An open letter calling for a Gaza crossfire signed by a wide range of Australian Christian leaders, including denominational heads, has been countered by a pro-Israel group’s rival open letter.
The letter, timed for Passover, which begins today, is addressed to Federal Ministers and responds to the recent announcement by the Foreign Minister, Senator Penny Wong, suggesting that the government may recognise a Palestinian state, considering that it could be a way to peace. A United Nations Security Council meeting last week did not accept a bid by the Palestinian Authority to be recognised as a full member of the UN, following a veto from the United States
“We represent hundreds of thousands of Australian Christians. How is it that after a horrific massacre inflicted on Israelis on October 7th, Australia is on the verge of recognising a Palestinian State a reward for terrorism and an unthinkable signal be sent to all terrorists and fuel the fire of already unacceptable levels of antisemitism in our nation?” the letter asked.
“How will this bring peace when every time Israel has consented to give more land away, terrorism and hatred against the Jewish people have intensified? This emboldens the Palestinians to commit even more attacks as there are financial rewards (‘pay for slay’).”
The letter’s signatories include:
Alex Genovese – a director at Derek Prince Ministries
Daniel and Massey Dixon – pastors at ARC Ministries in Cairns
Graham McLennan – National Alliance of Christian Leaders
Ian Worby – Christians For Israel
Margaret Court –Victory Life Centre Perth
Warwick Marsh – Canberra Declaration
Mark Leach – Never Again Is Now
Scanning the list, The Other Cheek notes that most signatories are Pentecostal or Charismatic but that no one has signed from a major theological college or identified as a leader of a denomination.This contrasts with the ceasefire letter, which had strong representation from leaders in the Anglican (evangelical and progressive), Baptist and Uniting denominations but few Pentecostals.
The letter comes with a response to The Other Cheek’s coverage of the earlier letter by Martin Weatherston, director of a group called The Church’s Ministry Amongst the Jewish People or CMJ ANZ. Weatherston and his wife Kim lead two churches in the Crosslink Christian Network, a charismatic denomination.
CMJ Response to the first Church Leaders’ Ceasefire Letter
The letter calls upon the Australian Government to advocate for an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of military assistance to Israel of any kind. How many of you know that accession to demands such as those made in this letter would almost certainly mean the end of the Jewish State? The evangelical Christians of the 19th and 20th centuries must surely be turning in their graves. It was primarily through their advocacy, not least that of the Church’s Ministry among the Jewish People (CMJ), that Balfour made his declaration on 2 November 1917, promising “the establishment in Palestine of a national homeland for the Jewish people.”
Out of the ashes of the holocaust, the Jewish nation was born. The subsequent Arab attacks and ensuing war introduced a complicating factor to an already complex political situation – Arab refugees. Further Arab attacks led to the 6-Day War (1967), as a result of which Israel’s territory increased three-fold. After the Yom Kippur war in 1973, the US mediated a limited “disengagement in Sinai and the Golan”. Since then, there have been numerous ‘land for peace’ deals, including Gaza in 2005. The net result has been a crazy quilt of territories leaving the Jewish State more vulnerable to its many enemies than ever. It has been in the context of this escalating conflict that the catch-cry has caught on that “Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea” – clearly a global call for a second holocaust.
• With reference to the horrific nature of October 7, what would happen if Australia were attacked by a neighbouring country? There is a precedent of this in a Western country – the USA. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, massive search and rescue operations were launched, and terrorism investigations led to the declaration of War on Terrorism that launched military engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq. Even though many civilian lives were lost in these operations, they received the support of most, if not all, Western nations.
• The “scale of the response” ignores Israel’s patience for many years of being bombed and attacked for no better reason than it exists. The much-quoted 30,000+ figure (reduced by 11,000 on April 6th) comes from Hamas alone, which has constantly produced disinformation (examples are readily accessible online). Hamas does not acknowledge that fighters have been killed at all.
In fact, the ratio of civilian deaths to combatants is acknowledged by military expert John Spencer of West Point as among the lowest ratios, possibly better than any other war in history. The only reason the ratio is so low is because Israel risks its own citizens in face-to-face combat rather than only bombing. It has always done so even when there were no hostages at risk because Judaism believes in preserving life wherever possible. It even does the most foolish thing of warning the people each time a bombing was to take place with letters and phone calls. No other nation does this because it undermines the original purpose of defeating the enemy.
The letter ignores the fact that civilians are mainly killed because Hamas continually uses human shields and hostages – both war crimes. Al Shifa Hospital is an excellent example. Also relevant is the fact that the tunnels are under all the important buildings and are kilometres long. Hamas had years to build an infrastructure nation, but instead, they prepared the infrastructure for war, which they meant to drag out, using the tunnels until international pressure such as this letter would block Israel from protecting itself.
• Acknowledgement of the many years of persecution culminating in the holocaust is noted.
• The authors of this letter need to brush up on their history. A good starting point would be Kelvin Crombie’s article on the foundational reasons behind the current conflict at https://cmj.org.au/ Also instructive is the article at the following link https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-invention-of-the-palestinian-people/
The word “blockade” is false. Israel has never “blockaded” Gaza. They have controlled the flow because they had been attacked and they wished to stop the attacks. For the same reason, they set up the wall. But, at the same time, they willingly allowed Gazans into Israel for medical intervention and to work. And hundreds of trucks entered Gaza every week. What blockade? The same is true for the so-called ‘occupied territories.
