Israel is at war. We woke up on October 7th to an incredibly difficult new reality which changed our country forever. In an ISIS-style brutal assault, Hamas invaded and infiltrated Israeli towns and kibbutzes, murdered people in their own homes, shot people on the streets, took hostages, burned and beheaded children, and raped teenagers among the corpses of their friends. The death toll is over 1,300 Israelis and is expected to rise. In the few following days, there were rocket attacks over almost the entire country, including against us, in Jerusalem.
We also hear that many of the victims were Bedouins from the Negev desert. Some were women wearing hijab. An Arab ambulance driver saved lives under fire before he was killed. This is not Arabs against Jews, and it’s not even Palestinians against Israel. It’s about terrorists with zero regards for human lives against regular civilian people on both sides who just want to live their lives. It’s a pure satanic attack on an unfathomable scale.
How do I go forward from here? Well, I’m not a news source, and I don’t aspire to be one. If you want news from Israel, I recommend All Israel News, Yousef Haddad and Hananya Naftali. Me, I’m a history nerd, and as a history nerd, I will look at this in a historical context.
I spend a lot of time pondering over history, and sometimes forgetting I’m living in it. We read stories in the Bible about how Haman wanted to kill all Jews, or how Job lost everything he had, and we barely give it a second thought. After this day, I actually stop at these stories. What Hamas did is exactly what Haman tried to do. What happened to Job has now happened to countless Israelis. I also think of Jews in medieval times or during the holocaust, living through horrific pogroms. Those pogroms were not so different from what Hamas did, only that the Jews were totally defenseless back then.
But now we have an army.
And that’s why I’m so thankful I live in Israel in the 21st century. Despite the war and the rocket attacks, I would not want to live anywhere else right now. In fact, if I had been anywhere else in the world, I would probably want to go TO Israel right now.
And that’s where I think Hamas did their miscalculation. They didn’t realize how their attack would unify Israel. Everyone is mobilizing now. People who just a few weeks ago demonstrated against one another are now fighting side by side. The people who in the heat of the demonstrations said they didn’t want to serve for the IDF anymore, are all putting on uniform. Ultra-nationalist settlers and woke gay leftists are serving together, shoulder by shoulder, ready to risk their lives for one another. Some of the most difficult political questions that divided the society now seem to be solved over a night. I don’t know what Hamas thought they’d accomplish, but if they thought we’d be scared and give in to more of their demands, then this did the exact opposite.
We are seeing this amazing Israeli togetherness everywhere. Landlords waiving rent, banks postponing loan repayment, hairdressers and dentists giving free service to people fleeing the south or soldiers on their way there. We’re seeing hotels opening their rooms for free to the evacuated, and psychologists and trauma experts volunteering their time. People are queuing up for hours to give blood, and the Red Star of David is giving free first aid courses. Our kids’ school counselors are calling and talking to the kids about how they feel and if they need anything. We’re seeing some of the most beautiful sides of Israeli society right now – the amazing togetherness and solidarity that is Israel.
My family is physically ok, but just like all Israelis, we are extremely shaken. Our oldest son is serving in the army. We haven’t seen him since before the war started, but he updates us every day. He is not a combat soldier, but still, it’s not risk-free. One of his comrades was killed in the attack on October 7th. I don’t want to go into details, but no one is unaffected by this. We’re a small country. Every single Israeli, including us, knows someone who has been affected by this in one way or another.
I will not be asked to go to the front, because I’m a geek, and I spent my 3 years in the army in front of a computer. I have close to zero combat training, and I’m over 40. But there are many Messianic soldiers in the army, and a lot were called up to the reserves. Many of them are our friends. Some are guarding the Northern border, some are training close to Gaza, some are in Hebron, some are in the Air Force, some in the Navy, and we know of at least two Messianic soldiers who were killed on October 7th.
Our pastor taught on Psalm 83 this Shabbat. It’s amazing how a psalm from the Bible can be so relevant, and look as if it’s taken from a current newspaper.
How can you help?
There are four things you can do to help us get through this situation.
The first one is to donate to organizations and ministries that supply relief. The Bible Society in Israel, One for Israel, the Christian Embassy, Bridges for Peace, the Joseph Project, Maoz Israel, and the Joshua Fund are some examples of Messianic and Christian organizations who provide actual and physical help on the ground.
The second is to stand up for Israel on social media. I stopped publically advocating for Israel online in 2013, because the flood of antisemitism I got eventually made me lose faith in humanity. I try to focus on history now. But those of you who have the mental bandwidth to deal with it – please do. I recommend not to get into fights over replacement theology, eschatology, Israel’s right to exist or even the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Those are things we can discuss in peace negotiations, not at war. All we need to do at this time is to highlight what Hamas did. It’s really that simple. Use the mantra Hamas = ISIS over and over again until people get it, and refuse to accept whataboutism and “context.” No one with a heart can ever justify these crimes, no matter the circumstances. Even the claim that “it’s because they are angry and upset over the occupation” can’t really hold up anymore. An attack meticulously planned for over a year is not a spontaneous burst of anger. It’s pure cold-blooded, satanic, calculated evil. Really, it’s astounding to me that people in the western world who want freedom for Palestine haven’t turned against Hamas after this. It has put their struggle back several decades. There is no longer any excuse for anyone who believes in democracy and humanity to support the Hamas. It’s true that we are seeing a wave of love and support coming from the west at the moment, but I expect it to end once the ground invasion starts. The west loves the Jews as long as we are being victims, not when we win. And we will win. These events have convinced the Israeli society once and for all that we can’t let Hamas continue to exist, no matter the cost. They thought they could break us, but they made us stronger and more unified than ever.
The third thing you can do is to reach out to a local Israeli or Jewish community and ask how you can help. Arrange pro-Israeli rallies if you can. There is almost no Jew that is unaffected by this. Many Jewish communities outside of Israel now have to hide their Stars of David, need extra security for their schools, and are afraid to go to work. Isn’t that astounding? After the worst pogrom against us since the holocaust, WE have to be in hiding? Why? I can’t think of any other people group who can be attacked like this, and then accused of somehow being at fault. Were the black community attacked after the murder of George Floyd? Was the gay community attacked after the massacre in Orlando? There is some sort of extreme dark Satanic spirit of antisemitism behind it all. Please be a counter-force against it.
The fourth thing you can do is to pray, pray, pray. Never underestimate the power of prayer.
And don’t forget – faith in Jesus is a Jewish faith.
Tuvia Pollack - writer 