In Touch Quarter 4 - 2011

INTERVIEW WITH
DAVID DOLAN
David Dolan is a Christian Journalist who has been reporting on Israel for over 30 years.
Sam Hailes spoke to him to find out more about his career and the situation in the Land.
SH: What’s it like to be a journalist in
Israel?
DD: I would say it’s the most exciting
place on earth to work as a journalist.
We actually have the third largest
permanent press corps in any one
country. There’s always something new
happening. On the other hand it’s a
difficult assignment because so much of
the news is about struggle and violence
and war. It can get a little depressing at
times but it’s also exhilarating so I wouldn’t exchange it for
anywhere else.
SH: What’s it like to be a Christian in Israel as opposed to in
the Palestinian territories?
DD: The legal systems are quite different. Israel is a western
style democracy and for the most part the benefits and freedoms
we have in the West are there. Having said that, Christians are
a small minority and some of the Orthodox groups are not so
happy to have Christians there. As a whole the laws are fair and
people are able to exercise their faith quite freely. Officially in
the West Bank that’s the case as well but the Islamic influence
there is much stronger. Hamas has persecuted various pastors
there too. It’s not frankly easy on either side. On the Arab side
one can be killed for one’s faith.
SH: You have lived in Jerusalem for over 30 years, is it a
dangerous place to be?
DD: I find Jerusalem to be a very easy place to live in terms of
personal threats. I tell people who are concerned about coming
to Israel that I have been physically attacked three times – all
of them in the States. I actually have a scar on my head from
where I was mugged last Easter weekend in South Florida.
Having said that you do have to be careful and when there
are periods of uprising or intense violence, certainly riding the
buses at times can be risky and challenging. But overall it’s a
fairly safe place. The crime rate is certainly much lower than
most American cities.
Towards the late 90s I had been doing it over a decade I
approached CFI and said: “Don’t you think this is now maybe
becoming passé, because there’s so much now on the Internet?”
So they surveyed people and they found that yes they do
appreciate it because there’s so much. My report is an overview
of what’s gone on with a focus on the highlights. Having the
years as a journalist there, I’m able to sort through things. It still
seems to be blessing many people, as they use it for prayer and
information, and I’ve been doing that for 25 years now.
SH: People talk a lot about ‘God’s purposes for Israel’. What
does that phrase mean to you?
DD: The Hebrew Bible makes clear that Israel would be God’s
witness on earth. Witness to His existence, the reality of that.
Witness to the fact that He is God, He would demonstrate
His power through them, in miraculous ways. And witness
to futuristic prophecies coming true as well. And of course
Israel is the vehicle in which the Messiah comes to earth. Now
obviously there’s a dispute as to whether He’s coming back or
coming the first time between Jews and Christians. But those
who take their faith seriously in both camps realise this is
spoken of in Scripture. So Israel is a witness above all and it’s
a great place to live because to my mind it is a living Bible to
be there.
SH: Is there anything else you want to say to CFI supporters?
DD: The Scriptures request prayer for the peace of Jerusalem
and I tell people that that’s ultimately, probably not this or that
peace plan, but that the peace of God would come into their
lives and that’s the only wholeness there is. That’s something I
would encourage everyone to do.
SH: What has been your involvement in CFI?
DD: I was one of the first people to be involved in CFI. I was
there at its founding in Jerusalem in early 1986. Several months
later I was asked by the directors if I would write a monthly
news report summarizing what had happened over the month.
CFI.ORG.UK // 5