Nowadays, there are too many people in the West who believe there are only two options: either you support the oppressed Palestinians, or you support an evil Israel; there is no middle ground allowed. This is a false binary — a form of moral laziness — and is a symptom of the deeply polarised and self-destructive culture we now inhabit. In truth, there is another option: supporting God and God’s values.
Caring deeply about one group does not require the dehumanisation or demonisation of another. Any moral vision that does demand this has already departed from justice and compassion, and cannot claim to be aligned with God.
Those who know me well already know that I am not a supporter of Netanyahu, his far-right government, or of how his government has often treated minorities within Israel proper. Over the years I have written to him, urging him to remember the mission of the Jewish people, and to pull back from actions taken by himself or his ministers that contradict that calling. I have never received a reply — nor do I particularly expect one — but silence does not absolve responsibility, either for leaders or for citizens.
My criticisms of Israel are directed towards the government, towards those who commit injustice, and towards far-right settlers who mistreat others. I speak this way because I love God’s values of justice and love of the stranger; because I love Israel and the Jewish people; and because I want Israel to live up to the mission God gave our people — to be a light to the nations, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. This criticism is offered out of love, in the same way one would speak to a parent or a child who has committed serious wrongdoing. This is precisely why the biblical prophets spoke as they did to Israel and Judah: not to destroy, but to call back to faithfulness.
In contrast, much contemporary anti-Israel political activism does not function in this way. It collapses the vital distinction between a government and an entire people, between those who commit injustice and those who simply wish to live in peace with their neighbours. It treats Israel, and often Israelis themselves, as inherently illegitimate or uniquely evil, rather than as morally accountable human beings. Such activism does not aim at moral repair or reform, but rather at delegitimisation — and sometimes openly, at destruction. This plan of action has nothing in common with the prophetic tradition of Israel, nor with any godly pursuit of justice.
I oppose this kind of hatred and dehumanisation as firmly as I oppose injustice within Israel itself, because both violate God’s values. Supporting victims of injustice never requires endorsing the destruction of a people or a state. Wanting Israel to be more just is not the same as wanting Israel to cease to exist.
It must also be said plainly: supporting Palestinian civilians does not mean supporting movements that seek the annihilation of Israel or the killing of Israelis. That path leads only to more bloodshed, not to justice or peace. The remedy for injustice in Israel lies in making Israel better, not in attempting to erase it.
If you wish for Israel to do far better than it is doing — to act more justly, more compassionately, and more faithfully — then you are speaking in continuity with Israel’s own prophetic tradition, condemning wrongdoing and injustice, while calling the nation back to righteousness.
If, however, your desire is for Israel to be crushed and for all Israelis to be driven into the sea, then whatever that desire may be, it has nothing to do with God, righteousness, or justice — no matter how loudly it is clothed in moral language.