Tag: Palestinians

New Poll: 83% of Israelis Favor the “Voluntary Immigration” of the People of Gaza

In the following clip from Breaking Point News, Krystal Ball offers a good summary of recent developments in the assault against Gaza.

Be sure to watch for the recent Israeli national poll showing that 83% of the Jewish people in Israel favor the “voluntary immigration” all the people from Gaza.

I am not sure how anyone can consider such an action to be voluntary, given the fact that Israel has flattened their homes, turned the region into a vast parking lot, and destroyed any semblance of Palestinian civilization in the area.

Certainly every eventual “emigrant” will have a rifle to his or her back motivating their “voluntarism.”

But, then, we should never underestimate the delusional power of Zionism to turn reality on its head, causing its adherents to imagine that black is white and up is down.

Also wait for the statistics demonstrating that Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has been the most destructive war of the 21st century, by far:

A Former Member of the Knesset Declares on National Television: They Must All Be Exterminated!

The video speaks for itself. This is a former member of the Israeli Knesset (Israel’s parliament).

I wish I could say that this man’s speech is an outlier. But I have now seen far too many video clips declaring the same message from average citizens and government officials alike to remain that naive.

Former Israeli Sniper Explains Israel’s Rules of Engagement: Shoot Anything that Moves

A former Israeli sniper explains the circumstances in which soldiers are instructed to “shoot anything that moves.”

The recent shooting of three Jewish hostages — shirtless, waving a white flag and shouting in Hebrew — was anything but accidental or a mistake. It was the direct result of explicit rules of engagement in the Israeli army.

If Israel will flagrantly murder three of its own people in this way, just imagine how many Palestinian civilians have been gunned down under similar circumstances.

The murder of these three hostages illustrates the moral bankruptcy of Israel’s claims to having “the most moral army in the world.” Moral armies don’t teach 18 to 20 year olds to “shoot anything that moves,” no matter the circumstances.

Listen to the Christmas Message that Every American Christian Should Hear

The Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac is the pastor of the Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Christmas church. He is also a professor at Bethlehem Bible College.

This Christmas Eve, he delivered a power prophetic, gospel-inspired message directed at the western Christian church.

As the Gaza Strip is demolished, its people massacred, and ethnic cleansing continues unabated throughout the West Bank, far too many US evangelicals approve of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

As pastor Isaac says, “Silence is complicity.” Yes, too many remain silent, but even more damnable are the “Christian” voices raised in support of Israel’s war against Gaza because, some how or another, this slaughter is preparing the way for the return of Christ.

There are three things that I know with certainty about following Jesus. Walking with Christ never requires us to sanction, much less to embrace, ignorance, prejudice or bloodshed.

Those now approving of Israel’s genocide are committing all three of these inexcusable sins.

The following clip of Rev. Isaac’s message is 17 minutes long. Please take the time to listen to it in full. We all need to listen, lament, repent, and become activists for peace and justice in the name of Jesus Christ. We can begin by calling for a ceasefire in Gaza:

The following clip is a 12 minute interview with pastor Isaac broadcast by Democracy Now. Listen to him explain how the Palestinian people feel abandoned by the world, the Palestinian church abandoned by their western brothers and sisters. Remember — Gazan churches are being bombed; Gazan Christians are being murdered along with everyone else.

Have we no compassion for the Arabic-speaking family of God trambling in terror, huddled in the ruins of bombed out churches, desperately praying for God’s deliverance?

 

 

 

Bethlehem Pastor Proclaims a Prophetic Word to the Western Church

Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac is a professor at Bethlehem Bible College as well as the pastor at the bethlehem Lutheran Christmas church. Terry and I often  worship at this church whenever we are in the West Bank.

Pastor Isaac understands that now is the time for a prophetic word addressed to the western church. He declares hard truths powerfully.

He is a Christian leader speaking to his fellow believers in the western Church — a Church that largely approves of Israel’s current campaign of destruction against his people. How can this be?

Our only proper response is repentance.

Bethlehem Churches Live Out the Biblical Tradition of Lament in War Time

I am privileged to count both the Rev. Drs. Mitri Raheb and Munther Isaac among my friends. You will meet them in this video from Democracy Now.

