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Munther Isaac
Native name
منذر إسحق
ChurchChristmas Lutheran Church - Bethlehem, The Evangelical Lutheran Church - Beit Sahour
Other post(s)Director of Christ at the Checkpoint Conference, Academic Dean of Bethlehem Bible College
Orders
Ordination2016
Personal details
Born1979 (age 45-–46)
Beit Sahour, West Bank, Palestine
DenominationLutheran (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land)
Profession
  • pastor
  • author
  • theologian
Education

Munther Isaac is a Palestinian pastor, author, and theologian based in the West Bank.

Raised in Beit Sahour, he completed a PhD at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, later becoming the director of the Christ at the Checkpoint conference and the academic dean of Bethlehem Bible College. Ordained to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land in 2016, he currently pastors two churches, including the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem.

For some time, Isaac has vocally criticized the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians and Christian Zionist support for Israel. He became more widely known throughout the world due to his activism during the Israel-Hamas War, including media appearances, speaking tours, and social media posts. In December 2023, his church's nativity scene depicting Jesus lying on a pile of rubble and his sermon "Christ in the Rubble: A Liturgy of Lament" went viral.

Considered a prominent Palestinian theologian and pastor,[1][2][3] Isaac has published several books, including The Other Side of the Wall: A Palestinian Christian Narrative of Lament and Hope (2020).

Early life and education

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Isaac was born in 1979 in Beit Sahour, Palestine, into an Orthodox Christian family.[3][4] As a child, Isaac lived through the First Intifada and witnessed protests and curfews. He recalls Israeli soldiers seizing residents' possessions in Beit Sahour, including his family's car, in response to a tax strike the residents organized.[5][3]

Isaac has childhood memories of Christmas shopping in Jerusalem, a city which the Israeli government no longer allows him to visit.[6][7] As an adult, he witnessed the building of the West Bank barrier, which divides Bethlehem from Jerusalem and requires Palestinians to apply for permits to travel through Israeli military checkpoints between the two cities.[3][6] Due to his pro-Palestine activism, Isaac's permit to travel has been cancelled by the Israeli government.[8][9][3]

When the Second Intifada began, Isaac was studying civil engineering at Birzeit University.[3][5] The Israeli military's response to the Second Intifada angered Isaac, leading him to search for a way to help fellow Palestinians. He decided to study theology,[5] completing an MA at Westminster Theological Seminary and a PhD at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies.[3][10]

Career

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In 2012, Isaac became the director of Christ at the Checkpoint (CATC), a conference which seeks to encourage and organize opposition to the Israeli occupation of Palestine among Christians from other countries.[3][5] In addition to attending lectures, conference participants witness some of the features of the Israeli occupation, including the West Bank Barrier and the military checkpoints.[5] The conference is hosted by Bethlehem Bible College, where Isaac became the academic dean in 2015.[11][5] In 2014, CATC was accused by Yigal Palmor from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs of using religion for political propaganda; Isaac responded by calling Palmor’s statement an attempt at censorship.[12][13] According to Isaac, CATC has contributed to more awareness of Palestinian viewpoints among Evangelical Christians.[5][14]

Palestinian pastor Mitri Raheb mentored Isaac and encouraged him to become a pastor. In 2016, Isaac became an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL).[3] Isaac pastors two ELCJHL churches— Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem and The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Beit Sahour.[15][4] As of 2019, Isaac estimated that Christmas Lutheran Church had 160 local members with thousands more living abroad. Many Palestinian Christians have left the West Bank due to the Israeli occupation and high rates of unemployment.[16][17][2]

After the Trump peace plan was published in 2020, Isaac called it "a new Apartheid" that does not consider Palestinian demands.[18] He co-wrote an op-ed in Haaretz predicting that the plan would not achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians but would instead harm the rights of Palestinians, especially Palestinian Christians. Additionally, he called it "a mortal blow to a dynamic Christian presence in the birthplace of Jesus."[19]

Isaac appeared in 'Til Kingdom Come (2020), an Israeli documentary about American Christian support for Israel.[20] In the film he explains his view to pastor William Bingham that Christian Zionism contributes to the oppression of Palestinians. After their conversation, Bingham calls Isaac an anti-semite and says that Palestinians do not exist.[21][22]

Israel-Hamas War

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In November 2023, Isaac brought a letter from several Bethlehem churches to US President Joseph Biden urging him to end the Israel-Hamas War.[23][24]

