Authors: Constance A. Hammond
ISBN-13: 9781845533809, ISBN-10: 1845533801
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Equinox Publishing
Date Published: December 2008
Edition: (Non-applicable)
From the first chapters overview of the historical, scriptural and theological rationale for the present situation in Israel/Palestine, the author leads us through the realities of life in Israel/Palestine with its politics, wars, security wall, settlements and ongoing struggles between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The ownership of land, water rights, human rights and religious rights are among the main issues that weave through this book---a book which is about two peoples and three religions struggling for their very survival. Lifted up for us are examples of key figures who are promoting peace and justice---some at the cost of their lives. The second chapter offers Liberation Theology as a viable way to bring peace in Israeli/Palestinian. From the Exodus, the author leads the reader through the history of Liberation Theology---its establishment within the Roman Catholic Church at Vatican Two in Rome in 1962-1965 and the reality of Base Christian Communities (Communidades de Base) as seen, particularly, in El Salvador and Salvadoran refugee camps in Honduras in the 1980s. Liberation Theology as it has developed and been lived in Israel/Palestine is then examined. As with Israel/Palestine the book looks at examples of key figures who are presently promoting peace and justice, again, some at the cost of their lives. The indigenous Christian community in Israel/Palestine (which has been reduced to a minority of between one to two percent) is lifted up as a people of hope for the area. With the ongoing violence from the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), who routinely bulldoze homes and make air attacks upon civilians while searching for terrorists, and the extremist Palestinian Muslims who have bombed buses, cafes and markets in their suicide bombings, the Palestinian Christians are the only ones who have not yet resorted to violence. They have managed to maintain a non-violent stance, out of their faith base, as they have been forced out of their homes and villages and towns and cities and had restrictions imposed upon them by the Israeli government. Those who are leading the Christian community in this non-violent stance and those who are living out this way of life are seen as the Davids of this time, in this place. Be they indigenous Palestinian Christians or International witnesses and supporters of peace, or Jewish or Muslim peace seekers---all are given as examples of what is possible in an impossible situation.
List of Maps and Photographs
Introduction From the Particular to the Global and Back to the Project 1
Pt. 1 The Land as Place
The Land of Israel/Palestine 13
Jerusalem 17
The Ownership of Land 25
The Theology of the Land 30
Generations of God Gifting the Land 31
Conquering in the Name of God 41
One God: Three Faiths 44
The Word of God 48
Scripture from a Palestinian Christian Perspective 52
Scripture from a Muslim Perspective 54
Scripture from a Jewish Perspective 54
A Timeline from 1840-1967 57
The Land and Population in Modern Day Israel/Palestine 65
Settlers and Settlements 67
Zionism: Secular and Religious 74
Politics, Wars and New Beginnings 81
Peacemakers: Jewish, Christian and Muslim 85
The Wall, the Fence, the Barrier 98
The Law Ancient, the Reality Today 103
Pt. 2 Liberation Theology
Exodus 107
Peacemakers Versus Disturbers of the Peace 110
Liberation Theology and Vatican II 113
Economic Development and Developing Revolutions 119
Founders of Liberation Theology 125
Leaders and Martyrs of the Revolution 129
Martyrs of Liberation Theology 135
Base Christian Communities (Communidades de Base) 140
Liberation Theology in North America 144
Liberation Theology: Jewish and Islamic 148
Liberation Theology: Palestinian Christian 150
Palestinian Resistance Groups 156
The Peacemakers in Israel/Palestine 158
Israeli Jewish Peace Groups 171
Palestinian Christian and Muslim Peace Groups 174
International Peace Groups 177
Tragedy Behind the Theology 181
Conclusion 192
Bibliography 200
General Index 205
Scripture Index 222