BETHLEHEM: As Israeli bombardments in Gaza continued since October 7, Palestinian pastor Munther Isaac of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem condemns the “silence” of Western churches and urges a ceasefire in the embattled Palestinian territory.
Isaac, 45, emphasizes the relevance of a biblical passage from Saint Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, stating that God chooses the weakest “to shame the powerful,” aligning with his belief that the children of Gaza challenge the “hypocrisy” and “prejudice” of the Western world.
In a viral video from December, Pastor Isaac labeled Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” during a sermon, criticizing Christian leaders for their lack of condemnation and asserting that “silence is complicity.”
The video has garnered tens of thousands of shares on social media. Isaac, an English-speaking Christian, sees his role as leveraging his position as a pastor to bring attention to the ongoing crisis, stating, “Many in the world will not listen to the actual stories of the people of Gaza, but they will listen to me because I’m a pastor.”
Violence Against Palestinians
The violence has not been confined to Gaza, as the West Bank has also experienced escalating tensions since October 7. The pastor contends that Israel acts with “impunity” and calls for accountability. He expressed frustration that Palestinians are not viewed as equals on the global stage.
Isaac incorporates sacred texts into his sermons to shed light on the war’s horrors, recently setting up a nativity scene at Christmas depicting baby Jesus wrapped in a Palestinian scarf amidst the rubble of a bombed-out house.
