Herod the Great[1]
Many Christian
Zionists like to argue that supporting Israel is defending Western
Civilisation. Even when Israel does things which the West has historically seen
as criminal, like strike at ambassadors,
“Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his country's controversial strike
on Hamas leaders in Qatar as "legitimate" during talks with US
Secretary of State Marco Rubio Monday, rejecting international condemnation
while announcing continued plans for the Gaza City offensive.
In
a joint press conference following their meeting, Rubio stressed that
Washington stands firmly behind Israel and reiterated US President Donald
Trump’s views to achieve a lasting peace: release of all hostages living and
deceased and the end of Hamas leadership.
Netanyahu
said that the Israel-Hamas war, which is nearing its second-year mark, cannot
end without achieving all of Israel’s military objectives, namely the
destruction of the Gaza-based group.”[2]
What a lot of
people fail to mention is that those Hamas leaders were gathered there for
peace talks,
“Ian
Parmeter, a Middle East expert at the ANU Centre of Arab and Islamic Studies,
told SBS News the strikes on Qatar are "odd".
"It's
an attack which really is puzzling, particularly since they don't appear to
have got [US President] Donald Trump on side with it in advance," he said.
"It's
odd, if you are serious about negotiations, you don't try to kill the other
side's negotiators.
"It
does raise questions all around the world as to the extent to which Israel is
serious about negotiating a ceasefire with Hamas."
In
a post on his Truth Social network, US President Donald Trump insisted he
played no role in the attack in Doha.
"This
was a decision made by Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu; it was not a
decision made by me," he said.
Parmeter
said the strike "upsets" efforts for peace, which have so far been
unsuccessfully mediated by Qatar and the US.”[3]
I know many
Christian Zionists and they have very little regard for the UN and
international criminal courts and such entities. I personally am sympathetic with
some of their stances on these issues. We saw how bowing to international bodies
can lead to chaos throughout the world during the Covid scare a few years ago.
Many of these international bodies have illegitimate claims to power. The
sooner we break all ties with European Emission standards for our cars here in
Australia, the better off we will all be, for instance. Many other examples of international law and agreement nonsense could be given.
But the
wickedness of striking against ambassadors is no modern standard. It is not the
product of our soft and decadent age. It is an ancient standard, derived from
long standing traditions of civilisation and also from divine law. What’s more
is that even figures in history that we would not consider to be good men
understood this. Herod the Great is one example. In a speech to his men prior
to a battle against the Nabatean kingdom he says this,
“They
have perpetrated what Greeks and barbarians alike agree to be the worst
possible offence against the law, by cutting the throats of our ambassadors.
The Greeks have declared heralds to be sacred and inviolate, while we have
learned the noblest of our doctrines and the holiest part of our law from
messengers sent by God. The name of herald can reveal God to mankind and
reconcile enemy with enemy. What greater sacrilege could there be, therefore,
than to kill ambassadors whose mission was to negotiate a just peace? And after
committing such crimes, how could they expect to enjoy a prosperous life, or
success in warfare? In my judgement, this is impossible.”[4]
Back into ancient times attacking ambassadors was seen as a terrible crime. To say that Israel is defending Western Civilisation by fighting this way is to subvert the concept. Even before the rise of Christian chivalry codes, the sacred honour given to ambassadors and peace envoys was part of our heritage. The US should know better. Christians should know better. This is not how our civilisation has worked at its best. We are not watching Western Civilisation be defended with such actions, we are watching it be subverted and turned into something else. And Christians are twisting Bible verses to say this is all according to God’s will. Christians should know better than this.
List of References
[1]
Great as in his historical title, not in the sense of his moral character.
[2] Malek
Fouda, 2025, https://www.msn.com/en-ph/politics/government/netanyahu-defends-israeli-operations-in-gaza-city-and-legitimate-strike-on-hamas-in-qatar/ar-AA1MA7Ym?ocid=BingNewsSerp
[3] Cameron
Carr, 2025, https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/israels-strike-on-qatar-a-devastating-blow-to-gaza-ceasefire-negotiations-experts-say/qb1us46ju
[4]
Josephus, Life of Herod, Folio Society edition p.54.
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