Book Review - The Other Side of the Wall by Munther Isaac

Book Review - The Other Side of the Wall by Munther Isaac

I have been a Christian Zionist for about 50 years now. I have lived many years in Israel and the wider Middle East. I write this because I see much that is admirable in Dr Isaac, and hope that he knows that we all grow more from thoughtful criticism than from bland praise. I have certainly grown through interactions with other Palestinian theologians, and pray that he receives this critique in positive way.

Dr Isaac writes passionately about the evils of empire, imperial theology and the powerful, contrasting this with the meek, the poor and the downtrodden. He also writes about the importance of justice and righteousness.

The problems come when he tries to deploy these terms.

If you looked around the world in the 1880s, where might you find Imperial power? In the dazzling palaces and huge armies of the Tsar’s Russian Empire? Apparently not. So, who were the truly imperial and powerful? They were the small groups of desperate Russian Jews fleeing the state backed pogroms. Who knew?? But, Dr Isaac repeatedly assures us, Israel is the very epitome of empire, and Christian Zionism is imperial theology.

Switch to the 1930s, where would you find an example of the evils of empire? In the expanding power of the Nazi regime? Again, apparently not. Look rather to the Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany, of whom in 1938, an American writer wrote: “What is to be done with these people, with the millions who are clawing like frantic beasts at the dark walls of the suffocating chambers where they are imprisoned? The Christian world has practically abandoned them, and sits by with hardly an observable twinge of conscience in the midst of this terrible catastrophe.”

That is where Dr Isaac finds the practitioners of imperial power! Imperil power = small groups of Jewish refugees returning to the land of their fathers, legally purchasing malarial land and building a new city on sand dunes. Zionism was not conceived as an Imperial venture, but as a rescue mission. In 1926, Ben Gurion wrote that; “the Arab community is an organic, inextricable part of Palestine; it is embedded in the country where it toils and where it will stay. It is not to disinherit this community nor to thrive on its destruction that Zionism came into being … Only a madman can attribute such a desire to the Jewish people in Palestine. Palestine will belong to the Jewish people and its Arab inhabitants.” In 1937, he wrote; We do not wish and do not need to expel Arabs and take their place. All our aspiration is built on the assumption – proven throughout all our activity in the Land – that there is enough room in the country for ourselves and the Arabs.” Again in 1937, at the Twentieth Zionist Congress, he declared; “No Jewish State, big or small, in part of the country or in its entirety will be [truly] established so long as the land of the prophets does not witness the realize of the great and moral ideals nourished in our hearts for generations; one law for all residents, just rule, love for ones neighbour, true equality.” In 1938, in its submission to the Peel commission, the Zionist movement undertook “not only to respect the civil and religious rights of its non-Jewish citizens, but also to safeguard and, to the best of its ability, to improve their positions.”  

Ze’ev Jabotinsky likewise foresaw the Arab minority as full citizens, participating on an equal footing “throughout all sectors of the country’s public life.” As early as 1905 he stated that “we must treat the Arabs correctly and affably, without any violence or injustice.” The tragedy is that this goodwill (which was not perfect, but nevertheless genuine) was not reciprocated. 

Which brings us to his usage of justice and righteousness. He seems to think that these are on the side of the Palestinians!

It was apparently justice which inspired the Palestinian Christian communities to join and lead the General Strike of 1936, whose main aim was to prevent Jewish refugees (like those in the above quote) finding sanctuary in Palestine. Slamming the door shut on Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi death camps is now a form of righteousness? Seriously? Chapter 5 of Dr Isaac’s book is all about “Who is my Neighbour?” and he speaks positively of advocacy work on behalf of refugees. Who was your neighbour in 1936 when the [Palestinian Anglican] PNCC declared that it “abhorred the tide of Jewish immigration.” In 1935, a congress of Christian Arab clergy issued a declaration forbidding the sale of land to Jews. “whoever sells or speculates in the sale of any portion of the homeland is considered the same as one who sells the place of Jesus’ birth or his tomb and as such will be considered a heretic against the principles of Christianity and all believers are required to ban and interdict him.” These churches said you would lose your salvation if you sold land to a Jewish refugee!! Was this showing love to your Jewish neighbors? On page 178 he quotes Jesus “I was a stranger and you did not welcome me.” He then says; “this is about welcoming the refugee.” In the 1930s, the Jewish people fell into the hands of robbers. How did the Palestinian Christians make them feel welcome?? "Then the King will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, … for I was a stranger and you did not invite me in.” On page 118 Dr Isaac writes; “My theology of the Jewish people is this, love your neighbour as yourself.” Did your church live up to this when it would not sell them land, and shut the doors to their desperate refugees? Or does it need to repent? As he writes on page 125, “no good theology whatsoever can justify hating, rejecting or even slightly discriminating against any people group.”

