acoustics require you to hold a rest as you sing, allowing the sound waves to carry. Naturally, Carissa was the one to lead us in "As the Mountains Surround Jerusalem," because I have no sense of musical timing whatsoever. It was deeply moving and quite impactful as about 40 people in the church burst into applause when we finished the song.

(Pool of Bethesda)

After this, we navigated our way through the city, arriving at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site of our Lord’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. This is the busiest church in the world, with millions of people visiting it each year. Our group went to the bottom level, in the old stone quarry, where we sang “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us.” We drew another crowd, but none of us cared. We were all weeping while singing about our Lord’s great sacrifice and love. I will never forget it.

(Singing in the Church of the Holy Sepluchre)

After a fantastic lunch courtesy of our wonderful bus driver, Eli, we visited the Israel Museum, home of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a massive model of 1st-century Jerusalem, and basically every cool find from all the archaeological digs we visited throughout the tour. It's a marvelous museum. Our time there helped put a lot of things into perspective.

(Model of 1st Century Jerusalem 1/50 scale)

We then returned to the Mount of Olives, this time on the other side overlooking the desert and the Dead Sea. We closed by reflecting on God’s promise in Ezekiel 47 that he would turn that arid land into a flourishing oasis. We discussed the name of our tours, "Echoing Eden," and how the church is to be the presence of God in a land desperate for Him, and how our lives should bring an echo of the home that everyone is searching for.

(Back side Mount of Olives)

It was a marvelous trip. There is much to reflect on as we head to bed before our journey home. I want to thank our bus driver, Eli, and our Israeli guide, Ariel, who were both truly fantastic. The trip wouldn't have happened without them. Tomorrow, we bid farewell to this wonderful land, grateful for the experiences God has granted us during our travels here.

(Western Wall Overlook)

Regardless, today is the penultimate day of our trip, and it's a big one. Jerusalem speaks for itself. We began our day with the Western Wall, the platform Herod built to support the massive expansions he made to the Second Temple. Before experiencing the devotion of the Jewish people at prayer, we considered the stonework on the temple platform. Every stone was dressed, even the ones underground - a good lesson for us all about doing our work unto God and not for it to be seen.

(Southern Steps)

(Not One Stone Left on Another…)

From there, we went to the Davidson Archaeological Park, where extensive excavations have been done uncovering the layers beneath the earth. We saw the stones that Rome threw down when destroying the Second Temple, as predicted by Jesus in the gospels. We also saw the southern steps, where Jesus likely taught and where Peter preached his famous sermon at Pentecost. The Spirit fell and 3000 were baptized. We reflected on the connection of Pentecost and the giving of the Torah, where Moses struck 3000 down for their disobedience.

(Hezekiah’s Tunnel Entrance)

Next, we visited the City of David, where excavations are uncovering parts of the palace complex for the Kings of Judah, as well as the surrounding houses probably reserved for important citizens. We discussed some of the amazing finds in the area, including multiple seals of individuals mentioned in scripture, like Hezekiah and perhaps Isaiah (though it's uncertain as it's a partial name on the seal). We discussed David’s sin in the palace complex against Bathsheba and Uriah, the boldness of Nathan the prophet, and the importance of David’s repentance. We then jumped forward several hundred years to Hezekiah’s incredible feat of creating a shaft to redirect the water source from outside the main city to inside, a marvel called "Hezekiah’s tunnel". We walked through this engineering wonder!

(Original Capital Herodium)

After that, we boarded our bus and headed to the Herodium, Herod’s largest palace and the place of his eventual tomb. We concluded his story and finished our discussion of greatness. We contrasted the temporary nature of Herod’s greatness with the enduring power of Christ and his Kingdom. We also reflected on the proximity of the Herodium to Bethlehem, the birthplace of our Lord, pondering the implications and reasons why God chose this moment in history to be born. This led us to the question, "Who is your King?". Herod in his palace? Or Jesus in his manger?

(The upper palace complex Herodium)

We ended our day in Bethlehem, at a shop owned by a Palestinian Christian family who specialize in selling olive wood carvings. What a wonderful family and shop! Now, we rest, preparing for our last day of the tour. God has blessed us so much, and we know there is much to look forward to tomorrow.

(Beth Shean a city of the Decapolace)

This day, more than any other presents a clear theme and a great challenge for everyone on this journey. We begin our day in Beth Shean, critical for controlling trade routes in northern Israel and eventually a magnificent city of the Decapolis. By far the grandest city we have seen on this trip. But, as we peel the history back a painful reality emerges; the beauty came at a price. Greco/Roman grandeur was built on the backs of slaves and exposed children. Brilliant architecture, genius engineering, genuine advancements in human flourishing through city design, cleanliness, and public goods, but tainted by slavery, greed, and pride. This tension is not an ancient one. The forms have changed, but Beth Shean's challenge is the same—what do the people of God do with a culture that is opposed to God's flourishing life? Do we retreat like the Essenes? Fight like the Zealots? Compromise like the Sadducees? More importantly, what would our savior have us do?

