More on the Israeli War

I'm sooooooo glad Annette and I went to Israel in March! Everywhere we went, we were told that war was coming, so we were very grateful that God led us to go when we did. Annette sent me this copy of a letter from Asher Intrator, an Israeli Christian, to the Christians of Lebanon.

We want you to know that the Israeli people have no hatred of Lebanon. In fact, all our leaders have expressed sincere grief for innocent civilians who have been hurt by this war. Sometimes we wonder why the reaction in the Arab world seems so opposite – that there is rejoicing anytime we Jews suffer.

We have no desire for war with Lebanon, and everyone is looking forward to a true peace. That is why we pulled out all our soldiers and all our weapons unilaterally from any Lebanese territory six years ago. That is why we also consider the attack from Hizballah totally unprovoked, and particularly dangerous since it crossed the international border between us.
During these six years we have warned the international community about the build up of arms by Hizballah, which comes from Iran, through Syria. In fact, it was the commitment of UN resolution 1559 and the UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon) to DISARM Hizballah. Instead they became a cover-up for the escalation in armament by this terrorist group. That is why we find it extremely hypocritical for the U. N. to condemn Israel, since this whole war would not have happened had they not totally betrayed the mandate they were given.

We know the instructions given to Israeli soldiers and pilots to do everything possible to spare innocent victims and to aim only at strategic targets. The opposite is true of Hizballah. First of all they are purposely targeting civilian population centers. Secondly, their policy in southern Lebanon is to place their missile launchers right in the midst of civilian areas, in order to use innocent people on purpose as human shields.

It is worth mentioning here that hurting innocent civilians when firing at a military target is not considered a war crime according to international law, whereas firing artillery from a civilian populated area is indeed a war crime. The Israeli Army has shown films of Hizballah missile launchers firing again and again into Israel and then pulling the launcher immediately inside a neighboring house.

Many have accused Israel of using unnecessary force. In the 20 days of the conflict, Hizballah has fired two thousand (2,000!) missiles aimed directly at the cities in northern Israel. It is only by the grace of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that so few of our people have been killed. If any other country had been attacked unprovoked, across an international border and with missiles fired at major cities, the response would have been 100 times worse. Almost all of Israeli casualties have been because our soldiers have restrained their use of force in order to reduce civilian causalities.

Lastly, in terms of proportionate response, Israel is surrounded by 100 million fanatic Muslims who desire to murder us. This is the direct and openly stated purpose of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Iranian regime, El Qaida, as well as Hizballah. In every war, we have won (again by the grace of God); and immediately there is an international call for a cease-fire. Should the radical Islamic groups ever win even ONE time, it would mean total annihilation for all our people.
During this six-year period since Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon, over thirteen thousand (13,000!) missiles have been moved into the hands of Hizballah from Iran. For what purpose? We were not in Lebanon. This was NOT a territory dispute. The only dispute is our right to EXIST.

We pray for you, along with all the people of Israel, that the forces of terror and jihad will be driven out of your lovely country, that a strong and righteous government will arise, and that there will be true peace between our two countries. No one in Israel desires anything else. We have a beautiful heritage of cooperation and mutual respect between our two nations that goes all the way back to biblical times.

Let's all remember to pray for PEACE! While we know there will never be a lasting peace in the Holy Land until Christ returns, we are TOLD to pray for it. We can ask God to protect and show mercy to his people, both his "chosen people" (the Jews) and his "grafted-on people" (the Christians living there).