After the war, when the cries of the Jewish community in Palestine, mocked at the time by Palestinian Christians, were proven to have been true, when the full extent of the Holocaust was revealed, did the Christian community then repent and confess, “we closed our doors and our hearts to you in your time of need, and now millions are dead – please, bring your survivors here, and let us live together”? No. They publicly pledged their support to a friend of Hitler, a known Nazi war criminal who had taken a role in that very Holocaust! The Mufti, Haj Amin al-Husseini. In 1947 a meeting of Arab Orthodox clergy in Jerusalem sent a telegram to the Arab Higher Executive, officially led by Haj Amin al-Husseini expressing “absolute confidence in its leadership,” and announcing “to the whole world the cooperation of the Arab Orthodox Community in weal and woe, with its sister, the dear Muslim community.” They also sent another to the British High Commissioner, stating their community “supports the faithful leaders and the Arab Higher Executive.” The Arab Anglicans also pushed a strong nationalist agenda throughout the 1940s. Bishop Stewart (who also opposed a Jewish state) feared that “their nationalist spirit is both strong and wrong.” Bishop Stewart indeed protested a document circulated by the Christian Church Union in Palestine that claimed the Christian community was “in complete agreement both in principle and in deed with the Moslems” and was signed by members of the Arab-Anglican community. In 1947 the Latin Patriarch’s secretary similarly wrote to the AHC assuring it that they would never sell land to the Jews. “for I was a stranger and you did not invite me in.”

In the War of Independence, 1947-48, who were the more righteous? The Palestinians, under the leadership of said Nazi war criminal, who rejected every compromise, every peace plan, who even refused to extend the cease fire? Or the Jewish community, who accepted every compromise, every peace plan, and were ready to extend the cease-fire to their own detriment? The Palestinians who cut off all food, water and electricity to the 100,000 Jewish civilians of Jerusalem, waging a war of ethnic cleansing, or the Jewish community who baked bread on the Sabbath to encourage the Arab population for Haifa not to leave? The British mediator at the talks between the two communities in Haifa said to the Arab representatives, after they announced their decision to leave; “You have made a foolish decision. Think it over, as you will regret it afterwards. You must accept the decision of the Jews. They are fair enough. Don’t permit life to be destroyed senselessly. After all, it was you who began the fighting and the Jews have won.” The truce terms included that Arabs were expected to “carry on their work as equal and free citizens of Haifa.”

Now, it was war, neither side were perfect, but who were the more righteous??

Dr Isaac does not like the Israeli checkpoints or wall. He says Jesus does not like them either. I remember a friend telling my daughter how she loves the wall – before it was there, she had been shot at and had rocks smash her window, even as her baby son was asleep in the back. Now, when driving that section of road, she feels safe. At present, those checkpoints and wall save civilian lives. Pray that the violence that makes them necessary disappear, then they can go. Until then, they inconvenience Palestinians and save Israeli (Jewish and Arab) lives. Unless you think Palestinian inconvenience is a higher moral priority than Israeli lives, they should be supported.

On page 190, Dr Isaac writes about the wars in Gaza. Rather than say ‘while we disagree on many things, the Israeli efforts to protect our civilians, especially our women and children during these conflicts, spark real hope among us of the possibilities for future peaceful coexistence,’ he wrote “the Israeli military was disproportional and inhumane, with no regard for civilian life, especially innocent women and children.” Col. Richard Kemp was a British commander in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, and was a member of an international military committee who investigated Israeli actions during that conflict. He wrote; “[listen] to Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said last November that the I.D.F. had taken extraordinary measures to try to limit civilian casualties. Or to a group of 11 senior military officers from seven nations, including the United States, Germany, Spain and Australia, who also investigated the Gaza conflict recently. “None of us is aware of any army that takes such extensive measures as did the I.D.F. last summer to protect the lives of the civilian population.” Proverbs 25:18 “Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is the man who gives false testimony against his neighbor.” Exodus 23:1 "Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness.”

He briefly notes that Islamic Dhimma law treated Christians and Jews as second-class citizens. The reality was much worse. For a few examples, in 1823, after an elderly Christian peasant from Beit Jalla was shot and beheaded, his head was stuck on a pike in Jerusalem and the local Muslim boys spat and threw rubbish at it for three days while the local Christians were unable to rescue it or show any grief. In 1828, in Nazareth, a Christian girl who refused the advances of a Muslim man was killed by being dragged through the streets behind a horse. Indeed, prior to 1845, James Finn wrote that Christian women were “dishonoured with impunity.”