(Our Group Walking through the Ruins)

We asked that very question shortly after as we drove into Nazareth to Mt. Precipice, the place in Luke 4 where Jesus was almost stoned by his hometown. Besides being an excellent vantage point overlooking the Jezreel Valley, it’s even better to ponder Jesus’s response to the question of outsiders. In Luke 4 Jesus reads the Isaiah scroll (Isaiah 61). He tells his hometown that the year of God’s favor is here, blind seeing, lame walking, poor rejoicing but critically he stops before the paragraph begins; he does not read “The day of vengeance of our God”. Jesus then confronted his hometown with two messages from the Bible about God caring for outsiders. The message was clear—Jesus told them he was the Messiah and he was not coming to bring vengeance to their oppressors; he was there to rescue all of them from Satan.

(Mt Carmel overlooking an olive grove)

Continuing our theme, we carried on to Mt Carmel, where Elijah confronted the Prophets of Baal. We expanded the scope and told the whole story, the story of Elijah’s victory and Israel’s backslide. God showed up, he made himself known, and the people responded violently. Destroying the prophets of Baal. But, ultimately his zeal was fruitless. Israel was not turned back, and Elijah ran for his life. We read this story at this site and sang. It was powerful.

(Caesarea Harbor and Hippodrome)

We finished at Caesarea the Roman city Herod the Great built. It is an absolutely astonishing city and home to several stories in Acts. Peter and Cornelius, The death of Herod Antipas, and the trial of Paul. It is this last story that rounded off our day. You see Paul considered himself a Zealot. He was a man who persecuted the church of God. He followed the example of the Maccabes, Elijah, and Phineas. That was until Christ overwhelmed him on the Damascus Road. In Acts 26 we see Paul fully transformed, from the zealot prepared to kill Christians to a man so wrapped up in Christ’s love that he wants his Roman captors and the leaders/oppressors of his people to find forgiveness and new life in Christ. Paul discovered true power in Jesus a power far greater than the sword. The power that is available to all who call on Jesus's name even today.

(Pointing out the “Road to Damascus”)

Fun is not the word I would describe to speak of the rest of our day. Interesting, sure, memorable absolutely, but it is hard to describe the day as fun when we are going into sites filled with spiritual and physical warfare. We arrived at Mount Bental; in the shadow of Mt Hermon, Bental overlooks the “Valley of Tears,” the valley where many died in the Yom Kippur War. We learned of this conflict as well as of an ancient road down by the base of Hermon. A road where a certain Saul of Tarsus encountered a spiritual battle of his own (and was blessedly defeated.)

(Stone from Ancient Pagan Temple)

Our path took us closer to the base of Mt Hermon where the waters burst forth from the mountain feeding the Jordan River. A site where there has been pagan worship just about as long as humans have settled in the area. The site is called Banias, or in the New Testament, “Cesarea Philippi”. Home of multiple pagan temples, primarily the temple of Pan, where Banias draws its name. We saw the infamous “Gates of Hades,” where Peter declared Jesus the Christ; we discussed the significance of the place to the proclamation and dwelt on Jesus’s powerful words and their enduring impact today. After a quick stop at a beautiful waterfall, we headed to our final stop Tel Dan.

(Our group overlooking the altar at Tel Dan—home of Jeroboam’s golden calf)

Dan is a marvelous place. Like Banias, it is also at the base of Mt Hermon, the headwaters of the Jordan River, making it luscious, beautiful, and quite cool compared to the rest of the region. In contrast with the climate and biome are the biblical stories that occurred at this site. Dan rejecting their inheritance in the south, attacking a peaceful people group, and blatantly practicing idolatry (Judges 18-19) is awful. Jeroboam leading Israel astray is no better. We were met again and again with the darkness in the world and the terrible decisions made by the people of God.

(Ancient Olive Tree at Tel Dan)

Thankfully, we have a savior who entered into this darkness, who did not shy away from the pagan places, who was not overcome by evil, nor did he hate those who were ensnared by sin. He set them free through his work on the cross, inviting us to take up our crosses as well. To go into the dark spaces of the world, knowing that he has gone before us. Tomorrow we go up to Jerusalem! Bedtime for now.

(Video of the Ancient House in Katzrin)

(North Shore Sea of Galilee from Mount Arbel)

We greeted this morning in a special way, reading the Sermon on the Mount on the Mount of Beatitudes. Seeing the sights smelling the smells, and hearing the sounds (party boat excluded) that many experienced during Jesus’s teaching was a special way to begin a special day. Our day continued at Mount Arbel where we gained the best vantage point of the villages of the Sea of Galilee in the world. We opened our Bibles to Matthew 14-17 and allowed the geography before our eyes to help unpack a challenging bit of text!

(Mosaic floor 1st Century Synagogue in Magdala (A floor Jesus likely walked on))

Our day continued at the fairly recently excavated city of Magdala. Home of Jesus’s disciple Mary, Magdala was a fishing village on the busiest trade route in the land of Israel. It is home to many stories and one of the oldest synagogues in the region—a true 1st-century find. Considering Jesus and his disciples taught in the synagogues around Galilee, it stands to reason this was one of those synagogues. We finished our time in Magdala wish a special time of singing in the Church dedicated to the women of the Bible.

