Justice and Only Justice
Irani, George E.
PEACE, JUSTICE, & SECURITY JUSTICE AND ONLY JUSTICE A Palestinian Theology of Liberation Nairn Stifan Ateek Orbis Books, $18.95, 229 pp. George E. Irani This book is an original attempt by an...
...This is quite a courageous statement coming from a Christian, Palestinian, Arab, Israeli clergyman...
...Ateek assesses the role of the Christian churches in the state of Israel...
...The challenges they face are daunting: they must liberate themselves from centuries of division among themselves, from the Israelis, and from the historic yoke of distrust between Christians and Muslims...
...George E. Irani This book is an original attempt by an Arab Christian clergyman to define a theology of liberation for the Palestinians living inside Israel and in the occupied Territories...
...Christians 13 percent, or 100,000...
...God will inevitably vindicate what is right and just...
...He is at once a Christian, a Palestinian, an Arab, and an Israeli...
...Canon Ateek concludes his book with a call to the leadership of the Christian churches in Israel-Palestine to unite their efforts and work for peace...
...So far, Christians in the Arab East have not tackled the thorny issue of anti-Semitism and Christian responsibilities during the Holocaust...
...Regarding Jerusalem, Ateek believes that the Holy City must be shared on an equal basis among Christians, Muslims, and Jews, and could later become the capital of a federation he proposes which would include Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine...
...Ateek focuses on Israel's Palestinian Christians and addresses his theology of liberation to them...
...Although the adversary may be ungodly, deceitful, and unjust, he or she will not have the final word...
...Antonucci works here as a Seurat in earthen tones, every dot bonded with energy and light...
...George's Anglican Cathedral in Jerusalem...
...This personal background gives a sense of the complexity of the task he sees facing Arab Christians in Israel-Palestine and in the Middle East...
...The main theme of the book is that "Palestine is a country for both the Jews and the Palestinians," but that there can be no peace withoutjustice for the Palestinians and security for the Israelis...
...Ateek wants the Israelis to tell the Palestinians: "We are willing to negotiate with your representatives, the PLO, and we choose to live in peace with you...
...For Ateek, God is a God of justice and hope...
...There is a sense of play and not a particle is inanimate or inconsequential...
...The church was itself a victim of the Palestine tragedy, and most members of the church's hierarchy in Israel were, and remain foreigners...
...resignation (1956-1967...
...Until the late 1980s the churches remained quiet, opting to stay out of politics...
...In light of the intifadah and the dramatic impact it has had on Israel's image and body politic, Ateek argues that it "is for the security and well-being of Israel that a Palestinian state should be established...
...Nairn Stifan Ateek is Canon of St...
...The new attitude the Israelis will have to adopt is to acknowledge that the Palestinians were wronged, their land usurped, and their human rights trampled...
...the Latin church had an Italian patriarch until December 1987, when, for the first time, a Palestinian was appointed as Latin patriarch of Jerusalem...
...Ateek bases his theology of liberation on an understanding of God which is universal and inclusive...
...and awakening (1968-1988...
...Ateek is strongly critical of both Christian Zionists and their Israeli friends, who, he believes, shamelessly interpret the Bible for propagandists purposes...
...Such a vision has always stood in tension with nationalists' conceptions of the deity...
...Ateek calls on the Palestinians to acknowledge the significance of the Holocaust: "The new attitude would make us Palestinians face Israel quite candidly and state that the only justification that the Palestinians will accept for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine is the Holocaust...
...But Palestinians will have to honor and accept Israel as a Jewish state...
...Points of Light Readers of these pages familiar with the work of Emil Antonucci, Commonweal's art director, have a treat in store: his pulsing, point List illustrations for Mary Fahy's just-released The Tree that Survived the Winter (Paulist, $6.95,66 pp...
...Since 1948 and the beginning of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel's Palestinians have passed through three distinct stages: shock (1948-1955...
...Today, Israeli Arab Palestinians are divided into three main groups: Muslims comprise 70 percent of the total Arab population, about 600,000...
...For example, the leadership of the Greek Orthodox church is Greek...
...The book is an allegorical tale of faith and endurance...
...and Druze and others, 10 percent, or 75,000...
...Ateek pleads that Israelis and world Jewry in general hear the cry of the Palestinians...
Vol. 116 • December 1989 • No. 22
