Israeli Christian: ‘This is not a war for only Jews against Hamas. It’s the fight of light against darkness.’

Yes. But many Christians are blinded to this by a lingering and/or recrudescent antisemitism.

Israeli Christian says Hamas isn’t just a danger to Jews: ‘Fight of light against darkness

by Kassy Dillon, Fox News, October 22, 2023:

Shadi Khaloul, a Christian Israeli, said he believes the ongoing war isn’t just between Jews and Hamas, but between those who defend the value of light against darkness.

A Christian and former Israel Defense Forces paratrooper said he believes Hamas is not just a danger to Jews, but also to followers of Jesus.

“We think that this is not a war for only Jews against Hamas,” Shadi Khaloul said. “It’s the fight of light against darkness.”…

“We, as Israelis, are fighting this fight together with Jews, Christians, Muslims and Druze, Arameans like us,” Khaloul said. “We fight this together with Jews in order to defend the values of light of our actually common Judeo-Christian values that our democracies are built in.”

Khaloul, 47, is a part of the Christian Maronite Aramaic community that believes its members are descendants of Jesus’ early followers. Many pray in Aramaic — the language Jesus spoke — and do not identify as Arab….

“It’s not a war between Jews and them,” Khaloul said, referring to Hamas. “It’s a war between them and other people that are different from Hamas.”

Moderate Muslims are also “a target to be attacked,” according to Khaloul, citing Hamas’ attacks on members of the Palestinian political party Fatah….

“No one of the Christians want to live under this jihadi Islamic regime that treats them as infidels, that treats them as … maybe fifth-class citizens,” Khaloul said.

He pointed out that the Christian population in Gaza has dramatically decreased under Hamas. It dropped from around 3,000 prior to 2007 to about 1,300, according to the University of Notre Dame.

“This is horrible. Because of Hamas, now the Gazan people are suffering,” Khaloul said. “It’s not because of Israel.”…

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