He also repeatedly (e.g., 124-125) calls anti-Semitism a Western problem. On page 129 he states that Jews had it better in Islamic lands than Christian ones. Hardly setting a high bar, and doubtful nevertheless. Writing about their experiences in Egypt, from 1825-1835, Edward Lane and Edward Poole described the conditions of the Jews there; “They are held in the utmost contempt and abhorrence by the Muslims in general, … the Jews are detested by the Muslims far more than are the Christians. … many a Jew has been put to death upon a false and malicious accusation of uttering disrespectful words against the Kur-an or the Prophet.” In 1835, the British diplomat Percival Barton Lord recorded how Jews in North Africa still had to walk barefoot when passing a Mosque, while in some cities such as Fez, they were forced to go barefoot at all times. There were pogroms in Lebanon and Jerusalem in 1847 and Syria in 1848 and in 1850 (the same year as attacks were also carried out against the Jews of Morocco). Within the land of Palestine, they were forbidden access to their holy sites and subject to constant humiliations and abuse from both the Muslim and Christian communities. Within Hebron, Jews were banned from entering into the Cave of the Patriarchs, and only (as a sign of their degradation) permitted to go up to the seventh step of the entrance outside it. As they went up these steps, Muslim boys were encouraged by their elders to hit and throw stones at them, to remind them of their proper place.

Chapter six, about his Jewish neighbor, contained the aforementioned quote “My theology of the Jewish people is this, love your neighbour as yourself.” In this chapter, he then goes on to quote Gideon Levi and JVP. This leads into a discussion of “your other Jewish neighbour.” Here he describes Neturei Karta as a beautiful group unjustly shunned, prophets fighting for justice and peace. He quotes Robert Cohen and says that Christians need to find some new Jewish friends. Like the above-mentioned ones. This is profoundly disturbing. Neturei Karta number a mere 5,000 and the Guardian wrote "even among Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox circles, the Neturei Karta are regarded as a wild fringe." After an attack on a Jewish religious Chabad house in India, Neturei Karta issued a leaflet criticising the Chabad movement for its relations with [according to wikipedia] "the filthy, deplorable traitors – the cursed Zionists that are your friends." These are the good Jews, the new Jewish friends that we should make? What message does this send to the overwhelming majority of Jewish people who love Israel? And this in a chapter supposedly all about loving your Jewish neighbour! This highlights the target demographic for this book; well-meaning but uninformed gentile American Christians, who see this and think “how wonderful, here is this Palestinian Christian who just wants to love his Jewish neighbours!” but any Israeli, seeing the names that he mentions, knows that Dr Isaac is sending them a very different message.

In his chapter about Muslims, he totally ignores the 1300 year history of Palestinian Christian experience of Muslim rule (see the quotes above). Concerning the present, a poll taken in 2016, conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center, found a majority of Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza supported attacks on Israeli civilians (important when you consider if wall and checkpoints are still needed!). Another poll taken in 2013 found that 89% of Palestinians favor the imposition of Sharia Law into their society. He should mention that the moderate Muslims he rightly admires remain a tiny minority, and that his hopes for the advocacy by the less than 1% of the population who are Christian for a secular state are doomed to failure.

There are also basic Biblical/theological errors in the book, such as when he says the while God promised it would last forever, the throne of David will not last forever (p80). In this he contradicts the essential Christian understanding of Jesus - see Luke 1:32.

Dr Isaac also tries to deliberately make important concepts too difficult and too obscure to be used. This is not about bringing clarity to an issue, it is about trying to muddy the waters. The concepts of “the land of Israel” and “the Jewish people” are both apparently so convoluted and self-contradictory, so endlessly confusing and complex, that they can have no actual role in any meaningful discussion. This is foolish!

The borders of the Land of Israel are not that difficult, the brook of Egypt is a stream just inside the Sinai also known as Wadi Arish, not the Nile, which is named differently in Hebrew. Joshua 23:4 and other verses show the boundaries were clearly known, and did not initially include land on the far side of the Jordan (Joshua 1:12-17 etc). Genesis 17 says the land of Canaan, and Numbers 34 details this. See also Ezekiel 47 for the future version. Dr Isaac thinks it means the whole world, because the Psalms speak of God ruling the whole earth, but this ignores Deuteronomy 32:8 which shows both God ruling the whole earth, and allotting land to other nations! (see also Acts 17:26).

Concerning the identity of the Jewish people, Dr Isaac does not understand that they are just that, a people. A community with a common history, religion etc. A people who are free to invite and welcome in others who wish to join, and free to disown any who wish not to be a part. A people with an unbroken history from the time in Egypt till this day. Yes, individuals were welcome to join, but that did not mean the community as such lost its identity – 100,000 French refugees were welcomed into England after the French revolution – that did not mean the idea of the British people or culture suddenly had no meaning! Equally, if someone chose to disown the community, to separate themselves from it, by conversion to a different religion etc, they and their offspring ceased to be counted as Jewish. See Genesis 17:14, Exodus 12:19 etc. This Jewish people were scattered in 70AD, dispersed among the nations, endured persecution there, and have now returned to their own land. Just as God promised.

This is not difficult, unless you really, really want it to be.