Books
Books from 2003 or later
Bethlehem Besieged (Stories of Hope in Times of Trouble), by Rev. Mitri Raheb, Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 2004.
Reports on the seige of Bethlehem in 2002 from the inside.
Burning Issues by Americans for Middle East Understanding, New York, 2006.
Important articles previously published in The Link.
Blood and Religion by Jonathan Cook, London, Pluto Press, 2006
The unmasking of the Jewish and democratic state. The issue of demographics.
Christian Zionism by Stephen Sizer, Inter-Varsity Press, 2005.
Christians who see the return of the Jews to the Holy Land as the road map to Armageddon.
Christians and a Land Called Holy by Charles P. Lutz and Robert O. Smith, Minneapolis, AugsburgPress, 2006.
The plight of Palestinian Christians and how American Christians can Help.
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe, One World Publications, 2006.
The ways in which Israel has engaged in ethnic cleansing
Healing Israel/Palestine: A Path to Peace and Reconciliation, by Rabbi Michael Lerner, San Francisco, Tikkun Books, 2003.
Strategies for healing from a liberal Jew.
Imm Mathilda – A Bethlehem Mother’s Diary, by Alison Jones Nassar with Fred Strickert, Minneapolis, Kirk House Publishers, 2003. (A study guide for use by groups is avaiilable if requested.)
The diary of a mother with three children living under occupation and curfew.
The Iron Cage by Rashid Khaldi, Boston, Beadon Press, 2006
The Palestine search for a State and the reality on the ground.
Lords of the Land by Akiva Eldar and Idith Zertal, New York, Nation Books, 2007.
The war over Israel’s settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007.
Muhammed: A Prophet for our Time by Karen Armstrong, New York, Harper Collins, 22006.
The Muslim Jesus by Tarif Khalidi, Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 2003.
Sayings and stories in Islamic literature
My Name is Rachel Corrie by Rachel Corrie, England, Hern Nick Books, 2006.
The young Americcan who was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer which trying to save a home from demolition.
Occupied Voices, by Wendy Pearlman, New York, Thunder Mouth Press/Nation Books,2003.
First hand narratives and contextual information of occupation.
Occupied with Nonviolence by Jean Zaru, Fortress Press, 2008
Zaru is a Quaker from Ramallah
One Country by Ali Abunimah, Virginia, Holt, Henry & Co., 2006
A proposal to end the Israeli/Palestinian impass.
Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter, New York, Simon & Schuster, 2006.
What needs to be done to bring permanent peace to Israel and justice to Palestine.
Palestine Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape by Raja Shehadeh, New York, Scribner, 2007.
The unique Palestinian landscape and what has been done to it by Israeli settlement.
Reframing Anti-Semitism, by the Jewish Voice for Peace, 1611 Telegraph Ave., Oakland, CA 94612, 2004.
Alternative Jewish Perspectives presented by a variety of authors.
Resurrecting Empire by Rashid Khaaldi, Boston, Beacon Press, 2004.
Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human Rights and the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh, Pluto Press, 2004
An examination of the core issues by a well-educated scholar.
Stop the Wall in Palestine, by The Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network (PENGON), 2003. (website: www.pengon.org)
Pictures, maps and text documenting the separation wall – basic book.
The Olive Grove: A Palestinian Story, by Deborah Rohan (website www.theolivegrovebook.com)
The Wall Cannot Stop our Stories: Diaries from Palestine 2000-2004 by the children from Terra Sancta School in Bethlehem
From the diaries of children during and after the 2001 occupation.
Water from the Rock, by Ann Hafften, Minneapolis, Augsburg/Fortress, 2003.
Voices of Lutherans in the Holy Land.
When the Rain Returns: Toward Justice and Reconciliation in Palestine and Israel (2004) American Friends Service Committee
Describes the experiences and analyses of an International Quaker Working Party visiting Palestine, Israel and neighboring countries. A study guide is available.
Who are the Christians in the Middle East?, by Betty Jane Bailey and J. Martin Bailey, Grand Rapids, MI, Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003.
Profiles of the denominations and a country-by-country look at the political and cultural situation for Christians.
Whose Holy City? by Colin Chapman, Oxford, England, Lion Hudson, 2004.
Jerusalem in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Whose Land? Whose Promise?, by Gary Burge, Cleveland, OH, The Pilgrim Press, 2003.
What Christians are not being told about Israel and the Palestinians from the viewpoint of a biblical scholar.
Witnessing for Peace in Jerusalem and the World, by Munib Younan. Minneapolis: Augsburg/Fortress, 2003.
Women of Bible Lands: A Pilgrimage to Compassion and Wisdom, by Martha Ann Kirk C.C.V.I. Collegeville, MN: Liturgiccal Press, 2004.
Significant Books from before 2003
Angle of Vision, – by Charles A. Kimball. New York: Friendship Press, 1992.
A Christian perspective on the Middle East
Anxious for Armageddon: A Call to Partnership for Middle Eastern and Western Christians, by Donald E. Wagner, Scottsdale PA: Herald Press, 1995.
An Evangelical Christian’s involvement in the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict.
The Arab Christian: A History in the Middle East, by Kenneth Cragg. Louisville, KY: Westminster Press, 1991.
Christianity in the Middle East and it relationship to Islam
Arab and Christian: Christians in the Middle East, by Antonie Wessels. Netherlanads: Kok Pharos. 1995.
Understanding the dilemma of being an Arab Christian in a Muslim culture.
