Shalom all,
Israel Update – Day 32 of the War.
It’s been a full month since the Hamas massacre that was perpetrated on Black Saturday, a day that will be etched in the memories of Israelis and, perhaps, others  around the world. 

Writing for The Times of Israel, Amir Ben-David stated, in part <https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-israel-we-knew-died-on-october-7-the-new-nation-will-be-scarred-for-generations/>: 

“A month ago, our world turned upside down. A month ago, the Israel that we had lived in until October 7 died. A month ago today, a new Israel was born.

“What it will come to look like is something we cannot imagine yet. But of one thing there is no doubt: the trauma of the Black Shabbat will leave the deepest of scars in the soul of this new nation. For decades, it will shape Israel’s character, its politics, the relations between its people, between its people and its enemies, between its people and the antisemites and Israel-hating Nazis around the world.”

The atrocities committed by Hamas have been documented and videos have been screened before particular audiences. Israel is still reeling from the shock, as family, friends, co-workers and even tourists have been killed, most of them brutally. One month has passed, a traditional time for mourning after a death, when the gravestone of the deceased is revealed. But, there are still dozens of corpses that have not been identified. In addition to those killed, thousands were wounded, many of whom later died as a result of their wounds. And, there are still 240 men, women and children, of all ages ranging from 10 months to those in their 80’s, as well as members of the IDF, who are being held hostage by Hamas. 

Cities and settlements throughout Israel dedicated this day, 7th November, 2023, as a day to pause and to stand in silence, or join in prayer, for the hostages. Posters of the photos, names and ages of the hostages are everywhere, not only in Israel, but in other places around the world. One community in Haifa (where we live) tied 240 chairs in a row on a long block with a photo and identification on each chair. On one of the sidewalks in Haifa, in Carmel Center, photos of the hostages were placed in front of a cultural center, with a pair of shoes next to each photo. This is reminiscent of the 60 pairs of shoes that mark the site in Budapest, Hungary, where fascist Arrow Cross militiamen shot Jews and threw their bodies into the river in 1944 and 1945l <https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/shoes-danube-bank-memorial-0#>. Attached are just a small group of photos of some of the hostages that were taken by Hamas:

But, there are antisemites and Israel haters who are offended that photos of the young children taken hostage are being posted in various locations throughout the world. In an excellent article appearing in Front Page Magazine, Daniel Greenfield points out, among other things: “The Students for Justice in Palestine chapter [in Drew University] finds it “triggering” to actually see posters of its victims and complains that they “delegitimize” Hamas. It’s traumatic for Hamas supporters to see their terrorist organization cast in a bad light for kidnapping kids.” <https://www.frontpagemag.com/posters-of-kidnapped-israeli-kids-are-traumatizing-hamas-supporters/> It is amazing how Israel haters turn everything upside down and make Israel the aggressor and Hamas terrorists as victims. I don’t want to take up space here to quote some of the arguments made to justify Islamic terrorism. I would strongly urge you to read Greenfield’s article. He cogently states: “What the story of the posters reveals is that any resistance to Islamic terrorism is unacceptable. A poster of kidnapped Israeli hostages is as bad as an Israeli air strike taking out a Hamas terrorist. To justify Hamas atrocities, their supporters, like Students for Justice in Palestine, must dehumanize Israelis as monsters, occupiers, soldiers and settlers, and any depiction of them as human, let alone images of kidnapped elderly women and children, must be suppressed.”

In televised messages to the nation this evening, the Minister of Defense, Yoav Galant, and Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, made the following key points: First, there will not be any “humanitarian pause” in the fighting without the return of the hostages. Second, Gaza will cease being a threat to Israel. Third, residents of Gaza City are listening to the instructions of the IDF and are heading south, to get out of harm’s way, some waving white flags. They are actually being protected by the IDF, which has provided a humanitarian corridor for the residents both yesterday, as well as today. You can read more here: <https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hjanhj007t#autoplay>.

A full month has passed since the slaughter that took place on 7th October, 2023. Our nation continues in agony over the dead, the wounded and the captives. Personal stories fill the public news channels and the social media that break the heart and numb the mind. Tears continue to flow throughout a nation that is trying to grasp the unfathomable. Shock turns to anguish over the fate of the hostages, now being held by Hamas for a month, and anguish turns to anger over the failure of the international community to push for the return of our hostages. Anger turns to disgust of, and disillusionment with, so-called “democratic governments” and “humanitarian organizations” throughout the world, who are more concerned with the plight of the people in Gaza – most of whom are aligned ideologically with Hamas – than they are about the release of the hostages. A month of military action and penetration deep into the heart of the Gaza Strip has so far failed to end the rocket attacks in the south and middle of Israel. The Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon continues to flex its muscles and slowly, but steadily, increases its cross-border attacks upon locations in the north. A quarter of a million Israelis have been displaced from their homes, making them refugees within our own country – a fact that severely affects the economies of local communities and the ability to make ends meet. Still, in the midst of all of that, Aliyah (immigration to Israel) is expected to grow considerably in the coming year. “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Genesis 28:15 – emphasis mine) 

Dr. Seth D. Postell, is a Messianic Jew. He is a former Assistant Professor of Old Testament at the Charles L. Feinberg Center for Messianic Jewish Studies (in partnership with Talbot School of Theology), and is currently a Lecturer in Biblical Studies at the Israel College of the Bible in Netanya, Israel. He gave me permission to quote from his Daily Devotion for today, in which he states, in part:

“You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not follow the masses in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice; nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his dispute” (Exod 23:1-3). 
“I find these ancient few verses uncannily relevant to recent events in our modern world. The word for “malicious” in Hebrew is “hamas” (v. 1). God urges his people not to buy into unsubstantiated accusations against the innocent, lest we unwittingly become “witnesses of hamas.” God urges us not to be swept into a mass frenzy of a morally confused mob, lest we “pervert justice” (v. 2). Finally, God urges us to not to automatically assume that a poor person is always the victim of oppression and injustice in every dispute (v. 3).
“This divided world of mutually exclusive ideologies has finally found one ideology they can all agree on: “Death to Israel!” But lest we too quickly point an accusing finger at the mass delusion of Ivy League “intellectuals” and the Islamists from Istanbul, let us consider how easily we are also persuaded by the twisted morals of this world when we spend most of our time in front of the television or surfing the internet. Media does not INFORM our understanding of the world; it FORMS our understanding of the world, ultimately impairing our ability to distinguish right from wrong. As believers, we must refuse to be conformed to the mob morality of this fallen world by actively meditating on the truth of his word (see Rom 12:2). ‘Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path’ (Ps 119:105).” Thank you, Seth. 

Please remember the IDF, the hostages and the families, who grieve over the loss of their loved ones and anguish over the lack of information regarding their relatives and friends who are still held as hostages by Hamas.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin