'It is impossible to take sides in this most complicated of conflicts'

We are all moved by the suffering of the people in Gaza, but the situation is extremely complex.

Hamas attacked, murdered, raped and kidnapped many hundreds of Jews on 7 October. It thus bears the responsibility for bringing on the people of Gaza the inevitable response from Israel in defence of its people. Hamas controls Gaza, runs the hospitals and provides the world’s press with information, with no independent verification. Gazans who don’t toe the Hamas line are cruelly punished or killed. The immense system of tunnels constructed by Hamas under Gaza extends for hundreds of miles – an inverted, multi-storey complex, up to six floors deep, like a huge spider’s web, deliberately running under hospitals, schools and houses. That is where Hamas hides, leaving the Gazan people above ground to take the brunt of this dreadful war. Hamas fighters emerging from below wear no uniform so they can blend into the local population. Hamas has vowed, many times, to repeat the attacks of 7 October ‘again and again’ until Israel is annihilated.

The UK has a population 7.5 times larger than that of Israel so, proportionately, if 8,000 of our people were murdered, on one day, in one place, how would we react? Hamas provoked this terrible war and Hamas could end the suffering of the Gazan people tomorrow by giving themselves up, but never, ever, have I heard that suggestion made in the media. Hamas clearly cares nothing for the people of Gaza. Nor, it appears, do the surrounding Arab states, not one of which is prepared to give them shelter, while affording sanctuary to the Hamas leadership.

I visited the Holy Land last autumn, lived in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem and visited Christian sites. I prayed at the Western Wall because our Jewish guide gave me the confidence to do so. Our guide in the north of Israel was born in Egypt: he and his family were thrown out in the 1950s, along with upwards of 25,000 other Jews – part of the ethnic cleansing of Jewish communities by the Arab states. Throughout the centuries, Jews have been reviled, persecuted and murdered in every country of the world. Today’s iteration of anti-semitism could be termed ‘Israelophobia’. The visceral hatred of Jews is unchanged: if we do not abhor that, we should each ask ourselves why.

We left Tel Aviv at dawn on 7th October. I knew nothing of the attack until I landed in London, and my first thought was to message our guides, Adi and Zvi, two fine people who gave us much and enabled me to see, as a Christian, how much I share with the Jews.

Adi’s son in law was a DJ at the Re’im music festival. Along with two friends, he almost got away but Hamas killers blocked the road. Shot and badly wounded, his friends were eventually saved, but Adi’s son in law was killed, leaving a young wife and little baby.

Jews share with all humanity the right to exist, the right to defend themselves when attacked and the right to be believed. As in every nation, there are things that are wrong in the state of Israel, but there is also good. If I have learnt anything from my visit to the Holy Land, it is that it is impossible to take sides in this most complicated of conflicts.

Emma Brooksbank Menethorpe