From the River to the Sea

According to a recent poll 75% of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank agreed with Hamas and the October 7th, 2023, terrorist attack on the people of Israel. (i). In the aftermath of this attack the people of Gaza now find themselves suffering. As always they will find vocal support from the many Palestinian sympathizers from around the world who are always ready to use their access to various public platforms to bemoan the plight of the Palestinians. When one listens carefully however, to the seductive rhetoric that comes out of the mouths of many of these sympathizers, it becomes readily apparent that most of this sympathy is a pseudo sympathy. It is a cover for antisemitism and a hatred of the Jews. Convincing people who hate, not to hate is a waste of time. One cannot deal rationally with irrational people. But rational thought demands that sympathy, a legitimate emotion, should be governed by reality.

The reality is that since 2006, Hamas has built hundreds of elaborate tunnels, exiting only into Israel, under schools and hospitals and private residential homes. Many were up to 30’ deep and solidified with concrete. These tunnels had electricity and sophisticated air conditioning systems and they were stocked with all sorts of advanced weapons like 7,000 rockets, 300 anti tank missiles and 100 anti-aircraft missiles ( ii ). Reality demands an answer to the question of how did Hamas remove all of that rock and dirt from under hospitals and schools and private homes, and then bring in rebar and concrete, reinforce the tunnels, tap into the electrical power grid, install electricity, install lights and air circulation systems, bring in thousand of sophisticated weapons and stock them in said tunnels without the general population of Gaza knowing what was going on. The answer, of course, is that the administrators and staff in various hospitals, and the teachers and school administrators in numerous schools, and the neighbors in residential neighbors, and the general population knew exactly what was going on and, more importantly, by their silence they approved of it.

In addition to all of this tunnel infrastructure and military hardware, Hamas had a 30,000 man army, including 400 naval commandos ( ii ). The reality is that none of this was for defensive purposes. Gaza was never and would never be threatened by Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, or Jordan or any other middle eastern country. Israel was not a threat for invasion. Israel was the target for invasion. The fact is that the buildup of a Hamas military infrastructure was for offensive purposes and the target was Israel and the Jews.

Then there were the billions and billions of dollars, and other tangible types of aid sent over so many years, much of which was intended to help the people of Gaza build a responsible government with a sustainable economy. This financial assistance came, in some instances, from well intentioned countries and individuals who had no animosity towards Israel and the Jews. The historic reality is that in 2006 – 2007 Hamas booted the PLO to the curb and the Palestine people elected Hamas. The people of Gaza went from the frying pan into the fire as the saying goes. Subsequently the Hamas leadership used much of this foreign aid for their own self enrichment and for the building up of a military infrastructure. The Palestinian people of Gaza suffered then and they suffer now because of their support for this terrorist organization. 76% right? This is the reality.

The real reason, however, for the suffering of the Palestine people, and one that few will ever acknowledge, is that hostility to the God of Israel will assuredly have consequences, and they are never good. This is God’s land and the Jews are God’s people. Almost 3,000 years ago God made a covenant with Abraham. It was a land covenant, for a large portion of land, and it was for the future nation of the Jewish people. This land covenant was for significantly more land than Israel currently occupies. It was for “…all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession …” (Genesis 17:8). The land of Canaan 3,000 years ago, when the covenant was made, encompassed what is today Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, and the southern portions of Syria and Lebanon, a huge territory, basically from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates river. To coin a much used phrase, “from the river to the sea”.

So when the Islamists and the antisemites, say “from the river to the sea”, which for them is a reference to the complete removal of the Jews from the land of Israel, ironically they are speaking about the land that God gave to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac. They seem determined to learn the hard way that God’s land covenant with the Jewish people is irrevocable. That is the reality! May God bless the nation of Israel and the Jewish people (Genesis 12:3).

( i ) Jerusalem Post ( ii ) The Times of Israel