Yesterday marked the second anniversary of October 7, that awful Saturday morning in 2023 when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel where they brutally murdered 1 200 people in their homes and at a music festval, and took 250 hostages to a nightmare of captivity in Gaza. 48 hostages remain of whom only around 20 are still alive.
An agonising two years later, due to wide backing for the Trump peace plan, there is a glimmer of hope in Israel for the soon return of the remaining hostages and an end to the war in Gaza that began with the terror group’s invasion 24 months ago.
But, aided an abetted by mainstream media, governments and global institutions, the relentless propaganda war against Israel continues. And there is no end in sight to the consequential unprecedented surge in antisemitism since October 7 that is endangering the lives of Jewish people everywhere. Just three days after two people were killed and four seriously injured in a synagogue attack in Manchester, England, on Judaism’s holiest day – Yom Kippur — hundreds of thousands of people across Europe marched in anti-Israel protests ahead of the second anniversary of October 7.
Yesterday’s anniversary coincided with the second day of Sukkot – or Feast of Tabernacles – a week-long biblical festival which is celebrated by Jews throughout the world. In South Africa, the SA Zionist Federation said in a statement that for Israel and for world Jewry these two years have been a test of faith, courage, and unity. “While we have mourned our dead and prayed for our hostages, we have faced a rising tide of hatred at home, a government that aligns itself with Hamas, a terrorist organisation sworn to our destruction, streets filled with pro-Hamas rallies that glorify murderers, and a media that twists Israel’s pain into propaganda. In the media, Israel’s right to self-defence has been smeared, distorted, and denied.”
The statement continues to proclaim that South African Jews remain proud and resolute in their grief and hope and determined that they will not be silenced or broken by those who threaten and vilify them.
“To those who stand with us, you remind us that light always prevails through the darkness. The Jewish people have survived Pharaohs, Inquisitions, and pogroms. We have seen empires rise and fall, and we will survive this too.
“May the memory of the victims be a blessing. May the hostages be brought home swiftly. And may Am Yisrael live, in strength, in faith, and in peace.”
At a Christian repentance prayer event on the slopes of Table Mountain on Friday, hosted by the Awakening South Africa movement, Daniel Yakobi, a Jewish leader and CEO of South Africa Friends of Israel (SAFI), expressed gratitude to the gathering for standing against antisemitism. He participated in a prophetic action in which the flags of South Africa and Israel were linked, representing a realignment between South Africa and Israel.
South African Christian solidarity with Israel is also on display this week in Israel, where 120 South African pastors have travelled to the Jewish State to participate in the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem’s annual Feast of Tabernacles gathering.
This year’s Feast marks a historic moment as more than 1 500 Christians from over 70 nations converge in Jerusalem in what has become the largest solidarity mission to Israel since the war began two years ago, says South African Friends of Israel in a press release.
Despite ongoing conflict in Gaza, the delegation of South Africa Christian leaders remain committed to championing faith-based diplomacy. They offer a symbolic testimony of the unwavering support Israel has received from Christians across the globe, who continue to stand with Israel in its time of need, says SAFI.
“The presence of 120 South African pastors in Jerusalem this week sends a powerful message: the Church in South Africa stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel against antisemitism, terrorism, and those who seek her destruction,” said Bafana Modise, National Spokesperson of SAFI. “At a time when our own government’s foreign policy has turned hostile, these pastors represent millions of South African Christians who believe in Israel’s biblical and moral right to defend itself, and to exist in peace.”
Since the ancient people of Israel returned to their land in 1948 out of the ashes of the Holocaust, enemy armies bent on their anihilation have repeatedly attacked them from all sides – and against all odds Israel defeated the agressors every time. The playbook has been repeated over the past 2 years with Iranian proxy armies attacking Israel on multiple fronts. At this moment Hamas is in tatters and the ANC government that sided with them is imploding – a reminder of God’s faithfulness to His words in Genesis 12:3 – “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you, and through you all the families of the earth will be blessed”.
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