SO MUCH TO MOURN!
Described as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, Tish’a B’Av (the 9th of Av) remembers the most significant tragedies the Jews have suffered, specifically the destruction of the Temples in 586 B.C by the Babylonians and in 70 A.D at the hands of the Romans. The season of mourning begins 3 weeks prior to the 9th of Av when Jewish tradition believes both Temples were destroyed and in particular commemorates the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans. It begins a time of mourning and refraining from celebrations like weddings or shaving and the like, then in the 9 days leading up to the 9th, mourning and self deprivation intensifies culminating in a full fast on the 9th. Tish’a B’Av has the solemnity of Yom Kippur, it is a day of fasting, and abstinence from washing, relational intimacy, applying perfume and other such ointments, and wearing leather shoes which are seen as a symbol of luxury. The Book of Lamentations is also read in the synagogue.
“It was as if hot coals of scorn were being poured over a people already in sackcloth and ashes”
As Israel and the Jewish diaspora remembered Tish’a B’Av just a couple weeks back on 2nd & 3rd August, it came as another tide of condemnation from the nations washed over the west as a result of a concerted litany of lies provided by Hamas and broadcast by the liberal western media. It was as if hot coals of scorn were being poured over a people already in sackcloth and ashes and something difficult for us to comprehend. It should be cause for us to also mourn and make a great lament over the demise of our western democracies.
YES! THERE IS SO MUCH TO MOURN
MOURN THE FALSE STARVATION CLAIM
The Media is blatantly lying about starvation in Gaza. The issue for the West right now is not that they are lying (we can see it), but that OUR system of “reliable” news communication is broken and undermines trust in our democracy.
The starvation narrative is like an out of control train hurtling along the tracks leaving all in its way feeling powerless to do anything. In a recent speech Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu gave to the foreign press, he made it very clear the world is being fed lies by Hamas. Later during questions he admitted Israel is “losing the propaganda war” citing vast amounts of false information often being propagated through social media “Bots” (automated software, programmed to spread information on the internet).
WHAT ARE WE BEING FED?
The false claims of starvation in Gaza propagated by the media have a much more sinister aspect. They represent a premeditated and deliberate act in poisoning the world against Israel that should remind us as the Apostle Paul wrote, to the Thessalonians, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work;… ” (2 Thessalonians 2:7a).
Those wanting to shape the narrative against Israel know when a story is released it is easier to ask for forgiveness because the mud has already stuck and the damage is done.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this propaganda war is how Western leaders are buying into it. How can that even be possible, and why is it that so many people are seeing what are blatant discrepancies of facts provided from a terror organisation?
How is it that we can see the blatant discrepancies in the images, yet others don’t?
As you look at the images presented in the media, it really seems quite obvious that those purported as being malnourished actually suffer from genetic diseases. Why do all the mothers of the so called starving babies look so healthy and are surrounded by other healthy looking children? Why is it that if you look behind the images in focus you see healthy body weights and energetic movement. among the Gazan population?
Our Western media has largely conditioned society to trust the words and images they present. However, news production today is less about factual stories and more about emotional connection with the viewer and shaping our opinions. In other words, you’re not absorbing truth, you’re absorbing an idea, a narrative that is presented in a tone, and with words and pictures carefully produced to create an emotional response, whether it is anger, fear, compassion or concern. Thats why headlines are so sensational or eye catching. They are designed to get your attention, but the story is designed to affect your emotions. It’s designed to tug at your heartstrings, create a connection and increase your trust and loyalty. Thats also why the news anchors/readers are so highly valued, it is through them the story is delivered and who you relate to, and trust.
“WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THE MEDIA SAYS, AND HOW THEY ARE SAYING IT.”
Of course not all news stories have the same weight attached to them. But when it comes to the tide of opinion about Israel, the news makes a difference and can negatively impact Jewish lives around the world while causing great harm to Israel. And that is what we are seeing take place now, as antisemitism runs rampant, as world leaders pledge their support for Palestine, and a left leaning global-focused world drives a wedge into sovereign Western democratic values. It is all delivered through the messages we consume in all forms of media, therefore we need to think about what the media says, AND how they are saying it.
As the Scriptures say… “He who speaks truth tells what is right, But a false witness, deceit.” (Proverbs 12:17) “But to the wicked God says…….”“You let your mouth loose in evil And your tongue frames deceit.” (Psalm 50:19)
MOURN THE HOSTAGES HELD CAPTIVE IN GAZA
As The Jewish people were in mourning on Tish’a B’Av, Hamas released the real starvation story unfolding in the tunnels of Gaza where Evyatar David has been held hostage for almost 680 days.
50 Israeli hostages taken captive on October 7 2023 remain held by Hamas in Gaza. It is fair to say, that if it were not for these hostages still being held by Hamas in tightly defended tunnels this war would be over. Hamas exploits Israels compassion and commitment to save the hostages by refusing to surrender, and are extracting every bargaining opportunity they can to protect their position as the overlords of the Palestinian people and further their cause.
