“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” Ephesians 1:27
The UK Prime Minister put his foot in his mouth this week when he accidentally referred to the Israeli hostages being held in Gaza as ‘sausages.’ A slip of the tongue that sent social media into overdrive and caused ‘sausages’ to become a trending topic. But was this more than just a simple faux pas? Could there be a message for Sir Keir to learn from this?
Everyone has done it. You try to say one word and out comes another. Starmer, reading an autocue, likely merged two words – ‘ceasefire’ and ‘hostages’ – together and we all heard the word ‘sausages’ before he corrected himself.
“I call again for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the return of the sausages – the hostages – and a recommitment to the two-state solution: recognised Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel,” he said in his first big speech to lay out his plans for the country.
The result? Memes, jokes, and a lot of ribbing of the PM. But it went beyond that. After a speech where the Prime Minister would have hoped to see a flurry of headlines about his plans for the country, instead, he saw headlines about sausages.
The reason we are raising this question is because we have been speaking about the Israeli hostages being held in Gaza for the past 11 (soon to be 12) months and our feeling is that the UK has not done enough to stand with Israel during this time. The new Labour government, led by Sir Keir, has taken more anti-Israel steps in the past few weeks than we have witnessed the UK take in all our years as an organisation. At a time when Israel needs the support of one of its closest allies, it appears that the new UK government is turning its back.
As Christians, we believe in God’s promises that He will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel (Genesis 12:3). We have repeatedly warned that the UK has entered uncharted waters due to decisions made by Labour. Could this have been God’s way of humbling a man whose words of support for Israel have not aligned with the actions of his government?
The Israel-Palestinian conflict has been a focal point of world attention for the past year. Everyone knows who the hostages are. When people joked to their friends and family about the ‘sausages,’ they’d inevitably be asked what he meant to say, and the explanation of, “hostages”, would immediately be known as the hostages are globally recognised. So, without it being the intention, for the past few days, much of the UK has been talking about the Israeli hostages, albeit in a roundabout way. The very people Sir Keir’s government is seemingly turning its back on are now the forefront of conversation, and the Prime Minister himself is being mocked.
All the other points Starmer was making at that moment, such as a ‘ceasefire’ which would only benefit Hamas, and a ‘two-state solution’ and a ‘Palestinian state’ which are anti-Biblical stances, were rarely mentioned compared to God’s people who have been taken captive. For once, Israel was highlighted over those who seek their destruction. For once, Stamer’s political comment that favours the Palestinians over the Israelis was flipped on its head and the attention was given to Israel.
Simply put, whether it was an act of God or a simple slip of the tongue, the result is Starmer being made a fool of, while the hostages were given the spotlight.
The Bible says that the nations will come against Israel in the latter days. As Christians, we recognise Israel’s central significance in Bible prophecy and the times we live in. Israel cannot be ignored and it will not go away, despite Satan’s plans to bring about its end. More and more, the world will be forced to talk about Israel. And ultimately, every nation, every leader, and every people group, will be judged by God Almighty on how they treat the Jewish people.
“I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.” Joel 3:2
