Dr Paul Allen

The October 7 Terrorist Attack Early on Saturday morning, October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists broke through fencing along the Gaza/Israel border. While in Israel, Hamas terrorists murdered, raped, assaulted, and kidnapped Israeli men, women, and children. It should be noted that Hamas launched the terrorist invasion during a religiously significant time for the Jewish people, which was during the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat) at the end of a Jewish festival (Sukkot). We deliberately use the word “terrorist” to identify those who invaded Israel because they are, by definition, terrorists. A “terrorist” is defined as  “a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.” That is precisely what Hamas did on October 7. They used unlawful violence and intimidation against civilians to achieve their desired political ends: the destruction of the State of Israel. This is absolutely undeniable. A call for the extermination of the J...

Hamas Command Center Found Under Gaza Children’s Hospital. Hostages May Have Been There Some of those babies may have been held underneath a children’s hospital in Gaza City. The IDF released footage Monday demonstrating how Hamas was operating a command centre underneath Gaza City’s Rantizi Hospital. “Underneath the hospital, in the basement, we found a Hamas command and control centre, suicide-bomb vests, grenades, AK-47 assault rifles, explosive devices, RPGs, and other weapons, computers, money, etc,” IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari revealed. “We also found signs that indicate that Hamas held hostages here.” “Monsters,” tweeted Guy Benson. “This should provoke righteous OUTRAGE from every civilized person. Hamas has verifiably operated out of a children’s hospital, where it appears they held innocent hostages. Note well who reacts with silence.” Benson is evoking the timeless and very timely quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will...

We’ve heard the endless cries of “Free Palestine!” in recent weeks, but there’s a variation on this theme that hits the nail on the head: “Free Palestine from Hamas!” It is true that the people of Gaza elected Hamas in 2006 and that, according to polling over the years, they continue to support Hamas. At the same time, they did not have a wide range of choices when they voted. As noted on Snopes.com, “The election saw a political split between the secular Fatah (a branch of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)) that dominated the PLO since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, and the Islamist Hamas that formed in 1987 as an offshoot of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.” So, it was Fatah (part of the PLO) vs. Hamas, the more secular vs. the more religious, with neither one being a genuine peace partner with Israel. In the end, Hamas only garnered 44 per cent of the vote but gained a majority of legislative seats, from which point it took over the government. Either way, however, they came to p...

Moral equivalence has two purposes.  One is to enable the morally confused to hide their confusion.  The other is to allow the immoral to hide their immorality.  Here are two examples as applied to the Israeli-Arab conflict: 1. One is the assertion we hear regarding the latest Israel-Hamas war by members of the Western Left, Muslim supporters of the Palestinians and even by a few individuals on the right: “Palestinian babies are as precious as Israeli babies.” Professor Cornel West, a lifelong progressive running for president as a Democrat: “As I have said for the past 50 years, a precious Palestinian child has the same value as a precious Israeli child.” David Cronin, an editor at Electronic Intifada, a large pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel website: “Palestinian babies are just as precious as my new daughter.” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called the hospital blast a "devastating loss of innocent life".  Anthony Albanese calls for the protection of Is...

In the complex realm of international conflicts, seeking a simplified narrative that paints all parties with the same brush is often tempting, leading to the dangerous notion of moral equivalency. We saw this on the weekend rallies by Palestine supporters marching and chanting death to Israel in Melbourne and Sydney. Politicians, police and the media chose moral equivalency.  This concept suggests that both sides in a conflict are equally responsible for the violence and suffering without delving into the nuances and historical context of the situation. One case where this myth often surfaces is in discussions about the Hamas attack on Israel. Understanding the Conflict The conflict between Israel and Hamas has deep historical and political roots that extend far beyond the headlines. It is vital to recognize the complex backdrop against which these incidents occur. The modern Israeli-Palestinian conflict dates back to the early 20th century, and its root causes include land dispute...

Rich Gregory  As the war in Israel ramped up over the past week, social media accounts across the Christian  spectrum exploded with quotations from Psalm 122:8, which commands, “Pray for the peace of  Jerusalem!” That statement raises some critical questions: should we be praying for the  peace of Jerusalem? Or even, Why do we pray for the peace of Jerusalem? I want to answer those questions by covering  1) What is happening in Israel,  2) What it  means, and  3) How we should think about it as followers of Jesus Christ. What is Happening? These following paragraphs represent a rather grotesque oversimplification, but understanding how to think requires a basic understanding of some broad brush strokes in the geopolitical context.  On May 14, 1948, the modern state of Israel was formed. The Jewish people – fresh off the horror of the holocaust – began returning to the land of their forefathers from a multi-millennial exile. While this return ...