My Latest Thoughts on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

In this post, I’ll try to persuade you to adopt the conservative, pro-Israeli position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  This post will be more persuasive if you believe in the Bible.  If you don't, this post might still be a little persuasive.  

The Jews took the land of Canaan from the Canaanites and Philistines, as recorded in the Book of Joshua.  The methods the Jews used to take over the land were extremely harsh. The Old Testament God didn’t really favor diplomatic efforts, to put it mildly.  God told them to kill all the Canaanites who didn’t run away, and to destroy their idol gods and to erase their depraved culture.  Did the Jews do the right thing when they took over the land of Canaan?  I believe they did.  

Legally speaking, the ancient House of Israel had no “right” to the promised land.  They didn’t buy the land.  Their ancestors didn’t live on the land.  The only justification for them taking the land from the Canaanites was that one of their great great great great great grandfathers, Abraham, claimed he received a revelation in which God told him that his posterity would inherit the land of Jerusalem.  

And so, one could argue that the Canaanites deserved the land.  They had lived there for generations.  I’m sure they had a legal system and a government that ensured that they rightfully possessed the land.

But… whose side are you on?   The ancient Jews, or the Canaanites?  I’m on the side of the ancient Jews.  They were the chosen people, specially favored by God.  Now, the multiculturalists among you would say, “Well… all the cultures are pretty good, in their own special way.  There really are no chosen people.”  But I would argue that multiculturalism is really just a practical application of moral relativism.  And I would argue that there really are “chosen people” from time to time, and that the ancient house of Israel were the “chosen people.”  If you believe in the Bible, then I think this is the position you have to adopt.  Deuteronomy 7:6: “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.”  

What advantages did the Jews have over the Gentiles who have always surrounded them?  Paul answers this question in Romans 3: 1 - 2: “What advantage then hath the Jew?  Or what profit is there of circumcision?  Much every way: chiefly, because unto them were committed the oracles of God.” In other words, the Jews had the prophets.  The Jews had the revelations.  That’s what’s so great about being a Jew.  Sure, God communicated, or tried to communicate, with Canaanites occasionally.  His lovingkindness and mercy is always extended to every person on the planet, regardless of culture, religion, etc.  But the Canaanites were just too hard-hearted.  Their culture was too depraved.  In the communities of the Canaanites, God didn’t have very much human material to work with.  He just couldn’t raise up a prophet or a true religion among the Canaanites, because the Canaanites were too busy sinning.

And so, in the grand scheme of things, from a celestial point of view, the ancient Jews did have a right to the promised land.  

Now, let’s fast forward to the fighting between the modern day Israeli military and Hamas.  Sure, you could argue that the Arabs have a right to the land because more of their ancestors lived there.  Sure, you could argue that the way in which the nation of Israel was created was unjust.  But then, by these same arguments, the Canaanites had a right to the land of Canaan.

(By the way, you could also argue that the way the USA was founded was unjust or illegal.  And in fact, it was illegal.  The colonialists had no “right” to rebel against the British crown and form their own nation.  They also had no “right” to displace the Native Americans.  And yet… aren’t you glad that the Founding Fathers broke the law and fought the Revolutionary War?  Aren’t you proud to be an American?)

I think more important questions than, “Who has a legal right to the land of modern-day nation of Israel?” are, “What culture would do better things with the land: the Israelis or the Palestinians?”  and, “What culture affords a higher amount of basic human rights, democracy, peace, freedom, and prosperity: the culture of the Israelis or the culture of the Palestinians?”   

And maybe an even more important question is, “Who does God want running things in the land of Israel?  The Israelis, or the Palestinians?”  (Oh, and by the way, when I say Palestinians, I actually mean Hamas.  Hamas is calling the shots among the Palestinian people right now.  And, just so we’re all on the same page, Hamas is a bloodthirsty, depraved gang of terrorists.  They use Palestinian children as human shields.  They target Israeli civilians.)

This may sound crazy, but, in the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, I do believe that God is with the Israelis.  Here’s an interesting article about how a lot of Jews believe that God is on their side of the war.  Israeli military personnel even claim that the hand of God has thwarted some of Hamas’ rocket attacks. 

Of course, Hamas also believes that God is on their side.  But they can’t both be right, can they?  God can’t be supporting both sides, can He?  No.  One side of the conflict must be mistaken, and I think that Hamas is mistaken.  God is supporting the Israelis.