Interview with David Dolan

Leeds Messianic Fellowship was blessed by a visit from Jerusalem based journalist, David Dolan. on 19th October. After the meeting the editor took the opportunity to do a brief interview with him for the readers of Chai.

Richard Gibson: David, with all your years in journalism, knowing all the 'ins and outs", why is it the news services of the world are so negative towards Israel? Even in the reporting of deaths Jewish fatalities are reported as if they are not as tragic as Arab ones!

David Dolan: There are a number of possible explanations for it. First of all a lot of the journalists were raised with certain levels of anti-Semitism. That is sometimes reflected in their writing. But probably more important is the edi­torial policy of the media outlets and most media outlets - newspapers, magazines, TV, radio are commercial entities so rely on corporations or commercial revenue. The corporations deal in the real business world, which is very involved with the oil market, and oil is the lifeblood of the economy and it is mostly in Arab hands. So that, I believe, influences things. In the West there is also the fear of Islam that plays a fac­tor, there is a bit of intimidation, people don't want to offend the Muslims and that may be part of it as well. Finally, the Scriptures tells us there is a spiritual battle going on. Israel's return is not just a political act but is a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy and the Bible tells us that God has an enemy, Satan, who opposes everything God does. He knows, whether or not pastors and vic­ars know, that Israel's reappearance is the sign of signs of his demise so he fights against it and does everything he can to discredit and destroy her if he can. The media is a part of that spiritual battle as much as anyone else is.

Richard Gibson: Do you think that Messianic Jews can make a difference to the perception of Israel and Jewish people in general in the wider Christian church?

David Dolan: Most definitely, I'm privi­leged to be friends with a Messianic Jew who has probably had as much impact in that zone as anyone and that's Lance Lambert. He has gone all over the world for nearly fifty years. He has had a particular ministry with Chinese Christians and has shared with, probably, over the decades, certainly hundreds of thousands if not more Chinese Christians about Israel and her Biblical basis and her political situation. He is know world wide to Christians as an author and speaker, but I see no reason why most Messianic Jews could­n't equally play this role Lance is recog­nized by the Israeli government as an eloquent spokesman for Israel's cause, despite the fact that they don't like his faith. They "excuse" him because the Nazis killed his father, so they think that he wasn't really raised Jewish and can make him an exception to the rule. The ultra-orthodox and anti-missionary groups don't care how positively any one speaks about Israel, they are just interested in the issues of their faith and what they see as apostasy. The government and the people do realize that there are some eloquent Messianic Jewish spokespeople for Israel.

Richard Gibson: What difference does it make for the regular Gentile Christian to get involved in telling the truth about Israel. Aren't we supposed lust to be preaching the Gospel?

David Dolan: Second question first, Jesus said "If you don't believe what I say, believe the works that I do." One of the things the Bible says that God would do to, as it were, prove His exis­tence is return the Jewish people back to the land of Israel and re-establish a Jewish state. The fact that this has literally happened - against what everybody has to agree was pretty formidable odds - is a great testimony to the reali­ty, to the veracity, the truthfulness of the Bible, the accuracy of it. So speak­ing the truth about Israel and making other people aware of it is pointing to the Bible, to the God of the Bible, who is also the God of Israel. The two are very related and it's not, in my opinion, just a political question, it is a very spiri­tual one. It touches upon spiritual issues and also the Scriptures say in many places that Israel's restoration is very dear to the heart of God. He says "I've given you a certificate of divorce and sent you away, but I don't believe in divorce and I'm going to restore you to your land and marry you again", as it were. He speaks in very tender terms about this and the Bible speaks often about it, God speaks often about this through the various biblical prophets, meaning that it must be something fairly important to Him. If it's important to God it should be important to believers. It's not just a side issue, but it's a central issue. The bottom line is much more practical, it's such a hot political issue now and it will get more so. People are forced to develop opinions on it as it touches on whom they vote for and what policies their country takes and so they need to be informed lust on that level. But mostly it's the spiritual side.

See David's web site for regular news from Israel: www.ddolan.com