Liberty’s Standing for Freedom Center honors Israel on anniversary of deadly Hamas attacks

On Oct. 7, 2023, the Liberty University community was grieved over the deadly Hamas attacks that resulted in over 1,200 Israeli casualties, 250 hostages, and many innocent civilians enduring torture at the hands of Gaza’s governing authority. Earlier this month, Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom Center hosted an event titled “Why Christians Should Support Israel” on the one-year anniversary of the gruesome attacks, to commemorate the nation of Israel as it courageously defends itself against evil.

Members of the Liberty community and local area heard from Dr. Jeff Myers, president of Summit Ministries and a leading authority on Christian worldview, in the School of Business Towns Auditorium. His presentation, “One Year Later: Honoring Courage in the Face of Terror,” addressed how Christians must approach the ongoing conflict through a biblical lens in a culture hostile to the Jewish nation.

The Oct. 7 attacks gained international media attention, particularly in the United States. Campuses across America held pro-Palestine demonstrations, many claiming the acts of terror were justified because of Israel’s alleged cruelty toward Palestine. Contrary to most anti-Semitic demonstrations, Myers said Liberty was one of the only campuses that boldly proclaimed its support for Israel as it combats Islamic extremism from all geographical angles.

“One thing I love about being at Liberty … is that really tough dialogues take place in a really respectful way,” he said. “I cannot tell you how rare that is. I’ve had some unproductive dialogues at other universities.”

“When you look around the country, you recognize immediately that as a Christian university, we are unique in what we do at Liberty,” added Ryan Helfenbein, executive director of the Standing for Freedom Center. “There is so much confusion and division over the very issues that we face today. Our support, our recognition, and our biblical foundation are deeply woven into Liberty’s DNA.”

Myers tackled many of these confusions, including providing five reasons why younger generations lean pro-Palestine, how the atrocities committed by Hamas are justified by their worldview, and why Israel’s calculated military responses, although criticized, are in defense of its people.

Israel received condemnation for arming pagers with explosives in Lebanon, a strategic operation that killed 12 Hezbollah members and injured thousands more, with no civilians affected.

“Israel is in a no-win situation here. It doesn’t matter what Israel does, there are a lot of people who will criticize it,” Myers said. “(The pager setup) was literally the most surgical military strike in all of history. You could not have done anything more that would protect civilians more than that.”

Myers said Israel has been adhering to the principles of just warfare. Approximately 80 percent of Gazan casualties are Hamas fighters and their immediate families. He pointed out that Israel has not severed Gaza’s electricity or water supply and has not interfered with its agriculture.

“From a biblical perspective, war is always evil,” Myers said. “But we do believe that it’s possible for just outcomes to result from war. So, we seek these just outcomes and have certain criteria we’ve outlined to try and make that happen. As far as I can tell, Israel has been abiding by those terms of just warfare.”

He also lamented the radicalization of children in Gaza, who he said are being indoctrinated by Hamas to hate and kill Jews.

Myers said Marxism, a large spark igniting the Holocaust in World War II, also plays a significant role in the global hatred of Israel and the Jewish population today. He said these radical Marxist ideologies were birthed in universities and heavily propagated by its influential faculty.

Myers said half the Nazi leaders who planned the extermination of Europe’s 11 million Jews during WWII carried the title “doctor,” signaling that educational achievement doesn’t always translate into moral ascendency.

“Education makes people vulnerable when it’s a means of transmitting false ideologies. Marxism is a good example of that,” he said. “Marxism began with a bearded Karl Marx in a British library long before people ever went out into the streets to protest. And over time, it became the single most deadly philosophy ever devised in human history. More people have died at the hands of their Marxist governments than in all previous centuries at the hands of their governments put together.”

The event ended in a Q&A, where attendees pressed Myers with questions about Christians’ support for Israel despite the country’s decisions that some have deemed questionable in the past.

“When I say that Christians should support Israel, that does not mean Christians should support every single thing Israel does,” he said. “Israelis don’t support every single thing Israel does. I’m a proud American; I don’t support everything my government does.”

Audience members also received Myers’ book, “Should Christians Support Israel? Seeking a Biblical Worldview in an Impossible Situation.”