Peace Between Israelis and Palestinians—Really?

Why I refuse to be cynical about the current talks.

by Dale Hanson Bourke     

Dale Hanson Bourke has written a new book titled The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Tough Questions, Direct Answers (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2013). I will be ordering it immediately. From what I read in her Christianity Today article (posted online on Sept. 30, 2013), I expect this might be a good book to recommend to my study tour participants as preparatory reading. I'll revise this post as soon as I've had a look at the book and will let you know one way or another.

Here's an excerpt from the beginning of the CT article:

"As the world continues to debate how to resolve conflicts in Syria, Egypt, and too many other places, negotiators have quietly, and mostly confidentially, continued peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The talks, which began mid-August, have taken place in Israel and the West Bank behind closed doors and with little public posturing.

Cynics are quick to criticize these peace talks, which they believe will prove to be just another in a failed series. Others see them as a futile exercise that will only raise expectations and create more bitterness. And then there are those who have written off the entire Middle East as "a mess" and are simply disengaged from the issues.

But I'm not one of those people. I continue to pray, hope and believe in peace for the Holy Land. I support the talks and believe that they can succeed. And I ask other Christians to join me.

My hope does not come from naïve optimism, but from time spent in the region, researching and writing about the conflict and meeting with people who live with the effects of it daily. A skeptic at the beginning of my journey, I was first surprised and then greatly moved by the people I met there who are working—often sacrificially—for peace."

In the article, Bourke mentions people and groups with whom we will be meeting on the study tour. If you've had a look at the itinerary, you will know that we have many occasions in which we both listen (our main task) and engage in conversation with those who both long for and work for peace in the region. People sometimes ask, why not focus on your own problems at home? I sincerely hope that we do. I find, however, that hearing how others tirelessly work for peace inspires us to do the same. That's one of the reasons I love taking groups to the holy but troubled land.

Here's one of the online reviews of the book on Amazon.com, written by Rev. Angela Zimmann (PhD; pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in the Old City of Jerusalem):

"Do you hear the words "Middle East" and feel overwhelmed and completely confused? Do you wonder what countries even count as the Middle East? Do you wonder why people can't just get along? I live and work in Jerusalem as the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, and Assistant to Bishop Munib Younan. Of course, I have read a multitude of books that deal with these particular issues, and I reside alongside the conflict - and, more significantly, alongside the real Palestinians and Israelis who are affected - each and every day. I am thrilled to recommend, therefore, this five-star book: it is accessible, engaging, fair, and a quick and "easy" (in the literary sense, not the philosophical) read which serves not just as an introduction but as a compelling push into the heart-rending story of the Middle East, "the center of the universe." You will finish the book in a weekend, or even in one sitting - but your heart and mind will never be the same. You will be far from "finished" with the Middle East - you have entered a holy, broken, mystical, and humbling land. Welcome."