An Arab Pastor Speaks Out on Gaza - Shmuel Aweida

An Arab Pastor Speaks Out on Gaza

Thursday, July 24, 2014 |  David Lazarus  ISRAEL TODAY

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TOPICS:

Christians

The following is an open letter from Shmuel Aweida to all those "peace activists" rising up against Israel. Listen carefully, Awieda is an Israeli Arab Christian pastor who knows of what he speaks!

Dear so-called "peace-seeking people", "pro-ceasefire people" and "peace and reconciliation activists",

Forgive me for not taking your nice dreams and peace demonstrations and wishes so seriously... People who didn't care about the suffering people in Gaza under the Hamas regime for years can't really be considered morally superior to any IDF soldier that's on the ground there now. You might seem to be better and kinder, but not really... Sorry...

If you really care, then free Gaza from Hamas and other Islamic jihadist organizations! How can you feel sorry for the innocent children hurt accidentally by Israel when you don't care that the same children grow up to learn to hate intentionally? You claim to feel sorry for the hungry children while ignoring the poison they are fed every single day at Hamas and Fatah schools and on TV.

How can you feel sorry for the women crying now when you didn't care that they've been humiliated, discriminated and even raped and killed regularly for years?

Here's another thing I don't get:

These kind, sympathetic, peace-loving people who automatically want and pray for a ceasefire in Israel's war(s) against the evil, anti-Semitic, anti-human, blood-thirsty terrorist organizations like Hamas (not against the Palestinians) - they make Israel never finish "the job" and then on the top of it all, their governments and NGOs send billions of dollars of "aid" to this corrupt evil system.

And guess what happens time and again - instead of feeding the hungry with food, they feed themselves with weapons. Instead of teaching the children math, they teach them hate and jihad against the Jews. Instead of building houses and hospitals above the ground, they build terror-tunnels under the ground.

The tunnels found in the past days have cost hundreds of millions of US dollars to build! The IDF blew up millions of your money, dear nice people in the naive West!

I'm not saying that Israel is without any fault here, but sometimes I really wonder if the Palestinians' best friends are in reality the ones that maintain their oppression under this Islamic regime?

I simply don't get it! Someone here needs to get a better grasp of reality!

As much as I hate this war and the price that's being paid by our dear soldiers and the innocent civilians on both sides, I hate the fact that it's necessary! May the needed pain of war bear good fruit of peace for all! May the Lord of Hosts and Armies give us His Shalom!

There has been quite a lot of activity in the social media in the past month. I was disappointed and frustrated of some my Facebook friends and the level of naiveté and blindness with regard to the real situation and the roots of the conflicting the Middle East.

Do they really not see what the Hamas is all about or what Islam really is? Are they all so blind to what's happening around us in Syria, Iraq and all over? Don't they see what Hamas is doing to the poor population that lives under this terror daily? I don't know why I keep being surprised...

To my anti-Arab friends:

But what really surprised me was that, with regard to this operation in Gaza, the hatred, revenge and racism that filled the [Facebook] statuses of those who support Israel.

They expressed such joy over going to war and causing destruction (a joy I'm glad our leadership doesn't have). The fact they quoted Bible verses didn't make it any less stinking. So I threw those people out of my Facebook just like I did with others that posted pornography and other disgusting stuff. Trash is trash is trash.

Praying that God may protect our soldiers who are serving us and giving their lives for us - proud of the moral code of the IDF and the legitimacy of this necessary operation. Praying for those making the tough decisions - but with much more humility.

I guess we need to pray that we'll all guard our hearts from hatred, revenge, racism, pride and other destructive things that do not honor us, nor the God of Israel.

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