Part 1 and part 2 of this series searched for the Palestinians in history. We found that such an identity only began to emerge in the early 20th century under European influence and in reaction to rising Jewish immigration.
Until 1967, nationalism was primarily expressed in terms of a wider Arab or Syrian nationalism. After Israel’s success in the 1967 war, this changed. Rather than little Israel battling a united Arab front, the pitch became big Israel suppressing a Palestinian minority.
In this final part of the series we consider the elevation of this relatively new Palestinian cause from a local liberation movement into a global force and focus of international solidarity.
Antisemitism reoccurs throughout the last two millennia, particularly in Christendom, typically as a moral drive. Today, Islamists articulate their hope of Jewish eradication through jihad: divine justice through cosmic warfare. Western radicals mirror this in terms of social justice and their fight against oppression. Two sides of the same coin, whose value is set in Jewish blood.
Palestine has become the touchstone of a deeper narrative than a strip of land. To give a few quotes: A Rutgers University panel held that “Palestine is a queer feminist struggle against imperialism; criticising Hamas’s persecution of LGBTQ Palestinians is a ‘homophobic’ tactic.” Irish actress Denise Gough in a viral video likened Israel to the fatal flaw in the Death Star in Star Wars—the way to destroy the evil monstrosity. Nelson Mandela: “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” A murderous US radical back in the 1960s, Angela Davis: “Palestine itself is a kind of moral litmus test for the world.” Palestinian radical Refaat Alareer: “There’s a Palestine that dwells inside all of us… a free Palestine where all people regardless of colour, religion, or race coexist.” World Peace Council President Romesh Chandra: “There can be no peace without Palestine.” Famous novelist Arundhati Roy: “Not all the power and money, not all the weapons and propaganda on Earth can any longer hide the wound that is Palestine… the connections between all the wars, all the occupations, all the famines and displacements.” A banner at a protest outside the UN this September: “Free the earth! Free Palestine!” Decolonising Therapy social media posts: “Mental health liberation is Palestinian liberation.” Rethinking Schools (whose material is used by 200,000 US
teachers): educators have a “moral and educational responsibility… to join and teach about… the movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel.”
These are not outliers. Solidarity marches in Western cities—even after the ceasefire—see massed Palestine flags. I venture that few participants would hasten to parade their own nation’s flag. The hashtag ‘stand with Palestine’ has more than 4.2 billion TikTok views associated with it. On a single day this September, a post by Candice Owen raging against Israel gained 100 million views.
The UN has long pursued such a consensus. UN resolutions and publications refer to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and Western Wall Plaza only by their Islamic names al-Haram ash-Sharif and the Buraq Plaza—denying Judaism’s ties to its holiest sites. US Ambassador to the UN, Jeane Kirkpatrick said back in the 1980s “I think the Holocaust is possible again. I didn’t think so before I came to the UN, but I think so now.” In the period 2015-2024: the UN passed 172 resolutions against Israel; 78 against all other countries combined. For the UN, Israel is at least twice as evil as the rest of the entire planet combined. UNRWA, with its 30,000 employees (mainly Palestinian), is viewed as a subsidiary of Hamas—including by the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
The impact of all this and the relentless hostility of the mainstream media has been to isolate and put Jews at risk internationally: in public places; in schools, colleges and the professions; in publishing, sport, the arts; in their shops and cafes; even in synagogues. Jews are expelled from the community of the upright—unless they submit and publicly denounce Zionism. By contrast, violent anti-semites are given public platforms by key commentators, threatening protests are permitted, and their hate symbols widely paraded. A recent survey found that 1 in 4 Americans see antisemitism as a justified reaction to the Gaza war, rising to nearly 40% among young evangelicals. For most Americans, the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is acceptable and not anti-Jewish.
Instead of solidarity or compassion, hostility and an explosion of hateful myths. As journalist Jamie Weinstein puts it: “The sadistic 7 Oct. massacre was the easiest moral test of our time. Since so many people are failing it, it has become the most clarifying moral moment of our time.”
The suffering of the Palestinian people has become a holy witness, held up by a priestly class of experts and broadcast by their advocates. Here, we are told, is a people with a long history and culture and deep roots in the land who are denied their heritage and rights.
However, as I demonstrate in my book From the River to the Sea: the Land in History and Prophecy, much of that conventional narrative is false.
Anti-Zionism holds a single article of faith: Israel is uniquely evil. No fact can breach that belief; every untruth against Israel is not only plausible but has weight because it confirms dogma. Circulating the lies is an act of brotherhood in the battle.
“Who in the church will pursue the Lord’s blessing and build His temple together? And who will lift the world’s banners of righteousness?”
Palestine and the Palestinians are cast as the tip of the spear in a global struggle. The nations have anointed Palestinians as the anti-chosen people.
The symmetry is precise:
- a people chosen (largely invented) by the world to counter an ancient people chosen by God
- their claim to history, the Land, and Jerusalem against Israel’s claim
- their restoration to bless the whole world and undo ‘the poison’ of Israel’s restoration
- global solidarity of the ‘right thinking’ to uphold Palestine, not the unity of believers to bless Israel.
In sum: beloved and vital Palestine versus toxic Israel.
This role of the anti-chosen people does not mean that individual Palestinians are necessarily ‘bad,’ any more than individual Jews are necessarily ‘good.’ The state of Israel and Jewish groups are certainly not beyond criticism, harsh criticism. But what we see goes far beyond that: Palestine as the critical weapon to deal to the Jews and Israel, finish off the ‘Death Star.’
The details of the current conflict in Gaza are complex. But the undergirding moral and spiritual issues are not. The anthropologist Louis-Klein terms anti-semitism ‘the holiest hatred’, a finger-poking in the eye of the Creator as an indictment against His choice. The Bible warns us of the consequences.
“I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonours you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)
“And now many nations have been assembled against you… But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, and they do not understand His purpose.” (Micah 4:11)
“Behold I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples … I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples.” (Zechariah 12:2)
The Bible is insistently bi-cultural from Genesis to Revelations: Israel and the nations, Jews and gentiles. Here is God’s hand in history. Paul speaks of the unity of believers in Ephesians 2 and 3 “both into one… fitting together into a holy temple… gentiles… fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, fellow partakers of the promises.” These statements are bi-cultural, not multi-cultural: Jewish and gentile believers in Christ fitting together.
Who in the church will pursue the Lord’s blessing and build His temple together? And who will lift the world’s banners of righteousness? Time to choose.
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