From the River to the Sea

A R I E L L A  C A S E Y

In this article, Ariella Casey discusses the recent attacks on Israel by Hamas and the underlying hatred towards Jews. It explores the reasons behind this hatred and delves into the significance of the Jewish covenant with the Creator. It also questions the motivations of Jews who reject their identity and the growing support for Zionism. The post concludes with a call to trust in God and not rely on alliances with other nations.

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Israel was savagely attacked throughout the towns along the Gaza border by Hamas a week ago, on Shabbath October 7. This date coincided with the last part of the feast of Sukkot, and marked almost exactly 50 years after the Yom Kippur War – yes, our enemies attacked on Yom Kippur, the Holiest Day of the year for Israel and Jews everywhere. The express reason underlying all other reasons, for both the Yom Kippur War and the savage attacks of last Shabbath, was, “We want to annihilate Jews”, and we will “drive them into the sea” and “reclaim all the land ‘from the river to the sea’” (from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea) as the land of the Palestinians, or should I say, of the Arabs who hate the Jews. But it is not only the Jews that they hate. They hate anyone who does not worship the Muslim god. Christians will be next, if Hamas and their friends have their way.

Why specifically does this evil hatred of Jews exist in the world? What do we Jews have that inflames the Muslims so much? Is it the land of Israel? I don’t think that this is the core issue. If so, why did Hitler specifically design the cleansing of Jews from Europe? Why is there still antisemitism in the world? These and other questions are age-old conundrums which, on any level other than a religious or Biblical one, make no sense. Jews are different, but how and why? It cannot be a racial issue because there are Jews of many colors and from almost every country on the globe. Perhaps the only thing that Jews have that other people do not is a Covenant with the Creator of the World – and those who hate the Covenant hate the People of the Covenant. If they hate the Creator, they will certainly hate the people designated by the Creator as His people. If they love sin, they will hate any law that condemns sin.

But what about Jews that hate the Covenant and delude themselves into thinking that they are not Jewish? Perhaps they have even assimilated into other religions out of fear, or (worse yet) to rid themselves of the responsibility of keeping the Covenant. On the other hand, why are so many Jews suddenly becoming Zionists? What is there about the promise to Abraham confirming that his descendants would inherit the Land? And who really owns the land from the River to the Sea anyway? And which river is spoken about in the promise to Abraham? Is it not the Euphrates River? So when Israel gets back its land according to the Promise, it must be from the River Euphrates to the Mediterranean Sea. Here’s the promise:

“I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.” [Exodus 23:31-33]

Do these evil ones, Hamas and their supporters, somehow recognize that the God of Israel will keep His word? It seems that they are just waiting for the Jews to mess up and be weakened so that perhaps our God will not defend us. They are like the spoiled sons Esau and Ishmael, siblings that hated their chosen brethren. They act like jealous dogs who sit in the pasture and keep the cows from eating the straw even though they themselves don’t eat straw. This is the mindset of those who are against the Creator of the Universe and His laws. This is the mindset of evil, and when evil has taken full hold, there is no coming back. It gets ugly – no, worse than ugly – it becomes savage, more vicious than any animal fight. And now it’s too close for comfort here in Israel. Even 2 hours down the road is too close, but it’s closer to us than that. The battle rages very nearby. The world has seen footage of the bodies of battered innocent youth and children, their corpses paraded by these evil beasts who exult in their deaths.

“I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.”

Why do supposedly “strong” men find value and rejoice over the killing of the innocent? The answer is that it actually belies cowardice and the addiction to blood and the murder of innocents. It is one thing to kill fighters in a war, but to murder children, youth and women? This should be something to be ashamed of, not about which to post graphic videos of dancing and celebrating for all the nations to see.

The element that most upsets me is seeing our own government seduced by American propaganda and its empty promises of help. Where is the God of Elijah? And what about Amalek, against whom Moses raised his hands to heaven to help the soldiers of Israel wipe them out? The God of Israel reminds us, “Not by might nor by power but by My Spirit”. So who will pray? Who will form a prayer chain and not stop until Amalek is completely destroyed?

From all appearances, the current Israeli government will not do so, but will side with the advice of the nations that promise military aid. But it is not about horses and chariots, as the word of the Almighty says. Making alliances with the nations has never been the right thing to do. We may be like Gideon’s small band of 300 soldiers, but the whole camp of the enemy can and will be routed if the God of Israel gets involved. We have no other hope. There will be a genocide if we do not take hold of the power of the One-and-Only Almighty God who called us to come out of darkness, just as he now calls us to come out of the darkness that unfolds before us, as we see our leaders teetering on the edge of compromise with nations controlled by those who hate us. Just watch this government change its tune about flattening Gaza and accept the compromise of military aid at the cost of a two-state solution. There must be no compromise. We need to take “their” lands for ourselves and extend our borders. It is time to trust in the One who promised to go out with our armies. We will and must win, but it will not be by making alliances with the United States or anyone else. May the false leaders give way to an end-of-days spirit of prayer which brings a leader to Israel who will work hand-in-hand with the Holy One, Blessed be He.

Ariella Casey is originally from the United States and lives in the Golan Heights where she writes prolifically on the topics of politics and religion in Israel. She publishes the blog Take Hold the Tzitzit.

Ariella Casey may be contacted at juliehetterle@gmail.com.