Together with the other Christian leaders of Bethlehem, they are speaking prophetically to the rest of the world as public celebrations have been cancelled in Bethlehem this Christmas.

Oh, they are not neglecting the wonder of Jesus’ birth. But they are grappling with the contexual realities of remembering Jesus’ birth while also suffering brutal Israeli attacks in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Thus, they haver turned to the Old Testament tradition of lament, that is crying out to God in protest against both worldly injustice and his apparent absence.

The western Christian church has become immune to the biblical concept of collective, corporate lament. Even when we try to construct a lament service, we don’t really know how to be comfortable with it.

In part, this awkwardness is due to American isolationism, ignorance, and lack of empathy for others.

We fail to identify with our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Christ because many don’t realize that Palestinian Christians exist.

We ignore the news of literal genocide occurring in Gaza because we are generally disinterested in the rest of the world.

And when we go to visit Israel, we are more feverish about visiting Zionist synagogue services than we are about worshiping with Palestinian brothers and sisters.

The Palestinian church is showing us once again what biblical lament means as they endure a multitude of the cruelest war time injustices.

As Gaza is Flattened, Land Theft and Ethnic Cleansing Continues Apace in the West Bank

Never before has the Jewish settlement movement held as much power as they do today. Several of their leaders are members of the Israeli cabinet. They now call the shots in the West Bank, accelerating Jewish attacks against Palestinians, stealing their homes, destroying their crops and killing them with impunity.

The following video compilation offers a glimpse into this world of daily threats and violence:

Meet My Palestinian Family as They Gather Together Following the Attack on Their Homes

Our friend, Layla, is a journalist working for the online news magazine, Mondoweiss. She filmed some members of the Amira and Al Azzah families after the Israeli soldiers, who had physically attacked them all, had finally left with Munther laying in the back of their truck.

This is our extended family in the West Bank. I admire their fortitude and resilience. I wish I was with them right now.

 

Munther Amira, Another Friend, is Kidnapped by Israeli Soldiers

Yesterday, I received the following message explaining the “arrest” (Israeli arrests are more like kidnappings) of my dear friend Munther Amira.

Munther is a well-known community leader who is committed to non-violence. I have watched him in action, working to defuse tense situations where Israeli soldiers were working to foment violence.

This is not the first time Munther has been arrested. He is a regular target of Israeli violence. If you are a praying person, I ask you to please pray for Munther’s release and safety.

Here is the notice from the Aida Youth Center about Munther’s arrest, (All emphasis is mine):

The Israeli occupation forces have arrested activist Munther Amira from his home in the Aida refugee camp. Munther is the the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Aida Youth Center. He is also an activist with the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee (PSCC), a collection of grassroots activist in the West Bank.

Munther was violently arrested from his home around 3 in the morning. Israeli soldiers broke down the door of Munther’s mother’s home and violently beat up Munther’s younger brother Kareem for more than 15 minutes. They then broke into Munther’s house and began beating him while they locked his wife and children in a bedroom. They tied up Munther’s sons, and took a knife and slashed the t shirt of Munther’s youngest teenage son, because it had a map of Palestine on it.

They then dragged Munther out of his home, tied him up, blindfolded him and left him in the street for over an hour.

Israeli forces screamed at and shot live ammunition towards a young boy who was watching the arrest from the window of his house. Israeli forces also prevented ambulances from entering the camp to treat Munther’s brother Kareem who was badly injured.

After more than an hour, the soldiers abducted Munther and took him into the military base.

Munther’s brother Kareem is now in the hospital.

Munther is a prisoner of conscience. This is not the first time he has been targeted for his activism. In 2017 he was arrested for participating in a peaceful demonstration demanding the release of then child prisoner Ahed Tamimi. Munther was sentenced to 6 months in prison for “disturbing public order” and “participating in a protest without a permit”.

We demand the immediate release of both our colleagues Munther Amira and Anas Abu Srour from their illegal detention.

Please raise your voice to put as much pressure as we can in the media to #FreeMuntherAmira and #FreeAnasAbuSrour