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Across campuses in the United States, Europe and Australia, there are violent demonstrations in support of Hamas and the Palestinians.

It makes no sense, because the vast majority of those demonstrating know little of the history of the Middle East. They do not know what River, Sea or Freedom they are chanting about.

Close to home, my granddaughter’s graduation ceremony at Sydney University was impacted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators last week. They are becoming emboldened. The cost of security and fear generated is impacting us all.

How did this happen?

The Wokeness Cancer

These demonstrations are surprisingly closely linked with the creeping cancer of wokeness.

The term “woke” has a long history in the Black American protest movements. It was initially a call to “stay awake” to injustice and racial discrimination. Now, it has entered the mainstream with a new definition.

“The real purpose of ‘woke’ is to divide the world into hyper-socially aware, self-appointed gatekeepers of language and behaviour, and the rest of humanity,” says Boston Globe columnist Alex Beams.

Today, in Australia, the left embraces wokeness as political progressiveness encompassing perceived social injustice, individual moral choice about sexuality, environmental concerns and critical race theory.

For the right, it is used to denigrate leftist culture and, in contrast, to promote Judeo-Christian morality and values.

Woke is now used as a weapon. The irony is that those allegedly advocating social justice, equality and diversity are denying these rights to their opponents. Those not agreeing with their “self-evident truth” are “cancelled”, silenced and mocked.

In the name of free speech and academic license, woke ideology has infected our universities’ hierarchies. This explains why violent and disruptive protests in support of the terror organisation Hamas meet with very little resistance.

The silent majority failed to “stay awake” while this was happening, and the enemy came into our camp.

Parallels with Hitler’s Anti-Semitism

The spirit behind “wokeness” is the same spirit behind Nazi antisemitism. It is essentially a rebellion against the Created order and against God Himself.

Following World War I, Germany was in a mess economically, socially and spiritually. An aspiring leader, young Adolf Hitler suggested Germany’s troubles stemmed from the Jews. His radical views eventually led to the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews were murdered.

Hitler was able to gain momentum for his radical ideas by recruiting young leaders and indoctrinating them. Wokeness has followed a similar path. The young are enthusiastic, open to counter-cultural ideas and easily manipulated by power-hungry leaders.

Meanwhile in Jerusalem: A Protégé of Hitler Emerges

Mohammed Amin Hussaini, born in Jerusalem during the Ottoman Empire, became the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem in 1921. He was violently opposed to the establishment of a Jewish state and was an avid fan, and even employed at one time by Adolf Hitler.

The Mufti incited Arab hatred of the Jews, resulting in many riots and fatwas. During World War II, he publicly incited Arabs to kill Jews whenever they found them.

After the war, the Mufti was identified as a war criminal and fled to Egypt. He met a young Egyptian student, Yasser Arafat, who became his disciple. The Mufti indoctrinated Arafat with hatred of the Jews and against a Jewish homeland.

Arafat also met Hassan Al-Bana, a Mufti and Hitler supporter concerned about the abandonment of Islamic beliefs, who founded the Muslim Brotherhood. This became the perfect vehicle for Arafat’s ambitions of dominating the Arab world with his radical thought and ideology.

Wokeness and Hamas have the Same Spirit

When the nation of Israel was declared on 14 May 1947, Arafat was at the forefront of uniting the Arab nations against Israel, sparking Israel’s War of Independence.

The troops of the Muslim Brotherhood made their headquarters in Gaza and established HAMAS – the acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Islamic Resistance Movement).

Antisemitism was sewn into the fabric of Hamas’ founding charter. They blamed the Jews for everything, including all the world’s revolutions and secret societies, “for the purpose of sabotaging societies and achieving Zionist interests”.

Interestingly, the Hebrew word Hamas is found in many instances in the Bible. It means violence or evil.

“Now, the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. [hamas]” (Genesis 6:7-11)

Those following woke culture, now joining with the antisemitism of Palestinian radicalism, don’t realise they are being manipulated by dark forces and are pawns of evil.

This is nothing new. It is simply rebellion against the God of Creation and the God, Who in His sovereign will, chose Israel to be His vehicle of world redemption.

In Revelation 12, the prophecy of the Woman, who wears a crown of 12 stars on her head (symbolising Israel’s 12 tribes), gives birth to a male child (the Messiah). War breaks out in heaven, and the great dragon (Satan) is hurled down to earth. It pursues the woman, and when it is unsuccessful:

Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring – those who keep God’s commandments and hold fast their testimony about Jesus. (Rev. 12:17)

The ultimate fulfilment of this prophecy is still to come, but we are witnessing a manifestation of it.

What Can We Do as Christians?

As we see prophecy unfolding, we have a vital part to play. Our Messiah, Jesus, wants all to be saved and come to a knowledge of His redemptive plan. He is patient, but the day of judgement is approaching.

We need to be alert and awake (not woke).

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. (Ephesians 6:10-12)

Maybe first, we need to repent for our sleepiness that has hastened the embedding of these forces of darkness in our institutions and in the hearts of our young people.

We have been given the weapons of warfare. Now is the time to exercise them, not just sometimes, but on a daily basis. The battle is the Lord’s but we are the bulwark, setting a barrier of prayer to protect those already in the family, then creating a highway of invitation to those who are yet to come in.

Therefore, put on the full armour of God,
so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground,
and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then,
with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,
with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,
with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. [Ephesians 6:13-17]

May our gracious Lord stay His hand, that many more may come into the household of faith.

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