The Other Side of the Wall: A Palestinian Christian Narrative of Lament and Hope, Munther Isaac. InterVarsity Press (ISBN: 9780830831999) 2020.

Summary: A Palestinian Christian narrative of lament and hope, describing the situation from his perspective and offering hope for a shared land.

The Hamas attack upon Israel in October 7 and the subsequent invasion of Israeli forces in Gaza has occupied our national discourse in the United States since that time. It has torn apart college campuses as support for Palestinians competes for support of Israel and charges of Palestinian genocide and anti-Semitism rival each other.

Reverend Doctor Munther Isaac is a unique voice within the clamor. He is a teacher at Bethlehem Bible College and pastor of Christmas Evangelical Lutheran Church. In Bethlehem, part of the West Bank Palestinian Territories. Isaac wrote this book prior to the current conflict. It is “a Palestinian Christian narrative of lament and hope.” He writes as one whose daily reality is defined by the twenty-five foot high wall around his city. To enter Israeli territories, permits and long waits at checkpoints are required. These are the same checkpoints through which Christian visitors to Bethlehem must pass. He writes:

“This book is my invitation to you to step into the other side of the wall and listen to our stories and perspective. It is my humble request to you to allow me to share how Palestinians experience God, read the Bible, and have been touched and liberated by Jesus—a fellow Bethlehemite who has challenged us to see others as neighbors and love them as ourselves. . . . This book paints a picture of our story of faith, lament, and hope. And I invite you to join and listen, on our side of the wall.”

The book is first of all a lament. He begins by describing what the 1948 creation of Israel meant to Palestinians living in this land. It was the Nakba or “catastrophe,” the seizure of 530 villages in which 750,000 Palestinians became refugees. He laments the dehumanizing of Palestinians while American Christians celebrated the Jewish occupation of the land as a supposed fulfillment of a promise of God. And he laments the continued silence as Israel continues to move boundaries and build settlements. This includes taking away the home and lands of Palestinians. Finally, he laments the marginalizing of Palestinian Christian voices by American faith leaders, not including them in deliberations. Sometimes this includes disinviting them (including the author) from Christian conferences.

Isaac characterizes Christian Zionism, which has supported Israel’s injustices and legitimized its use of power, as “imperial theology.” He addresses the “land theology” Christian Zionists use to justify unqualified support of Israel. He argues, not that Israel was “replaced” by the church but that Gentiles and Jews were incorporated into a new, transnational people in which the promise to Israel is expanded to blessing to the nations and extended to the whole earth.

At the same time, Isaac denounces antisemitism (including the antisemitism latent in Christian Zionism!). Instead, he wants Jews to be safe everywhere, not just in a homeland. Rather than eliminating one group or another, he advocates a solution of Jews and Palestinians sharing the land. He also speaks of love for the Muslim neighbor and the call of Christians to be peacemakers, which includes seeking justice. While deeply grieved by the evangelical support of Zionism, he laments in hope rooted in the reality that the Savior of the world was born in Bethlehem and also subject to terror and flight. He comes to those who face similar realities.

Munther Isaac represents voices many of us in the United States have not heard because they are on “the other side of the wall.” He challenges the complicity of American support of Zionism and the complicity of silence of the rest of the church. As a result, this is a challenging book. But will we listen to this fellow believer?

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.