We’re coming up to the seventh of October, the first anniversary of Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel.
Hamas called it the “Al-Aqsa Flood”. Israel calls it the “Black Sabbath”.
At least 4,300 rockets were fired into Israel.
Terrorists stormed music festivals, communities, and military bases, killing whoever they could and kidnapping and brutalising whoever was left.
It was the most devastating attack in Israel’s history.
We cannot ignore the horror of the attack. There can be no moral justification for such deliberate targeting of civilians in a civilised world. There can be no excusing the perpetrators of such atrocities.
And yet, that is exactly what happened.
Calculated
Protests sprung up against Israel – not Hamas.
Activists and academics denounced Israel – not Hamas.
Even before Israel responded, there were marches in solidarity with the terrorists.
And this was the plan all along.
The brutality of the attack was no accident. It was not wanton bloodlust or a cry of rage. It was a cold and calculating attack designed to incite Israel to vengeance.
Hamas do not base themselves in civilian centres, hospitals or media studios so they can hide from surveillance or rely on human shields for protection. They base themselves in civilian centres expressly so the civilians can be killed when they are attacked. Then they can point to their attackers as the villains.
The objective is to degrade Western support for Israel – because Hamas, and Hezbollah, and all the other terror groups are convinced Israel only survives thanks to Western support.
But these groups are all proxies for Iran, and to a lesser extent, Russia and China.
Their objective is to break the West and establish themselves as the undisputed masters of their own domains.
I know people who feel that might be all well and good. I’m sure you know some too.
However, I would not want to live under a regime which thought the Black Sabbath was an appropriate strategy to remake the world.
I do not think such a regime would care much for me or my family. I do not think they would care much for the Gospel – no matter what they say.
This is not to say I have to agree with Israel’s response – whether it be targeted assassinations, or ground incursions into Hamas or Hezbollah territory.
Nor does it mean I have to agree with Israel’s policies towards Gaza or the West Bank.
Neither do you.
There are plenty of patriotic Israelis who think there are better ways to manage the ongoing issues than what is happening.
There are friends of Israel around the world who’ve voiced their disquiet with the military responses – precisely because they play into the terrorists’ hands.
Free Speech
Our democracy is built on the open and forthright expression of ideas.
Peaceful protest is central to this.
Dialogue, debate, and discussion are needed if democracy is to thrive.
At the same time, it pays to be wary.
Not every argument is made in good faith.
As with the Cold War, protesters can easily be unwitting agents of foreign powers that are seeking to subvert and disrupt our society for their own agenda.
There are reports, for instance, that many of the pro-Hamas social media channels in the West are actually run by Chinese intelligence.
This brings me to the problems of the Misinformation Bill. The core problem is that censorship feeds disinformation operations – it does nothing to stop them.
The best response to disinformation is to empower citizens to be active and principled participants in the democratic process.
This is what The Movement has done for almost a century.
We form and inform leaders and communities so they can participate in a principled and practical way for the Common Good.
We cannot allow subversives and wreckers to dominate and dismantle our democracy.
We cannot allow our enemies to set our agenda.
If we want to help Israel, or to help Palestine, or to help Lebanon – then we must work together in a principled way for the good of all people.
