₦airaland Forum

Israel is Fighting a Just War

By: Deji Yesufu

A little over a week ago, I was in Oyo Town to minister for a brother who is trying to plant a reformed mission in that part of the country. Two other ministers accompanied us to the conference. One morning, over breakfast, our discussion turned to happenings in the Middle East. One of the ministers then asked why Israel is trying to take over Gaza. As far as he was concerned, Israel may be fighting a just war, but they should not overstep their boundaries and take over a land that belongs to another people. I replied by saying that Israel is not trying to take over Gaza. I then went on to explain what I believe the issues were in the Middle East and why the military actions the nation of Israel is carrying out against Palestinians must be brought to a logical conclusion. I will use the remainder of this essay to shed further light on the response I gave to the minister.

The idea of penning this article has been in my mind for months now, but the possible reaction to it has held me back. While I vouch for myself to be a fearless writer, I also know my limits. One of such limits is Islam. In the 1960s, even the inimitable Obafemi Awolowo advised the Nigerian government and public commentators to stay clear of happenings in the Middle East. There is no way you will comment on the crisis there without offending Muslims in this country. Now, while this country could remain mum with regard to happenings between the Palestinians and Israelites in the 1960s, the fact that militant Islam has become a national malaise for us in this country today means that we can no longer remain quiet on the subject anymore. As Boko Haram rages in the North East of Nigeria, and bandits hold sway in the North West, Israel is also fighting militant Islam on their borders and within their country. As I pen this piece this evening, two Palestinian terrorists entered an Israeli public bus and opened fire on innocent commuters. Fifteen people were critically injured, and six of those are now dead. The terrorists were killed, and Hamas has claimed responsibility for the attack. Why then do I say that Israel is fighting a just war? It is nearly impossible to start the story of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict from the beginning, but I will start from somewhere.

Historically, the land that the nation of Israel presently occupies belongs to the Jews. It was on that land that Jesus Christ walked. It was there he was crucified, and it was there he rose from the dead. In AD 70, the Romans ransacked the land of Israel in retaliation for a number of uprisings among the Jews that had led to the killing of Roman soldiers. The result was the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the killing of thousands of Jews, while a whole lot of them were dispersed into the diaspora. When you look at the map of Israel, you will see that it is a country that is located in a little corner of the Middle East, sandwiched between countries like Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. So, when the Jews were dispersed two thousand years ago, they went into all these countries. Some even went as far as Western Europe, and others went to Russia. The Jews, however, retain their heritage, particularly their belief in the One God who created the heavens and the earth, and their commitment to the Old Testament – Genesis to Malachi.

In the 19th century, the land that is presently occupied by the nation of Israel was a vastly unoccupied piece of space. There were a few Jews who lived there, but the land had come to be mostly occupied by Arabs – most of them from the neighboring countries of Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon. These people were Muslim, and they coexisted peacefully with the Jews. About that time, a Zionist movement began in Europe that began to encourage Jews to return to their fatherland and help build it up. It was going to be a daunting task, because, besides overcoming the challenge of developing an arid land, there were the Jews’ Muslim neighbors who had a particular hatred for them. What is little known about Islam is that the Muslim scripture is fundamentally antisemitic. There are portions of the Quran that teach that Muslims and Christians are the worst of all creatures, and that Jews should be destroyed at all costs (Quran 98:6). Like many scriptures in our holy books, these portions of the Quran are open to wide interpretations. There are, therefore, many militant Muslim groups that take these scriptures in their literal form and are committed to the destruction of all Jews.

It was within these climates that the holocaust of the Second World War occurred, which led to the United Nations compensating the Jews with their forefathers’ land of Israel in 1948. For close to a century now, Israel has waged different wars to preserve their right to live in that territorial space. Many of their Muslim neighbors have come to accept the fact that Israel has a right to live in that space, except for a few radical militant Muslim countries and persons. Shi’ite Islam is not as accommodating to Jews as Sunni Islam. The Shi’ite-led government of Iran had committed itself to sponsoring a terrorist group against Israel. There is the Hamas government in Gaza that is fighting Israel to the East of the country; there is the Hezbollah group in Lebanon that is waging war on Israel from the North of the country. Everything was supposed to come to a head in October 2023. Four terrorist groups were supposed to launch an attack on Israel’s sovereignty at the same time. But the Hamas people, operating in Gaza, were too excited about the plan; they launched their attack a day before, culminating in the October 7th, 2023, attack on Israel that resulted in the death of no less than 1,200 Israelis. Since that day, Israel has launched coordinated attacks on all its neighbors. In an unprecedented manner, Israel had decimated the ranks and file of the nation of Iran, leaving the country today vulnerable to a possible regime change. Israel has destroyed Hezbollah, killing all its top operatives in one single operation. They have also destroyed the Houthis in Yemen. And presently, they are in Gaza trying to recover a few hostages they are convinced are still alive; hostages taken after the October 7th attack on their territory.