Christmas Lutheran Church - Bethlehem, 2019

During advent season that year, Isaac compared the story of Jesus's birth to the situation in Palestine.[6] The nativity scene in Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem depicted Jesus wrapped in a Palestinian keffiyeh and lying in a pile of rubble.[23] Explaining the nativity scene in a December 7 sermon, Isaac stated: "If Christ were to be born today, he would be born under the rubble and Israeli shelling."[23][25] On Christmas Eve, Isaac preached a sermon entitled "Christ in the Rubble: A Liturgy of Lament"[24][26] in which he stated: "We, the Palestinians, will recover, as we always have... But for those who are complicit, I feel sorry for you. Will you ever recover from this?... we will not accept your apology after the genocide."[27][28] Video of his sermon and photos of the nativity scene went viral on social media.[29][30][31] According to Isaac, churches in other countries have sent him photos of their similar nativity scenes.[32]

Isaac has given speeches in various venues across the world, including the Riverside Church in New York City, St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., and the Global Anti-Apartheid Conference for Palestine in Johannesburg.[32][7][33][34] Following Isaac's speech at a pro-Palestine protest in London that featured Jeremy Corbyn, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby cancelled their February 2024 meeting.[35][36] Welby reportedly decided against meeting with Isaac because he feared offending the Jewish community.[30][37][38] After Isaac and others publicly criticized Welby's actions, Welby apologized and rescheduled their meeting.[30][35][38] Later that year, Welby visited Isaac's church in Bethlehem.[39][40]

Isaac has criticized Israel's treatment of Palestinian Christians.[2] In an April 2024 interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, Isaac accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and harming Palestinian Christians.[41][42] Both Carlson and Isaac advocated against US Christian support for Israel due to its mistreatment of Palestinian Christians.[43][44][42] The interview, which garnered mixed reactions from American conservatives,[44][45][42] has been viewed over 19 million times on Twitter.[3][46]

In December 2024, Isaac expressed frustration at the lack of progress made towards ending the war but noted that Israel's conduct during the war has led to decreasing support for Israel among Christians in other countries.[32][34] Isaac's church repeated the previous year’s nativity scene portraying Jesus lying in rubble.[47] Isaac delivered a sermon entitled: "Christ Is Still in the Rubble", stating: "'Never again’ has become ‘yet again’ — yet again to supremacy, yet again to racism and yet again to genocide."[34][48][49]

Books

[edit]

From Land to Lands, from Eden to the Renewed Earth (2015)

[edit]

Isaac's PhD dissertation was published as the book, From Land to Lands, from Eden to the Renewed Earth.[50][51] In it, he challenges a Zionist interpretation of the Bible that God promised the land of Israel and Palestine to the Jewish people, as represented by the modern state of Israel. Instead, he argues that the land should be shared.[52][53][54]

The Other Side of the Wall (2020)

[edit]

In Isaac's book, The Other Side of the Wall, he criticizes Christian Zionists for ignoring Israeli human rights abuses of Palestinians and for believing that Israeli Jews will be converted to Christianity. He argues that Israel prioritizes the rights of Jewish Israelis and advocates that the land should instead be shared equally and peacefully among all people:[55][56] "Even as I am committed today to the urgency of ending the Israeli occupation, I need to remind myself that the goal in itself is not ending the occupation, but rather reconciliation.”[3]

In his review, Samuel T. Logan praises Isaac's knowledge of the Bible and history but expresses a desire for Isaac to explain what it means for Palestinians to love Jewish Israelis as neighbors, especially in the context of the Holocaust. One reviewer writes that Isaac accurately describes Palestinian suffering but disregards Israeli security concerns.[55] Another reviewer writes that the book "dismantles Christian Zionism brick by brick" and "demands a reconsideration of the Israel-Palestine conflict".[57]

Christ in the Rubble (2025)

[edit]

Isaac's upcoming book, Christ in the Rubble: Faith, the Bible and the Genocide in Gaza (2025), will cover the Christian response to the Israel-Hamas war.[34] He has previously stated that the overall Christian response to the war is inadequate because it ignores the history of the conflict, accepts the Israeli narrative, and refrains from explicitly denouncing Israel for genocide and war crimes.[58]

Personal life

[edit]

Isaac met his wife at a Christian conference where he was a speaker and she was an organizer. She is an architect.[17] They live in Beit Sahour with their two children. He is a Liverpool fan.[3]

