Since the attack on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, we have seen several pro-Palestinian protests and have watched as Jewish citizens, as well as those who support Israel, facing discrimination, hate and intimidation. We understand that this is happening, especially on college campuses and in larger cities, but we don’t think of that kind of thing happening in Crawfordsville. However, on Monday I bought my step-dad an Israeli flag and installed it on his front porch. Overnight, the flag and the pole were stolen and the bracket that held that flag had been broken in two places.
I recognize the state of Israel as our strongest ally in the Middle East. As a Bible believing Christian, I also recognize the location of modern day Israel as God’s promised land to his chosen people. It is not simply a country that has existed since 1947, it is the ancestral homeland for the Jewish people, promised to Abraham in the book of Genesis centuries ago.
I feel violated by the theft and vandalism that occurred on my family’s property, but more than that, I am saddened at this overall hatred of the Jewish people … God’s chosen people. It saddens me how people in this nation that experienced 9/11 can, two decades removed, so blatantly and aggressively support a terrorist organization that targets civilians, including women, children and the elderly. I find it hypocritical that people who support Hamas are exercising their right to free speech by denying people like my step-dad his. At the end of the day, I take great comfort in knowing that God is still in control, and I pray for people like the ones who would do something like steal a flag from from a Vietnam veteran like my step-dad.
God bless Israel and God bless America.
Michael Barclay
Crawfordsville
