Shalom all,

“It is now evident that the tactical victory that Hamas achieved on Oct. 7 with all its scenes of unimaginable horror has become a leading driver of its strategic defeat, by compelling the Israeli government to persist in spite of the atrocious plight of the hostages, by motivating IDF troops to fight until its destruction, and by forfeiting much potential support even from within the Arab world, allowing all Arab governments that had them to maintain diplomatic relations with Israel. That feckless American college students sing its praises will not avert the well-deserved fate that awaits Hamas, and without the heavy casualties that some feared while others gleefully anticipated.”

It is a bit too early to sing the praises of “total victory”, but there is certainly cause for optimism.  Hamas militants have surrendered in different locations during the course of the war. Two days ago, one of the commanders of a Hamas elite Nukhba unit, along with two other Hamas fighters, refused to open fire on advancing Israeli forces, despite being sufficiently armed with weapons. “We sat in the room [inside a tunnel in Khan Younis – my insertion], we placed all the weapons outside…We sat and we waited. When the [Israeli] army arrived, we put up our hands and surrendered.” When asked by Israel’s Shin Bet (Security Service) intelligence officers if he had any advice for other Hamas terrorists, the unit commander said, “I recommend to everyone to surrender, because your destiny otherwise is to die.” A portion of the interview can also be seen here.

The New York Post yesterday (February 9th), published an eye-opening editorial, entitled: “Joe Biden throws Israel under the bus in a sad ploy to win on Election Day”. Biden verbally accused Israel, that our “response in the Gaza Strip has been over the top” and added, “I’m pushing very hard to deal with this hostage cease-fire. There are a lot of innocent people who are in trouble and dying, and it’s gotta stop.” That’s his perspective and it’s a shameful one, for the leader of a country who has touted “an unbreakable bond” between our two countries. America has lost its understanding of what it means to really fight a war and to press on to win, as opposed to fighting with the expectation that a political compromise would be achieved. America is not in a struggle for survival against visible enemies whose entire life’s goal is to destroy America. Biden’s concern is not Hamas, or Islamic Jihad, or the P.L.O., which threaten the very existence of Israel. As noted in the above editorial, his concern is his “obsessive fear that supporting Israel too hard will alienate Arab-American voters in Michigan…[where] Islamist extremism and Jew-hatred have a worrying foothold there…Whatever his thinking, the gratuitous Israel-bash means his defense of our greatest regional ally, currently locked in a struggle with genocidal, Jew-hating terrorists openly committed to its destruction and the murder of its citizens lasted all of three months…And it wasn’t even much of a defense to begin with: He’d already been pushing the lie that the IDF is bombing indiscriminately; he’s been trying to hem in Israel’s efforts to defend itself almost since the atrocities of Oct. 7.”  So much for friendship and “an unbreakable bond”.

Ambassador Danny Danon is a senior member of Israel’s Knesset and chairman of World Likud, who previously served as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, minister of science and technology and deputy minister of defense. In an interview with Jewish News Syndicate earlier this past week, he stated, in part: “[One] cannot expect us to win the war with our hands tied behind our back. We expect our allies to realize that we have to use force to eradicate evil. We can’t do it without our air force or with humanitarian aid going straight to Hamas.” That statement reflects the difference between fighting “to win the war” (Israel’s perspective) and fighting without an expectation of vanquishing the enemy (Biden’s perspective). If the U.S. and other countries are so desirous of ending the Gaza War, they should do everything possible to exert pressure on Hamas and on those who support Hamas in one way or another, to push for a Hamas surrender and the immediate return of the hostages. Pressuring Israel to end the war, because of the alleged number of civilian casualties, is to put the ac-cent’ on the wrong syll-a’-ble.

While Israel is advancing militarily against Hamas, the renewed American “push” for “Palestinian” statehood is another slap in the face to Israel. American politicians must have fallen asleep during their grade school classes in geography. The creation of a “Palestinian” state uniting the “West Bank” (Judea and Samaria) with the Gaza Strip, will necessitate a diagonal slicing of Israel to create a contiguous enemy state in our heartland. Such a declaration would also be contrary to every normal understanding of what essentials are required in order to create statehood, none of which exist with regard to the people group that calls itself “Palestinian”.

The two “issues” – fighting the Gaza War and creating a so-called “Palestinian” state should not be treated as being interrelated. The Gaza War was undertaken to ensure that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel. Allowing Hamas to remain in Gaza would be an unacceptable resolution to the war and will not only enable, but encourage, future attacks against Israel by terrorist organizations, as Hamas representatives have already publicly stated. The creation of a “Palestinian” state is a political consideration that will not bring peace in this region. It will only establish a terrorist base that is within our borders from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea that will be a catalyst for repeated assaults upon Israel, only this time it will be from inside the country, instead of from outside.

Right now, there are protests in various parts of the country calling for the return of the hostages being held by Hamas and by who knows whatever other organizations and individuals. In essence, the call is for Israel to end the war, as demanded by Hamas, as a preliminary for entering into a deal for the staggered release of the hostages, as well as a renewed call for new elections here. But, these are not the only voices being heard. Two days ago (February 8th), thousands of Israelis, including “soldiers, parents of fallen soldiers and relatives of Hamas hostages, took part in a rally…[that] concluded a five-day cross-country march titled, ‘Victory March: Keep Going Until IDF Victory’.” It was established by IDF reservists, who served in the Gaza War, as well as those who served along our northern border with Lebanon, since October 7th. So, Israeli society is being pulled from both directions, in addition to the pressures being placed on the government from outside sources. 

A possible solution that is being bounced around to end the war and bring about the return of the hostages is to allow the main Hamas leaders, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammad Deif, along with four other senior Hamas leaders, to be sent into exile. That consideration is still a possibility, but has not moved forward since November. 

Some of you will remember the request for prayer for Urijah Bayer, a non-Jewish, Israeli-born, evangelical of German extraction, who was wounded in the fighting in Gaza and eventually died from his wounds. Many articles have appeared regarding him, including reports on major television news stations here. His father, Gideon Bayer, spoke recently to a group of journalists at a Foreign Media Event about the call to live and serve in Israel and his son’s involvement in the IDF. The entire program was over two and a half hours in length and included other speakers, who were family members of some of those being held hostage. The story about Urijah starts at 2:13:30. At the end of the various presentations, an opportunity was given to those who were on the panel to add a message to the representatives of the foreign press. Gideon Bayer shared that his family sat Shiva (a week of mourning for a dead relative) in Israel as well as in Germany, where he was asked why Urijah joined the IDF when he didn’t have to. He explained, among other things, that he and his family believe in God and that his firm belief is that those who truly love God should also love Israel. He asked them what he considered to be a legitimate question to ask all true Bible believers, “How far does your love for Israel reach? Urijah didn’t have any boundaries regarding this question.” Joel Rosenberg, who moderated the panel, responded to this statement and quoted the Lord Yeshua, who said: “Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

Have a healthy and God-honoring week.
Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.
Marvin