Selected Works

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References

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  1. ^ Hatuqa, Dalia (2024-12-26). "Trump's Peace Plan Is Palestinians' Worst Nightmare". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
  2. ^ a b c Mizzi, Oliver (2024-09-23). "Rev Munther Isaac warns Palestinian Christians are under attack". The New Arab. Archived from the original on 2024-11-27. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Woodman, Sonja (2024-05-15). "Munther Isaac, a watchman in the Palestinian night". La Vie. Retrieved 2024-12-23 – via Oxford Centre for Mission Studies.
  4. ^ a b Palmer, Elizabeth (2024-08-26). "Palestinian and Christian in a violent time". The Christian Century. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Zeveloff, Naomi (2022-03-21). "Munther Isaac: What Would Jesus Do at an Israeli Military Checkpoint?". University of Southern California Center for Religion and Civic Culture. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  6. ^ a b c "What are Palestine's unique Christmas rituals, disrupted by Israel's war?". Al Jazeera. 2023-12-24. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
  7. ^ a b "Palestinian Reverend Munther Isaac to Faith Leaders in U.S.: If You Are Silent, You Approve of Genocide". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  8. ^ Kuttab, Daoud (2024-05-30). "At 'Christ at the Checkpoint,' Palestinian Christians rail against Western church's response to war". RNS. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  9. ^ "In solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, Bethlehem skips Christmas festivities". NPR. 2023-12-25.
  10. ^ "Christmas Lutheran Church - Bethlehem". ELCJHL. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  11. ^ Farhoud, Amira (2015-10-27). "Munther Isaac our New Academic Dean". Bethlehem Bible College. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  12. ^ Morgan, Timothy C. (2014-03-12). "Evangelicals Defend 'Christ at the Checkpoint' from Israeli Critics". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on 2024-12-27. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  13. ^ "PHOTOS: 'Christ at the Checkpoint' challenges Christian Zionism". +972 Magazine. 2014-03-19. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  14. ^ Bethlehem, Jayson Casper in (2018-05-25). "Christ at the Checkpoint in the Age of Trump". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  15. ^ Knell, Yolande (2023-01-22). "First woman pastor in Holy Land ordained". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  16. ^ Oborne, Peter (2019-12-24). "'The last generation': How occupation is driving Christians out of Palestine". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  17. ^ a b Bruton, F. Brinley; Jabari, Lawahez; Goldman, Paul (2018-05-05). "Christians in the Holy Land feel abandoned by American evangelicals". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  18. ^ Calvert, Paul (2020-03-27). "Donald Trump's Peace Deal Part 2". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
  19. ^ Isaac, Munther; Khader, Jamal (2020-05-06). "Donald Trump Is Complicit in a Catastrophe for Christians". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2022-10-01.
  20. ^ Grisar, PJ (2020-12-02). "The terrifying marriage of convenience between Israel and evangelical Zionists". The Forward. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  21. ^ Iraqi, Amjad (2020-11-05). "An unholy alliance". +972 Magazine. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  22. ^ Essa, Azad (2021-03-22). "'Til Kingdom Come: How Christian evangelicals fuel chaos in Palestine". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  23. ^ a b c Jadou, Monjed (2023-12-07). "'If Christ were born today, he would be born under rubble, Israeli bombing'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  24. ^ a b "Christmas in Palestine: Bethlehem Pastor Slams Western Hypocrisy on Gaza & Religion". Democracy Now!. 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  25. ^ ""Ma fi Nifs": Palestinians Have No Heart for Christmas Celebrations While Gaza Is Being Destroyed". Jerusalem Story. 2023-12-22.
  26. ^ Isaac, Munther. “Christ in the Rubble: A Liturgy of Lament.” Islamic Horizons, vol. 53, no. 2, Mar. 2024, pp. 50–51. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=175954180&site=eds-live&scope=site.
  27. ^ "'We Have No Joy': As Devastation in Gaza Continues, No Christmas Cheer in Bethlehem This Year". The Wire. 2023-12-25. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  28. ^ "Munther Isaac sends a Palestinian Christmas message: 'We, Palestinians, will recover. We will rise.'". Middle East Monitor. 2023-12-24. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  29. ^ Robbins, Claire Porter (2024-01-24). "The Dilemma of Gaza's Christians". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  30. ^ a b c Wintour, Patrick (2024-02-29). "Justin Welby expresses 'deep regret' at refusal to meet Palestinian pastor". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  31. ^ Booth and, William; Taha, Sufian (2023-12-23). "'Jesus in the rubble': Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem canceled". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2023-12-26.
