Wrath of Jonah: The Crisis of Religious Nationalism in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

by Rosemary Radford Radford Ruether

Overview

The wrenching situation in the Middle East, recent events have shown, is as complex as it is volatile. In this immensely learned and clarifying volume -- here updated and issued in paper for the first time -- the Ruethers trace the tortured and contested history of Israel/Palestine from biblical times through the Diaspora, the development of Zionism, the creation of the modern state of Israel, and the subsequent conflict with Arab and Palestinian nationalism. Magisterial in its grasp of the historical, political, economic, and religious roots of the conflict, The Wrath of Jonah also offers convincing analysis of the moral and political dilemmas facing Israelis and Palestinians today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781451417852
Publisher:	Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
Publication date:	03/28/2002
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	388,620
File size:	1 MB

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	viii
	Preface to the Second Edition	xiv
	Introduction	xvii
Part 1	Classical Foundations: The Three Monotheistic Faiths	1
1.	Peoplehood, Covenant, and Land in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam	3
	The Land of Canaan: Crossroads of Empires	3
	Covenant People and Promised Land in Hebrew Scripture	6
	Peoplehood, Covenant, and Land in Rabbinic Judaism	12
	The Two Covenants, the Heavenly Land, and the Exile of the Jews in Early Christianity	20
	The Community of Islam and the Peoples of the Book	27
	Summary	35
Part 2	Historical Development of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict	37
2.	Religious and Secular Roots of Zionism	39
	Kabbalistic Messianism and the Return to the Holy Land	39
	European Nationalism and the Rise of Zionism	43
	Varieties of Zionism	47
	Summary	66
3.	Christianity and Zionism: The Making of an Alliance	69
	The Reformation Era and the Restoration of the Jews	69
	Christian Zionism and European Empire	75
	American Christian Zionism and the Foundation of Israel	80
4.	The Emergence and Survival of Palestinian Nationalism	85
	The Beginnings of Arab Nationalism and Its Betrayal by Western Imperialism	90
	Palestinian Nationalism during the Mandatory Period	93
	The Suppression and Resurrection of the Palestinian National Movement	100
	From the Lebanese Civil War to the 1987-88 Uprising	110
	From Oslo to the Second Intifada, 1991-2001	116
	Palestinian Nationalism and Zionism	128
5.	Contradictions of the Jewish State	131
	Building a Jewish Majority: Immigration and Settlement	138
	Making Palestinians Invisible in Israel	143
	Making Palestinians Invisible in the 1967 Occupied Territories	152
Part 3	Christian Relations to Judaism and to Zionism	161
6.	Contemporary Christian Responses to Judaism and to Zionism	163
	The Vatican: Relations to Judaism and to the State of Israel	164
	The World Council of Churches: Relations to Judaism and to the State of Israel	169
	American Fundamentalist Christians, Jews, and Israel	174
	Arab Christians, Judaism, and Zionism	182
7.	Jewish and Christian Responses to the Holocaust: The Link to Zionism	191
	Jewish Holocaust Theology	192
	Christian Holocaust Theology	203
	Conclusions	213
8.	Zionism and International Justice: A Theological and Ethical Evaluation	219
	The Jews: Religious Community or Nation?	225
	Jewish Election and the Promised Land	229
	The State of Israel and the Beginning of Redemption	232
	Conclusions	237
	Postscript, 2002	243
	Notes	249
	Index	283