Palestine
Tear gas over the soccer field
“You’re welcome to take it back home with you,” my Palestinian friend said as I looked at the US-made canister in my hand. “Actually, take all of them.”
Mitri Raheb takes on Christian Zionists (even the liberal ones)
The Palestinian theologian challenges Christians to examine their feelings about Israel—and to ask what their faith has to do with these feelings.
Ten ways Christians can criticize Israel that aren’t antisemitic
Since October 7, many well-intentioned statements have undercut progressive Christians’ moral high ground by invoking antisemitic tropes. It’s an avoidable problem.
by Olivia Brodsky and Joshua Stanton
In Gaza, water is life
Fresh water was scarce even before the war. Now the situation is dire.
Joyful life in Bethlehem
At a L’Arche community, I learned something about working and dreaming for peace.
Episode 34: Theologian Mitri Raheb, author of Decolonizing Palestine
A conversation with theologian Mitri Raheb about current conditions in Palestine, Christian Zionism, Biblical interpretation, and more
The emotion standing in the way of peace
Anger can be both healthy and helpful. Rage offers only destruction.
Bearing witness to multiple stories
Israelis and Palestinians alike are traumatized people who love the land and deserve to live there in peace.
When Israeli settlers meet West Bank Palestinians
“How had I not heard these stories and met these people, living 30 years right next to them?” asks Hanan Schlesinger. “How could it be?”
interview by Philip C. Maurer
Mary, Joseph, and a tea vendor named Sami
In Luke’s Advent story, Bethlehem’s economy is central—and it looks a lot like Bethlehem’s economy today.
What steps toward peace could Israelis and Palestinians take now?
A noncomprehensive list of realistic, practical actions
by Cary Nelson
Hermeneutics in a fragile land
The history of Palestinian Christian interpretation of the Old Testament reminds us of the nuanced, fragile nature of life in that region.
reviewed by Walter Brueggemann
Israel’s dreams and nightmares: Author Yossi Klein Halevi
"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."
an interview by David Heim
BDS: What Palestinians think
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?
By David Heim
Finding compassion in a trying land
(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.
Gaza: A History, by Jean-Pierre Filiu
Jean-Pierre Filiu rightly places Gaza at the center, not the margins, of Palestinian history. But he fails to let Gazans speak for themselves.
reviewed by Alain Epp Weaver
On not choosing sides: The peacemaking challenge in Israel/Palestine
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.