“When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.”
Isaiah 43:2b
- Hamas calls on Palestinians to set fires in the West Bank.
- Flames are being fanned by antisemitic hate, with social media users terming the fires “Flames of the Flood,” echoing Hamas’s description of the October 7th massacre.
The State of Israel turned 77 this week. Or, consistent with the phrase often expressed about Israel’s age, she is “3,000 years old, 77 years young.”
This year’s celebrations in Israel were overshadowed by the raging wildfires that began in the Jerusalem hills on 30th April. The fires have now spread across approximately 20km, making it one of the most severe wildfires in recent history.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes. Several dozen have been hospitalised, including two pregnant women and two infants. Israel has deployed 163 fire crews and received additional air support from international teams.
At the time of writing, the situation is not yet under control and as Watchmen on the walls, we must pray for Israel, that the fires will be extinguished, and that there will be no further harm to life or property.
As Watchmen, we must also make some observations. Israel is not alone in being among a number of countries that have experienced devastating wildfires in recent years. But Israel also faces a set of circumstances that are unique to the Jewish state.
For example, Israeli authorities have arrested 18 individuals on suspicion of arson, including a Palestinian man who was caught attempting to start a fire in east Jerusalem. Investigations are under way to determine whether the widespread fires were started deliberately. But what is certain is that these fires have ignited the same antisemitic hatred that Israel has been fire-fighting since its independence in 1948.
Seventy-seven years ago, the newly recognised Jewish state was only a day old when Arab armies invaded. Their act of warfare was clear: they wanted to eradicate Israel. They couldn’t tolerate the Jewish people having their own state in their ancestral homeland – a land that was promised to them by God in the Bible. Israel miraculously defeated the invading armies in Israel’s War of Independence, but since then Israel’s enemies have continued to fan the flames of hatred against it.
However, just as Israel has withstood the fiery trials unleashed since her rebirth, Israel will come through. This is Israel’s story for nearly eight decades – in fact, it is the story of the Jewish people for 3,000 years. Israel has been encircled by those who wish to destroy it; by enemies that want to eradicate the Jewish people.
For example, Hamas this week posted a message on Telegram encouraging Palestinians to “burn whatever you can of groves, forests, and settler homes.”
“Youth of the West Bank, youth of Jerusalem, and those inside Israel, set their cars ablaze… Gaza awaits the revenge of the free,” the terrorist organisation wrote.
Earlier, the Jenin News Network Telegram channel called on Palestinians to “burn the groves near the settlements” in a post on Telegram on Wednesday.
It is important to note that many Palestinian outlets refer to all Israelis as “settlers” and all cities and towns in the country as “settlements.”
It is alarming that there are celebratory posts on Facebook, Telegram and TikTok with videos fires accompanied by incitement such as, ““We ask God to protect our people and our land. May these fires confuse the occupiers and their embattled settlers.” Another comment by a Lebanese journalist says, “May God burn them as they burned the people of Gaza and their tents.”
“O, youth of the West Bank,” called one inciting video. “Let us be the flame of freedom which will not die. Let us make their night – a burning day. Let us bring back to them the nightmares of the occupation, so they know that every day is a struggle for the resistance. Set fires of freedom everywhere. We will not give in and will not give up until we burn every piece of stolen land.”
On social media, the fires were also branded as “Flames of the Flood,” echoing Hamas’s name for the October 7th massacre, “Flood of Al-Aqsa”.
Palestinian news channel “Akhbar Filastin” tweeted on their X account (112,000 followers): “A call to the revolutionary youth and all the heroes of the West Bank.. Settlers’ homes and the surrounding areas are your target. Burn them with your Molotov cocktails and set fire to the grass near the settlement outposts.”
While the Telegram channel Jenin News (320,000 followers) wrote: “Calls from youth to burn forests close to the raped (lands)… The (Zionist) entity is Burning! This is an opportunity for you, to increase the fires, youth of Jerusalem and the occupied interior, raise your spirits and make up your mind, their settlements, set them ablaze.”
Other posters shared on these channels included calls to “exploit the heat of the summer and set fire to the forests of the settlers. There will be not one settler left in our land.” while others wrote: “let’s burn their settlements and make them a living hell for them… Don’t underestimate what you have and what you can do.”
Israel’s Independence Day is a reminder of God’s faithfulness to restore the Jewish people to the land of their inheritance. It is also a testimony of the resilience of the Jewish people. Those who fan the flames of hatred do so at their peril.
As Watchman, we must also be ‘first responders’. We must prayer that the wildfires currently ablaze in Israel will cease. And likewise we must pray that the fiery darts – metaphorical and physical – of Israel’s enemies will be overcome. ‘Am Ysrael Chai’ – the nation of Israel lives.