Why is this war then a just war? It is because the war Israel is waging is an ideological war. Many Israelis compare the war against Hamas as something akin to what happened in the Second World War. The Second World War was not just a war that was fought over land and territorial supremacy; it was an ideological war. Adolf Hitler had posited a doctrine that said that the German people were the most exalted species of persons in the world. They taught that the Jews were scum. They believed that black men were animals. Etc. They then tried to overrun most of Europe and Russia, and then use the resources they got from those places to colonize the whole world. Japan and Italy joined Hitler in this hateful ideology, and the world was plunged into a just war that claimed the lives of no less than 75 million people. In the same manner, the war Hamas and other militant Muslim groups are waging against Israel is an ideological war. It is not just a war over land. The basic idea that many militant Muslims hold is that the Jews are an evil lot, and the Muslim world cannot permit their existence in the Middle East. The only way to end the crisis in the Middle East is to reorient the fundamental ideas that rule the minds of the people of that region of the world. Militant Islam must be understood for what it is, and it must be rejected in the modern world in all its facets. Atheistic, liberal, and agnostic thinkers, who reject Christianity, cannot continue to provide cover for militant Islam to carry out their barbaric actions. Similarly, moderate Muslims must separate themselves from the ideas and actions of militant Islam.

Now, practically speaking, it would be nearly impossible to rid the Middle East of all militant Muslims who hate Jews. Already, Israel has identified many wealthy Qataris and other Muslim persons around the world who fund terrorist operations against the Jews. What Israel plans to do with the Gaza Strip is to simply remove every militant Islamic group from that space and repopulate the place with Palestinians who do not hate Jews. These Palestinians, and there are thousands of them both in Palestine now and in the diaspora, wish to have their country back from Hamas, who are the present government in that place. There are many Palestinians who live peacefully within Israel, and who have come to regard the Jews as friends. In fact, while the war against Hamas rages on, Israel continues to provide the people of Gaza with food, water, and shelter. While at the same time warning the people against going to areas where they could be caught in the war between Israeli forces and Hamas.

The Israeli/Palestinian conflict must be discussed in Nigeria and understood because Nigeria is also in the grip of militant Islam. Despite their vaunted claim to rid the country of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups like them, northern Nigeria continues to suffer from the influence of these militant Muslim groups because many Muslims in the North offer Boko Haram and other terrorist groups like them tacit support. For many Muslims in the North, religion comes first before loyalty to the country. When a militant Islamic group emerges and begins to teach people to take up arms against the constituted government, the ordinary people offer sympathy to this group with the hope that they could overrun the government and institute full Islamic jurisprudence over where they live. It is the same thing that has happened in Gaza and other parts of the Middle East where the Palestinians live. Someone has called this a clash of civilizations. Islam is trying to come of age in a world where certain core tenets of their religion cannot stand the test of time. The earlier this happens, the earlier the nations of the world know peace.

Deji Yesufu is the pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at naijareformed@gmail.com

Source

The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love VIOLENCE, he HATES with a passion. ‭Psalms 11:5 NIV‬

So let all believers in Christ stay away from violence!

MaxInDHouse:
The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love VIOLENCE, he HATES with a passion. ‭Psalms 11:5 NIV‬

So let all believers in Christ stay away from violence!

While at the same time we must recognise the concept of a just war...

VBCampaign:
While at the same time we must recognise the concept of a just war...

From the very day Jesus of Nazareth opened his mouth and started teaching people how to get into God's Kingdom there is no longer any justification for war unless among people who feels Jesus is an impostor and that's exactly what the Jews think about Jesus till today!

In fact they were more concerned about their nation and pride than salvation this is what they concluded about the peace making teachings of Christ Jesus:

"If we let (Jesus) go on this way, they will all put faith in him, and the Romans (the first century enemy nation forcefully ruling over the Jews) will come and take away both our place and our nation.” John 11:48

Till today the Jews hate anything that has to do with Jesus and his teachings, last year their law makers wanted to make being a believer in Christ a crime just like their first century leaders did! Act 4:18; 5:28

So they thought Christ was making them vulnerable to attacks from enemy nations whereas their country could have become the safest place on earth if they obeyed God's only begotten Son.