  32. ^ a b c "'Many have had their eyes opened for the first time' to Palestine's occupation, Bethlehem's Rev. Munther Isaac tells Arab News". Arab News. 2024-12-24. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  33. ^ "'End Israeli Apartheid' – Naledi Pandor urges progressive forces". THE AFRICAN. 2024-05-11. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  34. ^ a b c d Jenkins, Jack (2024-12-23). "In Bethlehem, a Christian pastor says a year of protest for Palestinians shows few gains". RNS. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
  35. ^ a b Wintour, Patrick (2024-02-21). "Pastor says Welby would not meet him if he spoke at Palestine rally with Corbyn". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  36. ^ "Archbishop of Canterbury refuses to meet Palestinian pastor who spoke alongside Corbyn". Middle East Eye. 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  37. ^ DAVIES, MADELEINE (2024-02-29). "Archbishop Welby, apologetic, reverses decision not to meet Palestinian pastor from Bethlehem". Church Times. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  38. ^ a b "Archbishop of Canterbury 'sorry' for Palestinian pastor snub". The New Arab. 2024-02-29. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  39. ^ "Outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury in W Bank amid settler attacks". The New Arab. 2024-11-18. Archived from the original on 2024-11-19. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  40. ^ "President of Bethlehem Bible College Meets Archbishop of Canterbury in Solidarity with Palestinian People". Bethlehem Bible College. 2024-11-19. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  41. ^ Samuels, Ben (2024-04-17). "'The peace movement has failed': Why this U.S. evangelical wants to stop arming Israel". Haaretz.com. Archived from the original on 2024-04-17. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  42. ^ a b c "Tucker Carlson exposes Israeli treatment of Gaza Christians". The New Arab. 2024-04-11. Archived from the original on 2024-05-29. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  43. ^ Nechin, Etan (2024-04-21). "'Our Future Was Here': Christians in Gaza Are Paying an Unholy Price for Israel-Hamas War". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2024-04-22.
  44. ^ a b Klett, Leah MarieAnn (2024-04-25). "Christian leaders criticize Tucker Carlson's interview with Munther Isaac: 'No mention of Hamas'". Christian Post. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  45. ^ Smith, Ryan (2024-04-10). "Conservatives turn on Tucker Carlson". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  46. ^ Carlson, Tucker (2024-04-09). "Ep. 91 How does the government of Israel treat Christians?". X (formerly Twitter). Archived from the original on 2024-12-14. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  47. ^ ""Christ is Still in the Rubble": No Silent Nights in Gaza this Christmas Amidst Ongoing Israeli Bombardment". Democracy Now!. 2024-12-24. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
  48. ^ "Bethlehem Rev. Isaac Calls on U.S. to Stop Funding Gaza Genocide". Democracy Now!. 2024-12-23. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
  49. ^ "Palestinian pastor: 'Christ is still in the rubble'". Middle East Monitor. 2024-12-24. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
  50. ^ "From Land to Lands, from Eden to the Renewed Earth". Bethlehem Bible College. 2015-11-20. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  51. ^ Isaac, Munther (March 2014). "From Land to Lands, From Eden to the Renewed Earth: A Christ-centred Biblical Theology of the Promised Land" (PDF). Middlesex University Research Repository.
  52. ^ Burge, Gary M. (August 2017). "Bound for the Promised Land: The Land Promise in God's Redemptive Plan". Themelios. 42 (2). The Gospel Coalition: 382–384.
  53. ^ Marteijn, Elizabeth S. (2020-03-01). "The Politics of Interpretation: Understanding Biblical History in Palestinian Rural Culture". Studies in World Christianity. 26 (1): 4–20. doi:10.3366/swc.2020.0279. ISSN 1354-9901.
  54. ^ Chow, Alexander (2016-11-14). "Eschatology and World Christianity". Studies in World Christianity. doi:10.3366/swc.2016.0156.
  55. ^ a b Cathey, Robert (2022-05-09). "Munther Isaac. The Other Side of the Wall: A Palestinian Narrative of Lament and Hope". Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations. 17 (1). doi:10.6017/scjr.v17i1.15083. ISSN 1930-3777.
  56. ^ Frias, Denis (2020-06-01). "The Other Side of the Wall: A Palestinian Christian Narrative of Lament and Hope". Library Journal. Archived from the original on 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  57. ^ Rood, Jeremiah (2020-06-27). "Review of The Other Side of the Wall". Foreword Reviews. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  58. ^ Vioque, Hanna (2023-12-21). "Western churches called for cease-fire. Palestinian Christians heard empty words". RNS. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
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