The Israel-Hamas War from October 2023 reignited old questions. Who “owns” the holy land? Why did God have a chosen people at all, and then defend them from enemies? When Netanyahu calls Hamas “Amalekites,” is it because the biblical conflict between Israel and Amalek was a genocidal holy war? Does Israel need another temple? Why is Christian Zionism a Protestant phenomenon?

Middle East after snow, December 2013. Photo credit: NASA space weather station.