The surprise attack by Hamas inside Israeli territory over the weekend and the ensuing escalation of the conflict between both sides have triggered a lot of interest among Nigerians, possibly dislodging social media debates on the allegations of certificate forgery hovering around President Bola Tinubu.
Nigeria, as a huge and diverse country, mainly dominated by two religions – Islam and Christianity, can sometimes have those religions influencing what positions people take on complex issues such as the conflict in the Middle East. There have been reports of demonstrations in the majority Muslim north in support of the majority Muslim Palestinians. But we will focus for now on the reaction of many southerners, who profess to be Christians, especially Igbos. This is partly due to a question posed by Nigerian investigative journalist, David Hundeyin, on why many African Christians keep showing affinity with Israel.
Completely random and unrelated observation:
Why do so many African Christians seem to have the idea that Israel is a "Christian" country or is somehow geographically relevant to their faith?
They even take pilgrimages to Jerusalem, like Muslims going to Mecca, and I've never… https://t.co/qBjNsupstB
— David Hundeyin (@DavidHundeyin) October 8, 2023
The responses to Hundeyin’s tweet are replicated in several discussions on social media among Nigerians, particularly Igbos. There are many Igbos who look at the situation in terms of the facts, who is right or who is wrong, etc. But several have clearly taken sides with Israel and can’t bring themselves to admit the possibility that Israel could ever be wrong. This is for a variety of reasons.
Firstly, there are many Igbos that subscribe to the belief that they are Jews, possibly “one of the lost tribes of Israel“: From generation to generation, some Igbo have passed down various versions of a migration story framed around Jacob, a patriarch of Judaism. A popular version of the narrative holds that Gad, the seventh son of Jacob, had three sons who settled in present-day southeastern Nigeria, which is predominantly inhabited by the Igbo. Those sons, Eri, Arodi and Areli (as mentioned in the book of Genesis), are said to have fathered clans, established kingdoms and founded towns still in existence in southeastern Nigeria today, including Owerri, Umuleri, Arochukwu and Aguleri.
They believe they are descendants of at least one of Israel’s lost tribes. In the eighth century B.C. the Assyrians invaded Israel’s northern kingdom forcing 10 tribes into exile. Historians say it is not unlikely that these tribes migrated westward to Africa.
When you add a history of Igbo persecution in Nigeria and their reputation for business into the mix with this tenuous biblical link, the Igbo Jew beliefs look stronger, with a shared sense of facing threats from hostile neighbours. Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the separatist Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) also adopted a Jewish identity.
Secondly, most Igbos claim to be Christians and among many Christians is the interpretation of Scripture that claims the land was given to Israel by God. Any opposing view is akin to “arguing with God”. Alongside this claim of the land “belonging” to Jews is the biblical quote from Genesis 12:2-4: “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Many in the “Israel is always right camp” also believe that Jews are God’s “chosen people”. This appears to mean they have a licence to do as they please. In reality, they were “chosen” because God chose to bring His son to earth in human form as a Jew. If He chose for Christ to come to earth as an Englishman, the English would have been the “chosen people”.
All these claims that seem to demand unquestionable loyalty to Israel are based on false doctrine and a chronic distortion of Scripture. For starters, Christians are meant to be under a “New Covenant” with God. Most of the biblical claims used to justify support for Israel are based on the Old Testament (Old Covenant). Christ warned his followers about pouring “new wine into old wineskins”. He also said He had come to “fulfil” the Law – this means to complete it, to finish it, replace the old with the new. The Old Testament was a physical foreshadow for a new spiritual reality. This is why under the Old Testament you had physical sacrifices, laws about “clean” and “unclean” meat, territorial battles, while the New Covenant heralded spiritual sacrifice and was about the soul in essence.
Christ never said blessings were shared according to your stance on Israel. Not a word about Israel in the eight Beatitudes:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
No intelligent person could read this and see any justification for any side or anyone oppressing others. As Malcolm X said: “The Zionist argument to justify Israel’s present occupation of Arab Palestine has no intelligent or legal basis in history”. The lack of intelligence is further compounded by the fact that Christ was also known as the Prince of Peace and summed up the 10 Commandments with His message of love – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength”. Then, “you shall love your neighbour as yourself”. In case anyone was in doubt, Christ added: “There is no other commandment greater than these.” He explained what “love” meant with the parable of the Good Samaritan, who came to the aid of the victim of robbers after the victim was ignored by a priest and a Levite (both Jews). Interestingly, historians claim Palestinians most likely descended from Samaritans.
Thirdly, many Nigerian supposedly Christians, especially Igbos, draw parallels between mainly Muslim Palestinians and Nigeria’s experience with Islamic extremists, going back decades. This feeds a perception that is dehumanising for Muslims and beliefs that they get their just deserts whenever the bombs fall on them. Several Nigerians in this light, cheered when George W Bush invaded Iraq, with little attention paid to “blessed are the peacemakers” or Christ’s rejection of “an eye for an eye”.
Fourthly, the mainstream media is complicit in how Nigerians understand complex issues like the Israeli occupation. They frame the debate in ways that suit elite interests. Very little is heard of Palestinian victims, turning them into what John Pilger called “unpeople”. This is what historian Mark Curtis called “the mass production of ignorance”. The narrative is painted in a similar way in which Hollywood managed to paint European invaders in America as cowboy “good guys” against the “bad Red Indians”.
In the end, we have a situation in which ignorance on stilts fuels discussion around the issue. As Marcus Garvey pointed out: “Never forget that intelligence rules the world and ignorance carries the burden. Therefore, remove yourself as far as possible from ignorance and seek as far as possible to be intelligent”. Sadly, it is proving difficult for many Nigerians to do the hard work required to remove themselves from ignorance. So they seek answers in religious texts that they don’t understand or some sort of dodgy affinity or stereotyping of all Muslims as the same. Or a combination of all three.
Bishop Desmond Tutu, in a speech in 2002 entitled “Apartheid in the Holy Land” nailed the right way for a Christian to broach the situation in Israel: My brother Naim Ateek has said what we used to say: “I am not pro- this people or that. I am pro-justice, pro-freedom. I am anti- injustice, anti-oppression.” He added: Injustice and oppression will never prevail. Those who are powerful have to remember the litmus test that God gives to the powerful: what is your treatment of the poor, the hungry, the voiceless? And on the basis of that, God passes judgment.
