Statement on the Recent Warfare in Israel

I wrote this statement for my church since so many were asking questions about how we should respond to the current situation in the Middle East.

In response to the many questions regarding the latest upsurge of violence between Israel, Gaza and Lebanon, we the elders of Community Bible Fellowship urge the reader to consider our response to the many questions concerning the Scriptural view of war. We further state:

We stand with Israel during its time of trouble. We sympathize with all who have suffered because of the aggression of a militant minority in Lebanon and Gaza. We wish to express our concern for the thousands who have found themselves homeless, the families that have been separated from their loved ones, and the many businesses that have suffered great loss as a result of this tragic conflict. We continue to pray for all – perpetrators as well as victims. We join Israel in our regret for the loss of civilian life on all sides, and petition Hamas and Hezbollah to consider the damage being caused to their own countrymen by their recklessness.

We believe the recent escalation of violence was largely caused by the actions of Hamas and Hezbollah within Israel’s borders. These two groups killed Israeli soldiers and civilians and then continued with the kidnapping of three more Israeli soldiers. They then escalated the violence by perpetrating brutal rocket attacks on the towns of Ashkelon, Haifa, Tiberius and Safed.

These kinds of attacks cannot be tolerated by any sovereign nation. Israel has for years demonstrated an exemplary patience and tolerance, but to allow such acts to be perpetrated on their citizens would be to invite a decent into chaos.

We believe the escalation further reveals that both Hamas and Hezbollah are being supplied and financed by others who should also be dealt with. However, we understand that both terrorist groups hold political positions within their own countries. In our opinion, it is both the prerogative and responsibility of every legitimate government to control the military and para-military forces within its own borders. While we believe that Syria and Iran are encouraging these brutal acts, we hold that the Lebanese and Palestinian governments should be held accountable for the military actions launched from within their territories.

Many have claimed that Israel’s response is not appropriate to the acts of their aggressors. We ask what else they should do? Protest? They have done so for years. Do nothing? To do so would be to invite their demise. Go to the UN? The UN has clearly demonstrated its uselessness as a governing body by not upholding the resolutions it has already formulated.

Israel has not only a right but an obligation to do all it can to protect its borders, to provide for the safety of its citizens, and to demand the repatriation of its captured soldiers. While we regret the necessity, we fully understand the need and support Israel’s continued military action until they are no longer threatened by these barbaric acts.

We call upon the Palestinian Authority to disarm Hamas militants, to prevent further attacks on Israel from its territories, and to fulfill all their legal responsibilities and commitments including: the recognition of the State of Israel, the commitment to the Road Map and the denouncement and cessation of acts of terror.

We also call upon the government of Lebanon to disarm the Hezbollah militants in their midst and to eliminate this violent extremist element from its borders.

We call on our government to support the people of Israel in their demand for the return of the kidnapped soldiers and the cessation of acts of aggression against Israel; to express its support of and concern for the State of Israel and its people spiritually, emotionally, and materially; to both advocate and pray for a lasting and just peace for all peoples of this embattled region.

We ask that all sides also pursue all possible diplomatic channels to bring about a cessation of military hostilities as soon as practicable.

We stand with Israel and its people in this time of crisis and pray that the Author of Peace will soon send peace and healing to His chosen land.