Well misinformed churchgoers may think that nation still has something to do with the true God but according to Jesus of Nazareth {Matthew 21:43; 23:37-38} the nation has lost its glory the day they rejected Jesus and told the Roman governor to execute him! Matthew 27:24-25😟

MaxineDHouse

What you have written is Pacifism. You cannot be a pacifist in a world of sin.

Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain[b][/b]: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

God has given every civil government powers to bear the sword. The aim is to punish evil, and protect good. So that evil doesn't overrun society.

Many preached Pacifism in the middle ages when Islam encroached on Europe. They quickly jettisoned that idea when they realised the Mohammedians were taking over their land.

VBCampaign:
MaxineDHouse
What you have written is Pacifism. You cannot be a pacifist in a world of sin.
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; [b]for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

The highlighted is exactly what the first century Jewish religious leaders thought about Jesus' teachings regarding peace.
So surely you are not a believer in Christ Jesus but another Churchian claiming Christian.
Apostle Paul was talking to our brothers in Rome reminding them that they should do whatever the authorities ask of them just as Christ Jesus commanded us {Matthew 5:41} but when they ask us to take part in their politics we must decline because we are no part of their politics! John 17:14-16
How do you think the love Jesus taught us to have for our fellow believers {John 13:34-35} can work if we support worldly politicians who don't care about love of talkless that of believers? Or can a Christian in Russia remain loyal to the love of Christ if he picks up weapons against his fellow believers in Ukraine?
You people needs to know the purpose of Christianity, it was established by the Prince of Peace so that what God promised to do regarding faithful people globally can be achieved! Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-3

VBCampaign:
God has given every civil government powers to bear the sword. The aim is to punish evil, and protect good. So that evil doesn't overrun society.

They stand in place under Satan their overall ruler {John 14:30; 2Corinthians 4:4; 1John 5:19} to punish their own people so believers in Christ must be extra careful not to fall into their cage by committing what they have mapped out in their laws as Christ. Christ Jesus is coming to destroy all of them! Daniel 2:44

VBCampaign:
Many preached Pacifism in the middle ages when Islam encroached on Europe. They quickly jettisoned that idea when they realised the Mohammedians were taking over their land.

The Muslims became warriors after their bad experiences with the Roman Catholics who were forcing their religion on people claiming they are fighting for Jesus so the wars wasn't about religion rather it's politically motivated because both sides want to rule the world!

VBCampaign:
Israel is Fighting a Just War

By: Deji Yesufu

A little over a week ago, I was in Oyo Town to minister for a brother who is trying to plant a reformed mission in that part of the country. Two other ministers accompanied us to the conference. One morning, over breakfast, our discussion turned to happenings in the Middle East. One of the ministers then asked why Israel is trying to take over Gaza. As far as he was concerned, Israel may be fighting a just war, but they should not overstep their boundaries and take over a land that belongs to another people. I replied by saying that Israel is not trying to take over Gaza. I then went on to explain what I believe the issues were in the Middle East and why the military actions the nation of Israel is carrying out against Palestinians must be brought to a logical conclusion. I will use the remainder of this essay to shed further light on the response I gave to the minister.

The idea of penning this article has been in my mind for months now, but the possible reaction to it has held me back. While I vouch for myself to be a fearless writer, I also know my limits. One of such limits is Islam. In the 1960s, even the inimitable Obafemi Awolowo advised the Nigerian government and public commentators to stay clear of happenings in the Middle East. There is no way you will comment on the crisis there without offending Muslims in this country. Now, while this country could remain mum with regard to happenings between the Palestinians and Israelites in the 1960s, the fact that militant Islam has become a national malaise for us in this country today means that we can no longer remain quiet on the subject anymore. As Boko Haram rages in the North East of Nigeria, and bandits hold sway in the North West, Israel is also fighting militant Islam on their borders and within their country. As I pen this piece this evening, two Palestinian terrorists entered an Israeli public bus and opened fire on innocent commuters. Fifteen people were critically injured, and six of those are now dead. The terrorists were killed, and Hamas has claimed responsibility for the attack. Why then do I say that Israel is fighting a just war? It is nearly impossible to start the story of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict from the beginning, but I will start from somewhere.

