Yes, it’s too much to ask By Aaron Hecht
May 23, 2021
It’s been a rough couple of weeks here in Israel, as anyone who reads these blogs will know. The residents of the southern communities near the Gaza Strip had the worst part, except perhaps for those who live in Lod, Acre, Jaffa, Haifa and some other mixed Arab and Jewish cities where riots broke out which resulted in heartbreaking destruction and violence.
For the rest of us, including Israelis like me who live in parts of the country where no rockets fell and no riots broke out (there were some fairly rowdy demonstrations a few blocks away from our apartment, but they didn’t get out of hand and they didn’t reach us) the conflict still touched our lives in the form of the “battle of the narratives” on social and traditional media.
My Facebook feed was packed with videos showing outrageous statements by celebrities, politicians and activists all over the world condemning Israel for the crime of existing. There was of course pushback from Israeli politicians and supporters, and the amount of support Israel got from US President Joe Biden and several European and Latin American governments was a pleasant surprise which showed that the anti-Israel narrative wasn’t as dominant as it might seem to be.
But there was plenty of celebrities, athletes, comedians and other “influencers” who attacked Israel and these attacks were responded to by Israel’s supporters and a rhetorical question which came up over and over again in these discussions which I’d like to address, and that rhetorical question was “is it too much to ask for people to see the truth about what’s going on? Is it too much to ask
for people to use their brains? Is it too much to ask for people to look objectively at this situation and see that Hamas is to blame for this war and the suffering it’s causing in both Israel and Gaza? Is it too much to ask to support Israel’s right to defend itself against these rockets?
The answer to all of these questions is, sadly, yes.
It is too much to ask. Here’s why.
It has been rare in human history for arguments based on fairness, truth, rationality and logic to prevail against arguments based on emotion. Advertisers know this, for instance, and that’s why most of the commercials we are exposed to on the internet, TV, radio, etc. appeal to our emotions in order to persuade us to buy stuff that we usually have little or no logical reason to buy.
In this context, the unfair, one-sided rhetorical attacks on Israel and the accompanying defense of Hamas’ indefensible actions do not follow any logical or rational pattern. They are, by their very definition, illogical and irrational according to human understanding.
Beyond that, as I said in last weeks blog, the rockets, riots and the massive surge in attacks against ordinary Jewish people minding their own business in New York, London, Paris and many other cities around the world, are merely manifestations of Lucifer the Devil’s spiritual war against the Human Race, directed at Israel and the Jewish People specifically because of the role Israel and the Jewish People have been assigned by God in the salvation and redemption of the Human Race.
So yes, it is too much to ask people who do not understand spiritual matters to be persuaded by rational, logical, truthful arguments.
To repeat the quote from Derek Prince, “The kingdom of Satan is a kingdom of darkness and most of the people who are in it don’t know that they’re in it.”
To be angry and frustrated with such people is natural, but it’s also very unhelpful. For reasons I’ve already explained, it’s also unhelpful to try and argue with such people by appealing to truth, logic, rationality or a sense of fairness.
If you want to have a positive impact on such people and if you want to have a positive impact on the overall situation, the thing to do is to engage in spiritual warfare by praying into the situation. It’s always better to talk to the One who can actually make a difference, rather than those hapless individuals who are so wrapped up in their irrational, illogical hatred of Israel and the Jews that they can’t or won’t be convinced.
The source of all that irrational and illogical hatred is the kingdom of Satan and his demons, and the way to push back against it is to get behind the plans and purposes of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and His angels. Get involved in the work of establishing and carrying out those plans and purposes by praying into them and encouraging others in your circle of influence to do the same.
You might not have 1.3 million followers on Twitter, but you’ve got family members and friends and people who will listen to you and take you seriously. If you tell them that you’re praying for God’s plans for Israel and the Jewish People to be advanced and ask them to join you in those prayers, some of them will indeed join you, and the ones who don’t are not your responsibility.
As a footnote, the seemingly random attacks on Jewish people, Jewish-owned businesses and synagogues and community centers etc. around the world is moving many Jewish people to consider moving to Israel. If you have any ability to assist those people in their journey, that would also be a good way to get involved in God’s plans and purposes for this season of history that we’re in.