According one popular legend, dating back to the 9th century and persisting even into modern times, the British polity was founded by Brutus of Troy, a descendant of Aeneas—thus linking Albion’s history to that of both ancient Greece and Rome. But others have tried to connect their national history to the Bible, a case made by John Garnier in the 1890 book Israel in Britain: A Brief Statement of the Evidences in Proof of the Israelitish Origin of the British Race. Jeffrey Maynard writes:

John Garnier was a colonel in the Royal Engineers and a prominent member of the British Israelite movement, which believed that the British were the descendants of the ten lost tribes. This small book is in my library as a curiosity—providing perhaps, for its believers, a theological justification for the British empire. It is, of course, quite fanciful.

Maynard reproduces some excerpts, in which Garnier sees Great Britain as the fulfillment of various divine promises to the Israelites:

There is the prediction that the descendants of Joseph were to possess “all the precious fruits of the earth and sea, and the chief things of the ancient mountains, and the precious things of the lasting hills” (Deut. xxxiii. 13–17). In other words, they were to possess all the valuable fruits of the earth, the products of the sea, and the vast mineral products which are chiefly found in hills and mountains.

This exactly applies to Britain and the United States. No other nation can compare to them in riches. Their iron, tin, and coal mines have been the foundation of their wealth, and they at present possess all the principal gold, silver, copper, diamond, and other mines in the world. They own all the most valuable fisheries, and the rich and increasing products of the lands they possess all over the world make them independent of any other sources of supply. So complete a fulfilment of the prophecy to the British race alone is a strong confirmation that they are the people of whom it was foretold.

It may also be remarked that the British obey all the other demands of the old covenant made with Israel. The British laws are based on those given by God to Israel, and are enforced to rich and poor alike with a justice and equity unknown to other nations. The command to help the poor and needy is also strictly obeyed, as may be seen by the numerous benevolent institutions and societies for the assistance of the poor and the suffering, and in the fact that every appeal for help in any case of undeserved hardship and suffering is immediately responded to.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.