As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“By the end of the day, over 1,200 Israelis—men, women, children, even babies—were slaughtered. For around 250 others, however, the terror was just beginning, to be followed by captivity in Gaza.” - Providence
“Ethics & Religious Liberty President Brent Leatherwood and Southern Baptist Convention President Clint Pressley submitted a joint letter… to both President Joe Biden and U.S. congressional leaders expressing Southern Baptists’ continued support for Israel.” - Baptist Press
“Any one of these kills would represent the most high-profile Israeli strike against an enemy of Israel since the October 7th attacks. Taken together, they are a strategic boon.” - Providence
The United States was attacked in unprecedented waves of terrorism on Sept. 11, 2001. What followed was an immediate, passionate surge of patriotism, mingled with religious fervor. Many of us remember those days very clearly.
Our patriotism ran only so deep, however, and the spiritual connection was extremely shallow. After six months, the enthusiasm had largely faded away.
When Israel was attacked by Hamas in unprecedented waves of terrorism on Oct. 7, 2023, we would have expected a passionate surge of support for Israel, grounded in Biblical understanding.
“The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, an arm of Homeland Security, works with faith groups across the country to help them prepare for and prevent targeted violence against their facilities and their members.” - RNS
“ ‘Randomness and innocence are the crucial elements in the definition [of terrorism],’ he says. ‘The critique of this kind of killing hangs especially on the idea of innocence, which is borrowed from “just war” theory.’” - BPNews
“A bipartisan group of representatives and senators attended, while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) spoke at the event.” - Axios
Related…
“As stated in its first charter, published in 1988, ‘Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.’” - Michael Brown
On Shabbat morning, following the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, on Simchat Torah—a day set aside to commemorate the joy that flows from God’s Law—terror fell upon Israel.
Discussion