Our trip carried us to Chorazin. Where we saw an ancient insula—a courtyard and house complex where extended families would live. It gave us a great space to discuss Luke 15 and the parable of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Lost Sons. After a delightful lunch, we toured the synagogue before heading down to Capernaum to see the city of Jesus.

(Synagogue stonework at Chorazin)

(Synagogue at Capernaum)

At Capernaum, we saw the magnificent synagogue and expertly crafted city. We saw the stone factory and, most famously, the likely location of the house of Peter. While the heat kept us from staying there too terribly long, it was still a marvelous place to get to walk around.

Our touring day wrapped up with visiting the 2000-year-old boat found in the Sea of Galilee. An amazing discovery and a wonderful piece of history, allowing us to imagine the stories of the gospel all the better. We took a boat ride ourselves (on a bit newer boat) and made our way back to the hotel, where we shared communion and sang together on the shore of the Sea.

Tomorrow we head North where we know God has something special in store for us!

(An Ibex at Ein Gedi)

If there were one uniting theme for the day, it would be water. We began our day at Ein Gedi (Spring of the Goat/ibex in Hebrew)—the freshwater spring bursting from the Judean mountains, creating a literal oasis in the desert. We saw trees planted by streams of water, Ibex foot along the rock, and saw the power that water has on a sun-scorched land. We turned our attention to John 7 and Jesus at the festival of Sukkot (Booths in English). We saw Jesus’s great declaration that HE IS LIVING WATER (the text tells us he shouted), and all who are thirsty should come to him. Not just for themselves, but streams of living water will burst forth from them, watering others. We told a few more lessons and, of course, sang the Psalms at the waterfall.

(Cave 4 at Qumran, where 50% of the scrolls were found)

Our next stop was Qumran. Home to two things: a weird group of guys called the Essenes and the most important find in archeological history—the Dead Sea Scrolls. We saw how the Essenes lived, talked about possible biblical connections with both Jesus and John the Baptist, and discussed the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls, how they give us insight into the time of Jesus and confidence that God has indeed preserved his word for us.

(Cooling off in the Jordan)

After lunch at Ein Eglialam (read about it in Ezekiel 47), We headed to the Jordan River, where we discussed three “handoff” stories that happened in that region. Moses handed authority to Joshua, Elijah to Elisha, and John the Baptist to Jesus. We saw a cool connection in the names and locations and took in the significance of the space. We also jumped in the river and cooled off.

(Road Sign in Jericho)

Our last site of the day was Jericho—where we saw the Ascent of Adumim or, as we know it, the road to Jericho from Jerusalem. Famous for the parable of the good Samaritan. We took in the site and pondered the story’s significance as we made our way to our hotel by the sea of Galilee.

(Sunset over the Sea of Galilee)

Here at our hotel, we watched the sun set over Mount Arbel, and many of us took a dip in the water to cap off another great day. Tomorrow awaits, where we jump into the first century and the life of Jesus.

(Masada from the back side)

(Northern Palace at Masada)

Masada! a stunning fortification perched on a rocky plateau in the Judean desert. Central to the captivating tale of Eliazar Ben Yair, the Zealots, and Herod the Great. Masada gave us a chance to discuss the fascinating characters that shaped Judea’s history in the first century. Herod and his architectural achievements—singular in their grandeur and vision but coming at a terrible cost. Paid in blood by his family and people. The Zealots and Eliazar Ben Yair—dedicated to God and country, willing to die and kill for freedom to worship God and direct their lives. Rome and her sons. Ruling all in the world save themselves. Criminally mismanaging the Jewish people leading them right into the hands of the hardliners.

(Bedouin Hospitality Tent)

Leaving the somber lessons of Masada behind, our journey shifted from tales of battles and sieges to a different, stronger sort of power - hospitality. We were welcomed into a Bedouin tent, experiencing the culture of a people renowned for their generous hospitality. The aroma of fresh bread filled our noses as we explored the theme of Hospitality in scripture. Instances from Abraham's welcome of the strangers to Jesus eating his way through Galilee. All sparking insightful conversations about the importance of radical hospitality for the mission of God.

(Outer Courtyard Canaanite “Bet Av” Tel Arad)

(“Canaanite House” Tel Arad)

Our next stop was Tel Arad, a two-section site. where we stepped back in time and learned about the Bet Av in an ancient Canaanite house. We delved into the nuances of Ancient Near Eastern culture, noting the stark differences from our own. Coming to understand how Ancient Near Eastern society was organized and who was most vulnerable. We especially noted God's special care for those on the edges of society, demonstrating the specific provisions for those in need.

(Judahite era Fortress Tel Arad)

We ended our day at the fortress of Tel Arad, home to the only known Judahite temple outside of the wreckage of Jerusalem. Amidst the ancient temple, we explored the theme of the presence of God. Seeing it as a key to understanding the story of scripture and the people of God.

Tomorrow we head North, finishing in the Galilee. But for now—we enjoy rest. Shabat Shalom!