A Blog from David Crump
Some people’s experiences in an Israeli prison are even worse than Munther’s.
Sometimes you don’t need to hear the story. You only need to see the released prisoner’s face. And then imagine the inhumanity that produced such heart-breaking expressions.
This coming Friday, July 12 at 1 pm Eastern time, 10 am Pacific, I will lead the next episode of the Christian Forum on Israel-Palestine.
The following link will allow you to watch the conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYXuwuUNJ-k
Our guest will be my friend Munther Amira. Munther is a Palestinian, non-violent, peace activist who lives in the Aida refugee camp where Terry and I stay during our visits to the West Bank.
Munther was arrested by Israeli soldiers in September 2023 and released in February 2024. He will talk with us about the dire conditions for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
But he will especially describe the brutal changes implemented after the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Trust me. You won’t want to miss Munther’s first-hand account of Palestinian Life in an Israeli Prison.
Again, use the following link to watch this important conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYXuwuUNJ-k
I am happy to announce that the publisher Wipf & Stock has agreed to reprint my book, Feeling Like God: A Spiritual Journey to Emotional Wholeness.
The original publisher, a small Canadian press, went out of business years ago, so the book has been unavailable for some time.
In my humble opinion, it’s a great book well worth reading!
I tackle the ancient theological question of whether or not God has passions, emotions, feelings that are part and parcel of his sovereign plans for the world.
My answer to that question is a resounding YES, in contrast to much of the orthodox, theological tradition which said NO. I approach this answer through a brilliantly composed (LOL!) integration of biblical theology, an examination of Greek philosophy, a look at the early Church Fathers, illustrative stories,and personal application.
What more could you ask for?
Publisher’s Description – “An engaging blend of biblical study, historical theology, and personal testimony, Feeling like God takes the reader on a journey to understand God as revealed in Scripture. It shows that following Jesus Christ necessarily means bringing our feelings to God, rather than trying to suppress them, and shows how expressing emotion is something central to what it means to be created in the image of God.”
You are invited to join the Christian Forum on Israel-Palestine this coming Tuesday (tomorrow, June 18) for our second conversation. This time we will be talking with Palestinian-American author and journalist Ali Abunimah, founder and senior editor of the Electronic Intifada.
You won’t want to miss it!
Use this link for the livestream and to view the recording after the fact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYLhwY_yThU
Tomorrow I will be flying to Tel Aviv. For the next three weeks or so I will visiting my friends in the West Bank of the Occupied Territories, conducting more interviews and attending the Christ at the Checkpoint conference at Bethlehem Bible College.
I have wanted to participate in CATC for many years, but this is my first opportunity to be there. The theme this year is “Do Justice, Love Mercy: Christian Witness in Contexts of Oppression.”
The conference organizers describe themselves as:
a community of evangelical Christians who believe that following Jesus with integrity means that our lives are formed by our love for God, the teaching of the Bible and a fearless life of discipleship in the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We believe that one of the first hallmarks of discipleship is love for both our own community and for our enemies. We wish to find Jesus at the center of everything we do and to make his life our life. Which means finding courageous love for Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews alike.
If you think about it, I would appreciate your prayers while I am in Israel-Palestine: prayers for safety in the midst of the ongoing warfare,* and prayers that I will learn all that the Lord wants to teach me.
(*During Israel’s attacks on Gaza, violence has increased dramatically in the West Bank. Nearly 500 Palestinians have been killed by IDF soldiers and Jewish settlers, while almost 5,000 Palestinians have been imprisoned over the past six months– typically held without charges in ‘administrative detention.)
The Christ at the Checkpoint Manifesto
As the assault on Rafah continues I notice how regularly the news headlines follow a similar pattern: residential home bombed + at night + X number of women & children killed.
I strong suspect that these repeated headlines offer more evidence that Israel is continuing to use the AI programs Lavender and Where’s Daddy? Programs that I have discussed here previously.
The IDF uses these programs to intentionally bomb (1) the homes of suspected Hamas fighters (2) after dark (3) when the families are sleeping together. Hardly the practice of a military that was sincere in its insistence that it worked hard to avoid civilian casualties.
Well, here is yet another story demonstrating Israel’s disregard for murdered civilians.
When you bomb a crowd of people waiting for their turn to access a public internet connection, what else can you expect but — NUMEROUS CIVILIAN CASUALTIES. It’s not rocket science.
No one but no one can claim that these deaths were accidental, collateral damage due to the fog of war. It’s long past time for the LIES to stop.
Last June I posted the story about my visit to the West Bank region known as Masafer Yatter.
Terry and I had helped to plant new trees and grape vines for a Palestinian farmer by the name of Hafez Hureini. Mr. Hureini’s hands had been broken by Jewish settlers who were in the process of stealing his land.
The young people from Aida Refugee camp (where we lived) were helping him to catch up on his backlogged farm maintenance. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, we were attacked by both Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers as we worked.
That’s right. In Israel it’s apparently illegal to help a Palestinian farmer work his own farmland.
A few days ago I happened across an Al Jazeera documenatary focusing on Mr. Hureini’s continuing struggle against Israeli land theft! Here you can meet this man and hear his story for yourselves.
Yes, the settlers are still stealing. The soldiers are still oppressing the innocent and defending the thieves. And Mr. Hureini continues to stand his ground peacefully.
All the while, our God sees it all and promises to one day restore justice to his world. And I’ll give you a hint: justice ain’t on the side of Zionist land theft.
These videos speak for themselves.
These are only two little girls who are, fortunately, rescued. The United Nations estimates that some 10,000 Palestinian bodies have never been rescued. They remain in the rubble.
To watch the above video use the URL address inbetween the brackets: [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6pfJ3gCrcxs]
I am happy to announce the next episode of the Christian Forum on Israel-Palestine. It will be broadcast on June 8th, 4 pm Eastern, 1 pm Pacific.
We will be speaking with Ilan Pappe, one of the world’s premier historians of modern Israel, but especially of the Israel/Palestine conflict.
When the time comes you can watch this conversation by clicking on the following link or paste it in your computer’s URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2Azgev9Rc8
Professor Pappe has written many important books. Perhaps his best known
publication is The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. His most recent work, Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic (available in September), deals with the power and influence of Israeli/pro-Zionist lobbying efforts around the world.
Please join us for what I know will be a fascinating conversation with one of Israel’s foremost historians.
I am deeply disappointed to say that I will not be participating in this particular conversation. I will be flying home from Israel on June 8. But trust me, I will NOT miss any more of our upcoming conversations.
Mark you calendars now, not only for Ilan Pappe, but for what I know will be another fascinating conversation with Ali Abunimah, the founder and chief editor of The Electronic Intifada, on June 18.
I will provide more information once I return from my trip to Israel-Palestine.