HAMAS’ DEPRAVITY KNOWS NO DEPTH
As Israel were observing a time of mourning, Hamas released two videos of hostages Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David being kept in inhumane conditions causing inexplicable suffering. The first video was of showed Evyatar David being forced to dig his own grave and count the days he has gone without food.
Evyatar David
David was abducted from the Nova Music Festival in Re’im, southern Israel, when he was 22 years old. He reportedly stayed behind with his friend, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, to help rescue injured people.
David's last sign of life was in a February Hamas propaganda video with Gilboa-Dalal. The two were forced to watch from a van as other hostages were released from Gaza.
In the video, both men plead for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or US President Donald Trump to secure a deal for their release.
After the release of the February video, David’s brother, Ilay, said that he “looks half the man he was. He looks starved. He looks exhausted.”
Excerpt from Jerusalem Post article 3 August 2025
(Galia David, the mother of hostage Evyatar David, holds pictures of her son during a press conference organized by the Geneva Association of United Nations Correspondents (ACANU) at the European (UN) headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, 12 August 2025 (Photo: EPA/Salvatore Di Nolfi))
The situation for the hostages is getting worse each day as war crimes by Hamas continue in the form of denial of exposure to light, deliberate starvation, physical and psychological abuse, alongside prevention of medical assessment and treatment, and prevention of meetings with the Red Cross.
Please continue to pray for the release of all the hostages as well as comfort and peace for the families longing for their return.
MOURN THE “UNRIGHTEOUS” AMONG THE NATIONS
Australia will follow on the heels of France, the UK and Canada along with 140+ other nations that will vote in September at the UN in support of recognising a Palestinian State. This decision by the Albanese Government comes after a march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge organised by the Palestine Action Group and attracted tens of thousands.
RIGHTEOUS AMONG THE NATIONS
Following the events of the Holocaust and the establishment of the state of Israel, the Israeli government provided a way to recognise non-Jewish individuals who risked their lives to save Jews from extermination in the Holocaust. Today if you visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, there is a tree lined section devoted to these people known as “The Righteous among the Nations”. A tree is planted and a plaque is displayed with the names of these heroic individuals, many who lost their life on account of saving Jewish lives. The recognition extends well beyond these things and can even include citizenship in Israel.
Israel has bestowed great honour to those whose attitudes and actions towards their fellow man and in this instance, the Jewish people who were facing a literal genocide. These were acts of moral courage more than specific motivations by people willing to take the risk that saw many Jewish lives saved. It was about human fraternity and the value of every human life and recognising the face of evil when confronted by it.
“Just as there were “righteous among the nations” during Wold War 2 , it is clear there were equally the “unrighteous“ who betrayed Jews to the Nazis or refused to shelter or give protection to Jews when opportunity was there to do so.”
Just as there were “righteous among the nations” during World War 2 , it is clear there were also the “unrighteous“ who betrayed Jews to the Nazis or refused to shelter or give protection to Jews when opportunity was there to do so. The public betrayal of Israel and the Jewish people by Western world’s leaders over the past couple of weeks is deeply shameful and can rightfully be labeled as “unrighteous.”
This betrayal goes far beyond mere political disagreement; it constitutes a profound moral failing. It is not only a betrayal of the innocent victims of the war initiated by Hamas and their sponsors, but it also implicates these leaders and governments as de facto sponsors of terror. By rewarding and legitimising a designated terror group and their violent actions, they contribute to inflicting even greater suffering and hardship upon Israel and the Jewish people, compounding the already tragic consequences of this conflict.
GRATITUDE FROM A DESIGNATED TERROR GROUP
It is no surprise that is is reported that Hamas has praised the incredulous and unrighteous world leaders backing a Palestinian State at the UN Meeting in September. But this will only embolden the Islamic world and their ideological aims. Anti-Israel and antisemitism are fuelled by the words and actions spoken from the nations through our leaders and the media, and are a sure warning of the times in which we are now living.
The Prophet Joel speaks of the times to come when God will bring unrighteous nations to account. “I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land.” (Joel 3:2)
IT IS APPROPRIATE TO MOURN
As Ecclesiastes says, there is “a time to mourn” (Eccl 3:4) and it is appropriate right now for we who believe in Jesus and love God’s Word to mourn the things we are seeing unfold before us. The deception, the hatred, the lawlessness and the unrighteous acts bringing pain and suffering to the Jewish people in Israel and around the world.
We also need a perspective of what God is doing. The book of Daniel reminds us, ““It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding. “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.” (Daniel 2:21–22)
In a democracy, leaders can change with each election as public opinion shifts, but ultimately it is God who has the say. Sometimes God gives us bad leaders to fulfil His plans at that time, and sometimes He gives us good leaders to do His work whatever that may be. But every leader God establishes, He also will judge. We pray that God gives us leaders who follow what is right and stand for truth and justice.
Meanwhile, it is right to mourn when governments act wrongly or support evil, including hatred towards the Jews.
““But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ ““ (Matthew 25:31–40)