Historically, the land that the nation of Israel presently occupies belongs to the Jews. It was on that land that Jesus Christ walked. It was there he was crucified, and it was there he rose from the dead. In AD 70, the Romans ransacked the land of Israel in retaliation for a number of uprisings among the Jews that had led to the killing of Roman soldiers. The result was the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the killing of thousands of Jews, while a whole lot of them were dispersed into the diaspora. When you look at the map of Israel, you will see that it is a country that is located in a little corner of the Middle East, sandwiched between countries like Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. So, when the Jews were dispersed two thousand years ago, they went into all these countries. Some even went as far as Western Europe, and others went to Russia. The Jews, however, retain their heritage, particularly their belief in the One God who created the heavens and the earth, and their commitment to the Old Testament – Genesis to Malachi.

In the 19th century, the land that is presently occupied by the nation of Israel was a vastly unoccupied piece of space. There were a few Jews who lived there, but the land had come to be mostly occupied by Arabs – most of them from the neighboring countries of Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon. These people were Muslim, and they coexisted peacefully with the Jews. About that time, a Zionist movement began in Europe that began to encourage Jews to return to their fatherland and help build it up. It was going to be a daunting task, because, besides overcoming the challenge of developing an arid land, there were the Jews’ Muslim neighbors who had a particular hatred for them. What is little known about Islam is that the Muslim scripture is fundamentally antisemitic. There are portions of the Quran that teach that Muslims and Christians are the worst of all creatures, and that Jews should be destroyed at all costs (Quran 98:6). Like many scriptures in our holy books, these portions of the Quran are open to wide interpretations. There are, therefore, many militant Muslim groups that take these scriptures in their literal form and are committed to the destruction of all Jews.

It was within these climates that the holocaust of the Second World War occurred, which led to the United Nations compensating the Jews with their forefathers’ land of Israel in 1948. For close to a century now, Israel has waged different wars to preserve their right to live in that territorial space. Many of their Muslim neighbors have come to accept the fact that Israel has a right to live in that space, except for a few radical militant Muslim countries and persons. Shi’ite Islam is not as accommodating to Jews as Sunni Islam. The Shi’ite-led government of Iran had committed itself to sponsoring a terrorist group against Israel. There is the Hamas government in Gaza that is fighting Israel to the East of the country; there is the Hezbollah group in Lebanon that is waging war on Israel from the North of the country. Everything was supposed to come to a head in October 2023. Four terrorist groups were supposed to launch an attack on Israel’s sovereignty at the same time. But the Hamas people, operating in Gaza, were too excited about the plan; they launched their attack a day before, culminating in the October 7th, 2023, attack on Israel that resulted in the death of no less than 1,200 Israelis. Since that day, Israel has launched coordinated attacks on all its neighbors. In an unprecedented manner, Israel had decimated the ranks and file of the nation of Iran, leaving the country today vulnerable to a possible regime change. Israel has destroyed Hezbollah, killing all its top operatives in one single operation. They have also destroyed the Houthis in Yemen. And presently, they are in Gaza trying to recover a few hostages they are convinced are still alive; hostages taken after the October 7th attack on their territory.

Why is this war then a just war? It is because the war Israel is waging is an ideological war. Many Israelis compare the war against Hamas as something akin to what happened in the Second World War. The Second World War was not just a war that was fought over land and territorial supremacy; it was an ideological war. Adolf Hitler had posited a doctrine that said that the German people were the most exalted species of persons in the world. They taught that the Jews were scum. They believed that black men were animals. Etc. They then tried to overrun most of Europe and Russia, and then use the resources they got from those places to colonize the whole world. Japan and Italy joined Hitler in this hateful ideology, and the world was plunged into a just war that claimed the lives of no less than 75 million people. In the same manner, the war Hamas and other militant Muslim groups are waging against Israel is an ideological war. It is not just a war over land. The basic idea that many militant Muslims hold is that the Jews are an evil lot, and the Muslim world cannot permit their existence in the Middle East. The only way to end the crisis in the Middle East is to reorient the fundamental ideas that rule the minds of the people of that region of the world. Militant Islam must be understood for what it is, and it must be rejected in the modern world in all its facets. Atheistic, liberal, and agnostic thinkers, who reject Christianity, cannot continue to provide cover for militant Islam to carry out their barbaric actions. Similarly, moderate Muslims must separate themselves from the ideas and actions of militant Islam.

