The Christian Response to Hamas' Jihad Terror: Jerusalem Patriarch offers to be exchanged for Gaza hostages

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (JN 15:13)

Jerusalem Catholic Patriarch offers to be exchanged for Gaza hostages

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa made his comment in response to a question during a video conference with journalists in Italy.

By The Jerusalem Post via REUTERS  |  OCTOBER 16, 2023

Pope Francis' representative in the Holy Land said on Monday he was willing to exchange himself for Israeli children taken hostage by Hamas and held in Gaza.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, made his comment in response to a question during a video conference with journalists in Italy.

"I am ready for an exchange, anything, if this can lead to freedom, to bring the children home. No problem. There is total willingness on my part," he said.

"The first thing to do is to try to win the release of the hostages, otherwise there will be no way of stopping (an escalation). We are willing to help, even me personally," he said.

He stressed, however, that he and his office had not yet had any direct contact with Hamas, the terrorist group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,300 people.

"You can't talk to Hamas. It is very difficult," he said.

About 200 people were taken hostage and about a dozen of them are believed to be children.

Pizzaballa oversees Roman Catholic activities in Israel and the Palestinian territories as well as Jordan and Cyprus, a region which is home to an estimated 300,000 Roman Catholics.

Read the full article... 

PHOTO CREDIT:

• Msgr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa the day of his episcopal consecration
• Giovanni Zennaro, via Wikimedia Commons

NEVER FORGET? The Holocaust yearns to return, by Hamas and its Jew-hating Western allies

The world has been shocked and ripped raw in grief and horror as Hamas Muslim jihadists attacked and killed, raped, and kidnapped Israelis, targeting women and children. The beheading of many of them, a central fixture in Islamic terrorism, has been confirmed. Islam is revealed once again in its full depravity, the spawn of Muhammad, the deviant false prophet and warlord.

By their own words: Muslim groups and Leftists support Hamas and Jihad Terrorism against Israel and Jews

Hamas top dog quotes Qur’an, tells Muslims to ‘kill them wherever you find them’

Fatah quotes Qur’an as it calls on ‘Palestinians’ to ‘slaughter everyone who is Israeli, by Allah, this is jihad’

Leftists Come Out in Support of Hamas Massacres, Send Money to Palestinians

CNN’s Tapper: Last Few Days Really Eye-Opening to ‘Antisemitism on the Left’

Black Lives Matter Organization Shows Support for Hamas Amid Terror Attack on Israel

‘Free Palestine’ Rally in Dearborn, Michigan, Cheers Hamas

Rod Dreher, from his Substack:

The mindless and simplistic Oppressor/Oppressed binary has led so many of that generation [Gen Z], steeped in wokeness, to lose their moral compass. The same people who took to the streets to protest the police killing of a drug addict named George Floyd have no problem with people taking to the streets to cheer on the terrorist killing of 1,300 Jewish civilians in the highest one-day Jewish death toll since the closing of the Nazi death camps.

Think about that.

Dr. Timothy Furnish: 'Hamas, Iran’s Bloodthirsty Sock Puppet'

Here is an excellent primer on Hamas' bloody, barbaric Islamic Jihad terrorist attack against Israel, from noted Islam scholar and author Timothy Furnish:


Hamas, Iran’s Bloodthirsty Sock Puppet

By TIMOTHY FURNISH | The Stream | October 9, 2023

Hamas has murdered, so far, over 600 Israeli civilians in its new war. Only the War of Independence (1948-49) and the Second Intifada (2000-05) killed more non-combatants. In addition, over 400 Palestinians have died. Both sides are sure to lose more. Especially the Gaza Palestinians. Because Israel’s wrath is kindled. And with good reason.

Hamas: Elected Terrorists

What is Hamas? It’s the Palestinian branch of the global Muslim Brotherhood. The name is actually an acronym from Arabic. Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyah, “Movement of the Islamic Resistance.” Founded in 1987, Hamas won the Palestinian elections in 2006. But it lost control of the West Bank to the non-jihadist Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Relegated to the tiny Gaza Strip, Hamas has spent the past 17 years periodically attacking Israel. It’s one of the 55 Islamic terrorist groups in the world (81% of the total). The vast majority of which are Sunni.

