This War Affects Us All

WHAT YOUR REACTION TO THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR REVEALS

When news of the Hamas attack on Israel went out on October 7, 2023, shockwaves were felt around the world. So many people all at once were faced with dizzying degrees of reaction, ranging from a simple shrug of the shoulders, to more cynical, and even violent.

It’s true there are no easy or pleasant answers. Hamas militants attacked Israel and brutally killed 1,200 innocent civilians and captured hundreds of hostages, including old women and young children. Israel responded by targeting Hamas operations embedded deep in Gaza City, and the ensuing war has already been too long and too bloody. As of this writing, over 21,000 Palestinians civilians have been killed in the crossfire.¹ Whole neighborhoods have been leveled. Countless lives have been altered forever.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine is ancient. God declared way back in chapter 17 of Genesis that He would give to Abraham and his offspring, “The land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.”² Canaan was in what today encompasses modern day Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Because of the conflict between Abraham’s future offspring, this land has been in dispute ever since.

When the international community moved to establish a “national home” for Jewish people in the area, tensions inevitably arose. As Jews flocked to Israel during the 1920’s to 1940’s, many fleeing persecutions arising in Europe from the Nazi Holocaust and World War II, resident Palestinian Arabs saw them as an occupying force because they viewed the land as their ancestral home too.³ When conflict over this region boiled over once again in 2023, seeing its shocking headlines was wearying to not only civilians, but it also severely tested the attention span of world leaders already struggling to keep up with the demands of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian War.

“For those living outside of the warzone, it’s easy to have a false sense of security, which leads us to think that we have the luxury to not care.”

It is natural to experience fatigue from watching world events, and along with it its punk little sister: worry. What if this is just how the world is now? There is so much bad news out there, after all, that turning a blind eye to it seems reasonable. For those living outside of the warzone, it’s easy to have a false sense of security though, which leads us to think that we have the luxury to not care. Succumbing to apathy looks like taking everything you have not only for granted but also believing that what you have is a human right and what you don’t have is a violation of that.

Or we’re becoming enraged. In London this past fall, 300,000 people marched on Armistice Day calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. The chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” was heard, which means a call for the destruction of Israel.⁴ Across college campuses, the mood is tense among students linked to the war who are enduring rising antisemitism and threats if they are from the region or of Jewish heritage. A report revealed that they are struggling with sadness, fear, and anger.⁵

In today’s digital landscape, hate is now viral. According to Mark Penn, CEO of Stagwell and chairman of The Harris Poll, “The Israel-Hamas war is not an issue split by party, but by age and media consumption.” A New York Times/Siena College poll has found that 43% of TikTok users get all their news from that social media platform. If the only news input you’re getting is from TikTok, you will inevitably fall victim to the influence of viral reels that fail to give the full picture, and worse, promote hate-filled perspectives on an evolving, multi-faceted situation in the Middle East.

But let’s not be like so much of the world. Instead of leaning into the emotive news hits generated on social media or piecemealed through conversations with family members and friends, figure out the real news. There’s no such thing as a completely neutral news source, but you can reside above the fray by learning the facts and not going solely by what someone else convinced you to believe.

While staying informed about the world may seem like a burden, the alternative is worse. We’re living in really trying times, but as Christians we’re called to stand out, and that starts with not hiding under a rock, and not going with whatever seems right. We’re called to use our brains and take a stand for what is right. So, when it comes to this latest war, what can you do about it? Obviously, you can’t affect anything directly, but you can be a truth-seeker. You can pray. You can be wise when you enter conversations with others.

Our motivation simply cannot stem from how the world is doing, and no, it’s not going very well. Our motivation must come from outside this world. God is not surprised by any of this, so let’s not be surprised. Let’s be informed about the world while we work to make a difference in the capacity He is calling you to. It’s quite peaceful there.

1 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67039975
2 Genesis 17:8
3 bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44124396
4 timesofisrael.com/many-thousands-march-against-israel-in-london-on-armistice-day-demand-gaza-ceasefire/
5 christianitytoday.com/news/2023/november/israel-hamas-antisemitism-college-campus-ministry.html