Palestine

A noncomprehensive list of realistic, practical actions

The history of Palestinian Christian interpretation of the Old Testament reminds us of the nuanced, fragile nature of life in that region.

"In the Middle East peace process, the peace was being negotiated by secular elites who lacked the religious language of so many of their people."

The BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement against Israel, which has gained some traction in mainline denominations, raises hotly contested questions. (See, for example, my article “Boycotting the boycott” and the responses to it.)

A particularly salient one: Do ordinary Palestinians support BDS? Do Palestinians in the occupied territory want more separation from Israel or more integration with it?

(The Christian Science Monitor) The first bureaucratic triumph upon our arrival in Jerusalem came at the Ministry of Interior, when a surly woman peeled off our newly minted residency visas and pressed them into our passports.

“We are prisoners of thanks,” my husband and I said, mustering an antiquated Hebrew phrase of gratitude. “Bye,” she replied, with all the feeling of a desert rock.

Jean-Pierre Filiu rightly places Gaza at the center, not the margins, of Palestinian history. But he fails to let Gazans speak for themselves.

Why is so much energy aimed at protesting Israel's occupation of the West Bank? Such actions are unlikely to move the levers of power.

Isn’t it possible for both Israeli and Palestinian narratives to be true? Dialogue ends when each side demands that the other “let go of past suffering” and “get over it.”

In a booklet titled Zionism Unsettled, a group of Presbyterians has issued a blanket denunciation of Zionism, terming the Jewish quest for a homeland in the ancient land of Israel inherently racist, exclusionary, and devastating for non-Jewish inhabitants. 

Jewish and Christian groups have rightly criticized the booklet for its sledgehammer one-sided approach, theologically and politically.

The Friends of the Earth Middle East scored a victory this summer when some 9 million cubic meters of fresh water per year started flowing into the Jordan River.

The Six-Day War, as Caitlin Carenen argues, represented a turning point in American Protestant views of Israel.

There's a broad consensus that peace between the Israelis and Palestinians depends on a two-state solution. So why doesn't it happen?

Is the goal of Zionism a democratic Israel with a Jewish majority? Or rule of the entire land, from the Mediterranean to the Jordan?

In Jordan, reports are mixed as to just how good relations are between the Muslim majority and the Christian minority. What's clearer is that the stronger divide is between native Jordanians and the many Palestinian refugees.

The two locals we spent the most time with, our tour guide and our bus driver, represent both differences.

The Jordan River is too shallow for Michael to row across, and the shore is a stinking pile of sludge. But something redemptive is happening.

Israelis take great interest in archaeology, as findings can validate Jews' ancient claims to the land. Of course, Palestinians have similar claims.

A rabbi and strong advocate for Palestinians’ rights told me this: "When you Christians start talking about divesting from Israel, it sounds to us as if you are undermining Israel’s economy and thus Israel’s existence. We close ranks."