Iran: the Puppeteer

However, Hamas and some Sunni groups, like the related Palestinian Islamic Jihad, are supported by staunchly Twelver Shi`i Iran. Since the 1979 “Islamic Revolution” the ayatollahs fancy themselves leading a global Islamic insurgency. Not merely sponsoring terrorism. But insurgency against what, exactly? Against the West in general. And the United States in particular. Why? Because European-American civilization has dominated the globe for 500 years. In the past, Muslims saw the West as pushing Christianity on others. Now, it’s seen as imposing godless secularism and the LGBTQIA+ agenda. (Orthodox Christian Russia and officially Communist China also see the post-modern West as overbearing. Which is why the three civilizational blocs often cooperate against the U.S.)

The Little Satan is Closer

So what’s that have to do with Israel? Fundamentalist Sunnis and Shi`is agree on one thing, at least. That the Jewish state is the tip of the Western spear, embedded in the Muslim Middle East. A “foreign body” that must be expelled. Sunni Usama bin Ladin often referred to the “Crusader-Zionist” alliance. The Shi`i ayatollahs now say the same. But unlike UBL, they’re loathe to directly attack the Great Satan. Besides, it’s the Far (Away) Enemy. So they provide funding and weapons — especially rockets—to attack the Little Satan. Which is a convenient Near Enemy.

How Hamas’ War Benefits Iran

What do Iranian zealots get out of goading, if not directing, such horrible Hamas attacks at this juncture? Five benefits, in ascending order of importance.

First, a thumb in the eye of the Biden Administration, which recently “released” $6 billion to the Islamic Republic, to ransom hostages. Earmarked, say Bidenistas, only for “humanitarian purposes.” The ayatollahs are laughing all the way to the weapons market.

Second, sparking a major conflict in the Middle East gets Ukraine off the front page. This helps Russia, one of Iran’s patrons.

Third, the war makes the planned Turkish-Israeli rapproachment untenable.

Fourth, it scuttles the possible Saudi-Israeli normalization. Neither Turkish President Erdoğan nor Saudi ruler Muhammad bin Salman can meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Not when the IDF is leveling Palestinian buildings. With people inside.

Finally, there are some in Tehran obsessed with eschatology. These want to hotwire the apocalypse. Which means what? Destroying Israel in order to spark the return of the Twelfth Imam, the messianic Mahdi. In this view “the annihilation of the Zionist regime is one of the preconditions for the arrival of the Mahdi.” Iran’s President, and probable next Supreme Leader, is almost certainly of this mindset, too.

Hamas: Jihadist or Joker?

What does Hamas get out of this bloodletting? Many of its members will get a one-way ticket to the afterlife. Unfortunately, many of them have been convinced that they will be rewarded by Allah there with sensual delights. Instead, they will be punished by the true God for their evil deeds. Hamas’ jihadists truly exemplify that “some men just want to watch the world burn.”

Much more in the full article at The Stream...

Leo Hohmann: 'Attack on Israel activates ‘zero hour’ around the world, and America is not immune'

From noted independent journalist Leo Hohmann:

"This single event in Israel has triggered [Muslim rallies in support of Hamas] in America’s largest cities, New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Muslims are also celebrating in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran and Turkey (a NATO member), and they will launch more attacks on Jews and Christians around the world."

"...It would be a mistake to view what happened in Israel as something 'over there'. It can and will happen here. In the U.S. and many European countries, the hordes are not standing at the gates, they’re inside the gates, waiting for their zero-hour event. This may be it."

Globalists open second front in World War III: Attack on Israel activates ‘zero hour’ around the world, and America is not immune

LeoHohmann.com  |  10/8/2023

In the realm of geopolitical events, things are almost never as they appear.

The messaging being sent by the media is no longer mere “news.” What we receive from them are carefully crafted narratives meant to advance certain agendas. The same event, in fact, can carry multiple narratives often diametrically opposed to each other because the narratives are tailored to specific audiences and loaded with explosive words and images meant to trigger emotions in those audiences depending on their prior conditioning.

And the devastating attack on Israel Friday night was no exception.

The “what” cannot be debated – over 600 Israeli citizens were slaughtered and more than 2,000 injured in a brazen and brutal attack by Hamas terrorists. More than 100 other Israelis, including an Israeli military general, were captured and are being held as hostages.

But the “why” and the “how” – as in why now and how did they get away with it – will be less understood by the average American who’s more interested in who wins the Packers’ game this Sunday or how long Taylor Swift will retain her latest boyfriend.