The UN proposed a Partition Plan (after Trans-Jordan was hived off as a separate state from the British Mandate, an obvious two-state solution) which was accepted by the Jews and rejected by the Arabs.
The surrounding Arab nations attacked, and UN Resolution 181 went into the dustbin of history as a result. The second attempt at a two-state solution came when Gaza was emptied of Jews in 2005. Rather than using its considerable resources to build a nation, Gaza became a platform from which to attack Israel and kill Jews. Even the Left in Israel – originally supportive of this solution – has gone cold on it. Nor does it have any support from the Arabic-speaking people. It is totally unrealistic.
• If the Torah and Prophets are considered important, the covenant promise of the land to His Chosen People in perpetuity must surely be important to us as Christians who, of all people, must surely align ourselves with that promise.
The about-face from the zeal of the Christian community to see the restoration of Israel in accordance with Biblical prophecy could not be more complete. This was seen by them as being a condition for the Lord’s return. What would the signatories of this letter say to the likes of William Wilberforce, Charles Simeon and Lord Shaftesbury about this? Has the said covenant promise made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob been broken? How will they respond to Lord God Himself when His word comes to them: “I will enter into judgement against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land” (Joel 3:2)
Martin Weatherston and Keven McIldowie CMJ Australia, New Zealand and India (ANZI)
The Letter in Full to Federal Ministers
Dear Ministers,
We are writing to you regarding a critical moment in time for our Country Australia!
We represent hundreds of thousands of Australian Christians. How is it that after a horrific massacre inflicted on Israelis on October 7th, Australia is on the verge of recognising a Palestinian State as a reward for terrorism and an unthinkable signal be sent to all terrorists and fuel the fire of already unacceptable levels of antisemitism in our nation?
How will this bring peace when every time Israel has consented to give more land away, terrorism and hatred against the Jewish people have intensified? This emboldens the Palestinians to commit even more attacks as there are financial rewards (“pay for slay”).
Have we forgotten and neglected our History – The Battle of Beersheba in 1917, where our young Light Horse Soldiers fought against the Ottomans and Germans and were victorious in paving the way for the Jewish state to be established? Are we now going to now turn our backs on Israel and the Jewish people and force upon them a sovereign state, a plan that could ultimately cause their destruction, if not annihilation?
Israel is a light unto the nations and has helped other countries in so many fields – Science, Agriculture, Medicine, Psychology, Information Technology, Philosophy etc. Yet we treat them as if they have no worth even though Australia has benefited from their expertise.
The story of the Jewish People in the Land of Israel extends over 3000 years. Judea and Samaria (now known as the West Bank) accounts for 80% of the setting for the Bible.
ISRAEL IS THE ONLY NATION ON EARTH THAT LIVES IN THE SAME LAND WITH THE SAME NAME AND THE SAME CAPITAL CITY SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE AND WORSHIPPING THE SAME GOD THAT IT DID OVER 3,000 AGO!
And Australia is going to tell them that they need to give up more Land that will likely seal their destruction? Who do we think we are? Is this our “Fair Go” Australia? Is this how we treat our close friends?
For God’s sake, let it not be so….
Yours Sincerely,
John Lockwood Chairman
Southern Cross Alliance for Israel
(The Other Cheek has made small grammatical changes – for example adding question marks to questions.)
List of Signatories
Alex Genovese – Derek Prince Ministries
Andrew Tucker – THINC the Hague
Deon Van Baalen – HaYovel
Enoch Lavender – Olive Tree Ministries
Graham McLennan – National Alliance of Christian Leaders
Greg Cumming – Good News For Israel
Hilary Moroney – Canberra House Of Prayer
Hugh Kitson & Fraser Harding – Title Deed Media
Ian Worby – Christians For Israel
Jayne O’Neal – Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast
John Lockwood – Southern Cross Alliance For Israel
John Lockwood – Kingdom Builders
Jon-Paul Tyrere – Unity Chapel Perth
Joy Heylen – Christian Friends Of Israel Communities
Kelvin Crombie – Heritage Resources
Kyal Cumming – Kingdom church
Kym Farnik – Canberra Declaration
Les Crawford – Friends of Israel
MarOn Wetherston – CMJ
Margaret Court – Victory Life Centre Perth
Matt Chivers – Bridges For Peace
Matthew DeRemer – Thrive Community
Mike Smith – Life Church Ingham
Nel Farnik – Great South Land Ministry
Nel Farnik – Celebrate Israel
Norman and Barbara Miller – Indigenous Friends of Israel & Centre For International Reconciliation and Peace
Peter Schuptar – Prayer For Israel
Peter and Melissa Haigh – Lions Gate ministry
Ruth Webb – Tabernacle Of David Bendigo
Sarah Way – International Christian Embassy Jerusalem Simon Lawry – Friends of Israel
Steve Leiblich – Friends of Israel WA
Steven Green – Olive Tree Travel
Warwick Marsh – Canberra Declaration
Mark Leach – Never Again Is Now
Image: Sydney’s “Never Again is Now” rally Image credit: John Sandeman