Now, practically speaking, it would be nearly impossible to rid the Middle East of all militant Muslims who hate Jews. Already, Israel has identified many wealthy Qataris and other Muslim persons around the world who fund terrorist operations against the Jews. What Israel plans to do with the Gaza Strip is to simply remove every militant Islamic group from that space and repopulate the place with Palestinians who do not hate Jews. These Palestinians, and there are thousands of them both in Palestine now and in the diaspora, wish to have their country back from Hamas, who are the present government in that place. There are many Palestinians who live peacefully within Israel, and who have come to regard the Jews as friends. In fact, while the war against Hamas rages on, Israel continues to provide the people of Gaza with food, water, and shelter. While at the same time warning the people against going to areas where they could be caught in the war between Israeli forces and Hamas.

The Israeli/Palestinian conflict must be discussed in Nigeria and understood because Nigeria is also in the grip of militant Islam. Despite their vaunted claim to rid the country of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups like them, northern Nigeria continues to suffer from the influence of these militant Muslim groups because many Muslims in the North offer Boko Haram and other terrorist groups like them tacit support. For many Muslims in the North, religion comes first before loyalty to the country. When a militant Islamic group emerges and begins to teach people to take up arms against the constituted government, the ordinary people offer sympathy to this group with the hope that they could overrun the government and institute full Islamic jurisprudence over where they live. It is the same thing that has happened in Gaza and other parts of the Middle East where the Palestinians live. Someone has called this a clash of civilizations. Islam is trying to come of age in a world where certain core tenets of their religion cannot stand the test of time. The earlier this happens, the earlier the nations of the world know peace.

Deji Yesufu is the pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at naijareformed@gmail.com

Source

This is the not true at all. All you have written is incorrect

In the war between western civilisation (Rome and the Edomite Confederacy) and Islam (the gospel of Paul) you have aligned with Rome and followed the popular narrative.

Islam is not the enemy. Western civilisation is the enemy.

VBCampaign:
While at the same time we must recognise the concept of a just war...

It's ironic to read you champion the "concept of a just war " while displaying such a clear misunderstanding of what it legally entails. Your personal justification can never be a substitute for international law.

When I have the time, I will come up with a detailed response to the numerous inaccuracies and half truths in your main article.

I hope you read it and offer a meaningful reply, because from what I have observed, you're often unwilling to respond to direct criticism of your work, preferring to pick and choose what you reply to. In any case ,the choice to respond is yours, but at the very least, others who will read it , will have access to a more balanced viewpoint on the situation in the Middle East .

@ VBCampaign please check what Jews want to do about Jesus and Christianity in this modern time.

https://www.youtube.com/live/Za5L5G08A8g?si=aQTkO-2prMI9TbkQ

These are the descendants of those who killed God's prophets in Bible times. Matthew 23:29-30

So don't think God is in support of that nation anymore the only reason they've not been wiped out completely is due to God's promise to David that the city called Jerusalem will remain forever but as for the Jews Jesus said God has abandoned their land for them! Matthew 21:43; 23:37-38

May you have Peace!

VBCampaign, the emboldened below, is it a mistake? If it is not a mistake but it is deliberate on your part, then know this now, the Israelis are not the Israelites of the Bible.

The real Israelites will be regathered by Jesus Christ himself when he returns. Any purported return before Jesus Christ is a deep fake. Anything that is fake does not solve any problem, it only aggravates existing challenges or disfunction

The Israeli are not the Israelites of the Bible.

Now, while this country could remain mum with regard to happenings between the Palestinians and Israelites in the 1960s,

MrPresident1:
VBCampaign, the emboldened below, is it a mistake? If it is not a mistake but it is deliberate on your part, then know this now, the Israelis are not the Israelites of the Bible.

The real Israelites will be regathered by Jesus Christ himself when he returns. Any purported return before Jesus Christ is a deep fake. Anything that is fake does not solve any problem, it only aggravates existing challenges or disfunction

The Israeli are not the Israelites of the Bible

It is near impossible to engage your points. But they noted nonetheless

VBCampaign:
It is near impossible to engage your points. But they noted nonetheless

OK. But just know that the Israelis are not the Israelites of the Bible and Netanyahu is not King David. When the true Israel is regathered, there will be peace in the earth.

Ezekiel 37:24-25
King James Version
24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.

triplechoice:
It's ironic to read you champion the "concept of a just war " while displaying such a clear misunderstanding of what it legally entails. Your personal justification can never be a substitute for international law.

When I have the time, I will come up with a detailed response to the numerous inaccuracies and half truths in your main article.

I hope you read it and offer a meaningful reply, because from what I have observed, you're often unwilling to respond to direct criticism of your work, preferring to pick and choose what you reply to. In any case ,the choice to respond is yours, but at the very least, others who will read it , will have access to a more balanced viewpoint on the situation in the Middle East .

Guy, we are still waiting for your 'detailed response'