In recent months, social media has become a battleground of conflicting opinions on the Israel-Hamas war, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the broader role of the West in global affairs. Amid this noise, one narrative I find increasingly reductive—and frankly, insulting—is the claim that Nigerian Christians who support Israel do so out of blind religious sentiment, simply because “Israel is in the Bible.”
This view lacks nuance and ignores the historical, political, and moral dimensions that influence public opinion—especially among people with lived experience of insecurity, civil conflict, and displacement, as many Nigerians have.
Biblical Confusion or Historical Awareness?
It is true that some Christians may instinctively sympathize with Israel because of its biblical namesake. But the idea that this is the sole—or even primary—reason Nigerian Christians support Israel today is a myopic oversimplification. Many of us understand that the modern State of Israel, founded in 1948, is a secular nation-state, not a direct continuation of the biblical kingdom of Israel.
That said, historical context matters. The State of Israel was established following the horrors of the Holocaust, during which six million Jews were murdered. The global community, especially post-WWII, recognized the Jewish people’s right to self-determination and security. This led to the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine (Resolution 181), which recommended separate Jewish and Arab states. The Arab world rejected the plan, and war broke out immediately after Israel declared independence in 1948.
Ever since, Israel has fought multiple wars to preserve its existence, including the Six-Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973—each initiated or heavily influenced by existential threats from surrounding nations.
The Hamas Factor
Hamas, designated as a terrorist organization by the EU, United States, Canada, and the UK, took control of Gaza in 2007 following a civil war with Fatah. Since then, it has launched thousands of rockets into Israel, many aimed at civilian populations. The most shocking of these attacks occurred on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants invaded Israeli territory, killing over 1,200 civilians—many of them women and children—and taking hostages.
While Israel’s military response has led to tragic civilian casualties in Gaza, often cited by critics, it’s essential to recognize the nature of asymmetric warfare. Hamas operates within civilian infrastructure, using homes, schools, and hospitals as shields—a documented war tactic that puts Palestinian civilians in harm’s way and makes Israel’s military retaliation far more complex.
The Hypocrisy of Selective Outrage
What I find troubling is the double standard in how many people—especially online commentators—treat these global conflicts. Some justify Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 as a blow against Western imperialism, even though the war has displaced over 14 million Ukrainians and led to the deaths of thousands of civilians. The UN General Assembly condemned the invasion, declaring it illegal under international law.
Yet these same voices often vilify Israel’s response to existential threats, not because of the scale or legitimacy of the threat, but because of ideological opposition to the West, of which Israel is perceived as a part. This isn’t justice—it’s selective outrage driven by political bias, not principle.
If Russia is seen as defending its national interest by invading Ukraine—a sovereign nation with no recent aggression against it—then how can Israel not be afforded at least the same right to defend itself from rocket attacks and terror incursions?
Understand the Roots Before Judging the Response
We must resist the urge to react emotionally to viral videos or trending hashtags and instead educate ourselves on the origins of these conflicts.
• The Israel-Palestine conflict has deep historical roots, shaped by British colonialism, failed peace processes (like the Oslo Accords in the 1990s), and internal divisions within Palestinian leadership.
• The Russia-Ukraine war is not just a spontaneous fight over NATO expansion, but a long-running assertion of imperial ambition by a power that already annexed Crimea in 2014 and propped up separatists in Eastern Ukraine.
Wars are never black-and-white. Innocent people suffer. But defending a nation’s right to exist and protect its citizens does not equate to endorsing every policy or military action of its government. Nigerian Christians, like many others, are capable of holding these complex views without relying solely on theology.
Conclusion: Time to Think Deeper
The world is complicated. So are wars. If we are going to discuss them, let’s do so with nuance, humility, and historical awareness—not with knee-jerk assumptions or hypocritical standards.
Instead of asking, “Why do Nigerian Christians support Israel?” perhaps we should be asking, “Why are so many people unwilling to apply the same standards of justice, sovereignty, and security to all nations—regardless of who supports them?”
Only then can we begin to have honest conversations about peace, justice, and the future of our world.
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Sources & Further Reading:
1. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 – https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-184195/
2. UN Condemnation of Russia’s Invasion – https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1113152
3. Oslo Accords – https://peacemaker.un.org/israelopt-osloaccord93
4. October 7, 2023 Hamas attack coverage – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67039994
5. Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea – https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-world-should-remember-how-russia-annexed-crimea/
6. Amnesty on Hamas and war crimes – https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/israel-opt-unlawful-israeli-attacks-and-unlawful-hamas-attacks-amount-to-war-crimes/
