As a child our Lord Jesus Christ and his parents were refugees, who fled to Egypt to escape Herod. Stories of migration, hospitality, and people seeking safety or asylum are constant threads through the Scriptures. For more than 70 years New Zealand churches have welcomed refugees into our communities, giving practical help and making friends with newcomers.

At present Refugee's are one of the biggest issues in the world today. The world has more than 117.3 million refugees, ncluding 6 million from the Ukraine and 6 million Palestianians. The vast majority of the Ukraine refugee's found help and support in neighbouring Poland. But no Arab state has offered to take in Gazan refugees. Why? It seems their Arab "brothers" view the Palestinians with 'fear and loathing,' Some have expressed the view that the Palestinians should be weakened if not exterminated. They are unwanted because of their well-earned reputation as trouble-makers and extremists. The behaviour exhibited by Hamas on Oct 7, was NOT an isolated incident. For decades Palestinians, have been responsible for some truly barbaric acts of terrorism and horrendous criminal behaviour. In fact Nations accepting large numbers of any Middle Eastern refugees, have reported surges in violent crimes, including sex crimes, and greatly increased terrorism threats within their borders. Those from Gaza have been raised with a hate-filled "Nazi type ideology",

No one wants them! My heart hurts for the innocent civilians and the children, we need to pray tor them. We need to uphold in prayer Palestianian Christians. We need to pray for the countries that have taken in Middle Eastern refugees, that they will be able to give them the help that they need. Finally we need to pray that God gives wisdom to the Israeli leaders. Right now Benjamin Netanyahu is doing everything humanly possible to de-escalate and avoid war with Hezbollah in the North of Israel, within Israel are currently 80,000 displaced persons (internal refugees) who have had to be evacuated from their homes in the North because of the daily bombing coming from Hezbollah in Lebanon. He also has to come up with an acceptable. compassionate, plan for his Palestianian cousins of Gaza. Dismantiling and disarming Hamas is a beginning, but when the physical war ceases the real war begins, against the Satanic idealogy behind Hamas, Israeli leaders will need all the wisdom and prayer support they can get!