“Trust in the LORD and do good. Live in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps. 37:3-4)
To my beloved brothers and friends:
These days the people of Israel are continuing to fight for their very existence. In a rare show of unity, the enemies of the Jewish people are attacking from all sides – Hezbollah from the north, Hamas and Islamic Jihad from the south and east (Gaza, Judea and Samaria), the Houthis from the Red Sea, the Iranian proxies in South Africa from the European court, and antisemites from around the world online.
All this, while Israel’s brave soldiers are risking their own lives and safety in a nearly impossible double mission. They must eliminate the jihadi murderers without hurting innocent bystanders, even while the murderers dress as civilians and hide among the innocent; and they must rescue more than 100 Israeli hostages who are hidden away in an underground booby-trapped labyrinth (and who may not even be alive after 100 days of sadistic abuse and lack of needed medicines).
Israel’s accusers couldn’t care less about these dilemmas, which no other nation has ever faced. Most critics carefully avoid even mentioning them. Not least is the International Red Cross, whose job it is to visit war captives worldwide. That well-funded humanitarian organization hasn’t done the minimum required of it under international law, which is to use international pressure to gain access to the Israeli hostages.
Instead, the international community is using its pressure to insist that Israel unilaterally end its defensive war – which would be nothing less than surrendering to an enemy that has openly proclaimed a goal of genocide. Forgotten are the Hamas-produced videos advertising their slaughter, rape, abuse and dismemberment of Israelis, including children (while their parents were forced to watch!). The vows of Hamas to repeat the Oct. 7 massacre “again and again, until Israel is eliminated,” are not considered grounds for a charge of genocide, but rather a legitimate demand to be upheld by the global community as part of “the two-state solution.”
The victims of genocide now have to defend themselves from the charge of “genocide” in the so-called International Court of Justice, where the perpetrators are allowed to pose as the victims. The ironies are many:
- The accusation was based on the law that was created because of the Holocaust, but that law is being used to protect the would-be engineers of a second Holocaust.
- The Court’s interim decision on Jan. 26 was that Israel “must prevent genocide and do more to help civilians in Gaza,” after Israel had presented documentation that its track record on both counts is already better than any other country in history.
- The ICJ’s decision to even take the “genocide in Gaza” case seriously was a politically expedient cop-out that will forever be a stain on its reputation. The nations that either supported it or passively went along with it will answer to the Judge of all the earth.
Meanwhile, the UN agency mandated to care for Palestinians in Gaza, UNRWA, is in hot water. Over the years, UNRWA was repeatedly caught cooperating with Hamas and its genocidal project against Israel. Now Israel has identified at least a dozen UNRWA employees who actively participated in the Oct. 7 massacre and kidnapping. The leadership immediately fired nine of them, while denying any wrongdoing. Now the agency is posing as another “victim” of Israeli actions, because furious donor countries have frozen their UNRWA funding.
Add to this the revelation by Israeli intelligence that 80% of Gazan men, women and children – regarded as neutral victims in the conflict – were discovered to be actively involved in Hamas, as fighters or in support roles (from scouts and couriers to spies and decoys). In nearly every Gazan home, school, playground, mosque, and health clinic, IDF soldiers have found weapons, ammunition, explosives and rockets – even under children’s beds! (Where is outcry for how this endangers the children of Gaza?)
The secret is out. The billions donated for humanitarian aid and tourism development went to Hamas, who built a giant military base. The IDF mapped 450 miles of well-equipped tunnels at multiple levels; some tunnels are big enough to drive trucks through them. More than 5000 tunnel exits open into homes, hospitals, mosques, schools and open fields – including inside Israel. This network, which also includes missile factories, hostage cells and military command bunkers, is now known to be bigger than the London underground system. The video evidence has been published repeatedly by major news outlets.
And yet none of that is accepted by the world as vindication of Israel’s decision to fight until the Hamas power base is totally eliminated.
What a vivid fulfillment of the Psalm:
“Do not be far from me, for trouble is near. For there is no one to help. Many bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. They open their mouths wide at me, as a ravening and roaring lion…. You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me….” (Ps. 22:12-16)
This attack has been going on in one form or another for the last 150 years in the Land of Zion, and for thousands of years in the Diaspora. From the very birth of Israel as a nation coming out of Egypt until today, there have always been rulers like the Pharaoh “who did not know Joseph” (Exod. 1:8) – who have refused to acknowledge the good that their nations have received from the Jewish people – and from the GOD of Israel. It’s incredible that Hamas leaders and their families have shown no gratitude at all for receiving top-quality medical treatment in Israeli hospitals.
Amalek was the first nation to declare war on the Israelites. Their specialty was to launch sneak attacks on the vulnerable; they “attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were tired and weary.” For this cruelty, and because the Amalekites “did not fear GOD,” the LORD declared His own war against them, and commanded His people to blot out their name and memory (Exod. 17:14-16, Deut. 25:17-19).
