Justice works both ways: A biblical response to calls to ‘Free Barghouti’

I was walking through Bethlehem the other day when I noticed a large poster on the municipality building. It read: “Free Barghouti.”

So the Palestinian people want Israel to free Marwan Barghouti.

Barghouti is an arch-terrorist with blood on his hands.

Aish.com reports:

Hundreds of prominent artists have signed a new petition calling for Israel to release from prison Marwan Barghouti, a man they are calling the “Palestinian Mandela.” Barghouti is a convicted terrorist with the blood of at least five innocent civilians on his hands. He is no peacemaker.

Read more here for a good biography.

If you associate with Palestinians for long enough, you will notice that they use certain buzzwords—words designed to stir your thinking.

“Apartheid” is one such word. When you hear the word apartheid, what comes to mind?

Like many others, I think of South Africa’s past, when Black people were separated from white people solely because of the color of their skin: separate seats, separate schools, separate hospitals—and sadly, even separate churches. It was a very dark period in South Africa’s history.

That is where the mind goes when we hear the word apartheid. That is why Palestinians use it. They want you to think that what they are experiencing is the same as South Africa.

Yes, there is separation—but it is not based on skin color. It is based on terrorism. It is tragic, but the wall around Judea and Samaria was built for security reasons. Without it, we would be back in the days of the Second Intifada, with bombs exploding on buses, in cafés, and in Jerusalem streets.

Another buzzword is “colonialist.” Empires historically imposed their ideology on weaker nations, and so the narrative claims that Jews have invaded Palestine and are colonizing it.

But the word I want to focus on today is “justice.”

Justice is a key word for Palestinians. They invoke it constantly. They want justice.

But if you truly believe in justice, as you say you do, then Marwan Barghouti should remain in prison, shouldn’t he? He has the blood of five people on his hands. Justice must work both ways.

Or is it one-sided justice that is being demanded?

If Palestinians want justice, shouldn’t Israelis be entitled to justice as well?

On October 7, the worst terror attack in Israel’s history was carried out by Palestinian terrorists. Israel’s response was justice for the 1,219 innocent people—likely more—who were going about their everyday lives before they were brutally slaughtered.

So be careful when you cry out for justice. You may receive it—and you may not like it. Justice works both ways.

The Bible tells us:

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne.”
Psalm 89:14

God will not judge me based on a biased opinion or a warped sense of justice. He will judge according to righteousness and truth—and that righteousness and truth will bring real justice.

God will judge the nations. He will judge Israel. He will not rely on BBC or CNN reporting. He will not use Hamas death toll figures. He will not depend on evidence gathered by international criminal courts. He will not consider replacement theology when He judges.

His judgment will be based on righteousness and truth.

And for that, I thank God.