The Amalekites continued to harass the Israelites who settled in the Land – not to regain territory, but to join with Israel’s other enemies to “destroy the produce of the earth” and “leave no sustenance” for Israel (Judges 6:3-5). GOD’s command to eradicate the tribe of Amalek was carried out in King Saul’s day (1 Sam. 15), but not completely. Saul’s reluctance to execute their king, Agag, might have been from a desire to make peace, or to show mercy. But that decision not only cost Saul the kingdom, it also allowed a future Amalekite descendant, Haman the Agagite, to once again plot an unprovoked genocidal attack on the Jewish people (Esther 3). We thus learn that the Amalekites’ murderous hatred of GOD’s chosen people was passed down spiritually for centuries, regardless of culture or circumstances.
That spirit found a home in the 20th century with the Nazis, who erased one third of the Jewish people without provocation.
Now we see the same spirit driving Iran and its partner Hamas. Israel’s war with Hamas is not like Israel’s other wars for survival. Hamas has no interest in peace; they used their peace agreements to lull Israel into a false sense of security, while they secretly planned and armed for war. Hamas is only interested in destroying Israel, as a tribute to the god of Islam.
In short, this is a religious war – and not just against the state of Israel.
Like Amalek, who had no reason to attack the Israelites in the desert, or the Jews in Persia, Hamas has no reason to declare in their Charter that the Jews worldwide are their enemy (showing that their grievance is not political or territorial). And like the Amalekites, who abused the vulnerable even in their own camp (1 Sam. 30:13), Hamas shows no mercy to the sick, poor or elderly in Gaza. Some Gazans have been seen on camera cursing Hamas for destroying their lives. Because Hamas has no fear of GOD or moral limits, they can expect the same Divine hostility that Amalek received.
Yet merely the comment by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the Hamas abusers should share the fate of the ancient Amalekite abusers, was used by South Africa as evidence of “genocidal intent” against the residents of Gaza in particular, and against the Palestinians in general. On the contrary, we might say that Netanyahu repeated King Saul’s mistake by showing mercy to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. It was Netanyahu who released him from serving a life sentence in Israeli prison in 2011, and Sinwar repaid that kindness by planning and directing the Oct. 7 massacre.
All those who love the GOD of Israel must pray for Israel’s leaders, who need wisdom beyond human ability in these times.
UPDATE ON SABRA ACTIVITIES
In challenging times, we usually find out who our real friends are.
You are truly brothers and sisters who care for the people of Israel. You are wonderful in your encouragement, strengthening our hands by praying for Israel, the Sabra staff and the recipients of our help; and by your generosity in giving financial support. Many of you have sent us wonderfully encouraging emails and text messages. Some of you have asked about the welfare of those who receive help from Sabra Fund.
There are even people participating with us who we don’t know at all.
We recognize the power of this prayer and encouragement. We ask you to tell your family and friends about our efforts, so that the circle of support can expand and the prayers can keep growing.
As for those who are asking about us personally, we are praying for you as well, blessing those who are blessing us.
We continue to help the Holocaust survivors among us. We are still working to improve the environments of disadvantaged schools, where children need extra support to have the same learning opportunities as other kids. This includes a boarding school for girls, and another boarding school.
Added to these is the aid we are giving to families displaced from their homes in the north, due to the missiles fired by Hezbollah. Their situation is not easy, to say the least. Here are two examples:
The “N” family has two young children, aged 2 years and 2 months. Their situation is extremely challenging. The father is fighting in the IDF, and the mother cannot work. They struggle to buy enough disposable diapers; the mother has confessed that she changes her babies only twice a day to stretch their supply. As a result, the children are suffering from diaper rash. The family’s ability to buy baby food is also limited. Sabra is helping with this, as well as supplying clothing for the heavy winter weather (as you parents know, small children can need several changes of clothing a day).
A family of Ukrainian refugees – a mother, son and daughter – have been in Israel for two years now. The daughter is 19 and decided to enlist in the IDF, even though Israel does not call up non-citizens. She simply wanted to serve, and she fought for it until they accepted her. The IDF is giving some financial help to this soldier, but not enough for the family to live on. Sabra is helping this wonderful family, and they wanted us to thank you who are donating and praying for them. They feel the hand of the King of kings through your help.
This is why you should keep praying and sending your encouraging words; they make a difference! Never forget that you are equal partners with us in this work, wherever you live. Your love, prayers and deeds of mercy are the three concepts that form Sabra’s vision.
May the blessings of the Most High be upon you, your family and your congregation.
From the land of Zion and the city of Jerusalem,
From the House of good deeds -Sabra House
Your brother in faith,