The Arab World Studies Notebook, by Audrey Shabbas, Ed.. Berkeley, CA: AWAIR, 1998. (Email to order:awair@igc.apc.org).
An excellent basic resource for learning and teaching about the Arab World to all ages.
The Battle for God, by Karen Armstrong. New York: Ballentine Books. 2000.
The history and rise of fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Bethlehem 2000: Past and Present, by Mtitri Raheb and Fred Strickert. Heidelberg, Germany: Palmyra Publishing House. 1998.
History, culture, political and social reality of the birthplace of Jesus.
The Bible and Colonialism: A Moral Critique, by Michael Prior. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997.
An attempt to rescue the Bible from being used as a blunt instrument in the oppression of people.
Blood Brothers, by Elias Chacour with David Hazard. Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 1984.
A memoir of a childhood expulsion from Palestine.
The Body and the Blood, The Holy Land’s Christians at the Turn of a New Millennium, by Charles M. Sennott. New York: Public Affairs, 2001.
An investigation into the reasons why Christians are leaving the Holy Land.
Covering Islam (revised edition), by Edward W. Said. New York: Random House, 1981 and 1997.
How the media and the experts determine how we see the rest of the world.
Drinking the Sea at Gaza, by Amira Hass. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1996.
An Israeli journalist for Ha’aretz newspaper living in a land under seige.
Dying in the Land of Promise: Palestine and Palestinian Christianity from Pentecost to 2000, by Don Wagner. London: Melisende, 2001.
General historical view plus an examination of the unique roles for Palestinian Christians today.
The End of the Peace Process: Oslo and After, by Edward W. Said. Vintage. 2001.
A collection of essays that analyzes the peace process and looks behind the myths and newspaper reports to see the grim realities the Palestinian people face.
Fifty Years of Israel, by Donald Neff. Washington: American Educational Trust, 1998.
A compilation of the author’s “Middle East History” columns.
For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, Ian Lustick. Council of Foreign Relations. 1998.
An introduction to the beliefs behind the settler movement.
Forcing God’s Hand by Grace Halsel, Washington, DC, Crossroads International Publishing, 1999.
Why millions pray for a quick rapture and the destruction of planet earth.
From the Holy Mountain: A Journey Among the Christians of the Middle East, by William Dalrymple. New York: Henry Holy and Company. 1997.
The author goes on pilgrimage following the route taken by two monks in the sixth century and compares their experiences to his own.
God is One: the Way of Islam, by R. Marston Speight. New York: Friendship Press, 1989 and 2002.
The best short introduction to Islam that is in print. The latest version has a study guide included.
A History of the Arab Peoples, by Albert Hourani. Cambridge MA: The Belknap Press, 1991
The standard, comprehensive history and reference book.
A History of the Middle East by Peter Mansfield. London and New York: Penguin Books. 1991.
A broad history with the focus on the last two centuries by a noted British historian.
HolyLand – Hollow Jubilee: God, Justice and the Palestinians, edited by Naim Ateek and Michael Prior. London: Melisende. 1999.
The papers from the International Conference of Sabeel remembering the fifty years of occupation.
I Am a Palestinian Christian, by Mitri Raheb. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg/Fortress Press, 1995.
The continuing plight and unique history of Palestinian Christians by a Lutheran pastor in Bethlehem.
Islamic Fundamentalism (revised edition), by Youssef M. Choueiti. London: Cassell. 1997.
A historic perspective on Islamic fundamentalism and an understanding of it as a modern phenomenon.
Jerusalem: City of Mirrors, by Amos Elon. London: Harper Collins Publishers. 1996.
A “biography” of Jerusalem and its many layers of history and life.
Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths, by Karen Armstrong. New York: Balantine Books, 1996.
Everything you ever wanted to know about Jerusalem and more
Jerusalem: The Endless Crusade, by Andrew Sinclair. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc. 1995.
The struggle for the Holy City from its foundation to the modern era and how the memory still exists in the minds of today’s people.
Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, by Israel Shahak and Norton Mezvinsky. London: Pluto Press. 1999.
The consequences of growing fundamentalism for the future of Israel.
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, by Israel Shahak. London: Pluto Press, 1994.
The impact of Jewish law and Zionism in shaping the State of Israel.
Justice and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation, by Naim Ateek. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1989.
A look at the Bible through Palestinian eyes and its implications for Christian theology and understanding.
Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak, edited by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea and Basima Qattan Bezirgan. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. 1977.
A collection of writings by and about Middle Eastern women from early Islam into the 20th century.
One Land, Two Peoples: The Conflict Over Palestine, 2nd edition, by Deborah Gerner. Westview, 1994
History, Perspectives and options for resolving conflict. Somewhat out of date but good on history.
Out of Place, by Edward W.Said. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 2000.
A memoir of life in Palestine and in exile.
A Peace to End All Peace: the Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East, by David Fromkin. New York: Avon Books, 1989.
A “must read” for those who want to understand the issues in their 20th century context.
The Politics of Dispossession by Edward Said, New York, Pantheon Books, 1994.
The Politics of Sacred Space: The Old City of Jerusalem in the Middle East Conflict by Michael Dumper, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers. 2002.
How the three religious communities (Jewish, Christian and Muslim) intertwine with an affect the peace process.
Prophecy and Politics, by Grace Halsell, Lawrence Hill 1986
America’s right wing evangelicals and their support of Israel.
Perceptions of Palestitne by Kathleen Christison. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press. 1999.
An examination of the assumptions that have shaped U. S. policy toward Palestine and the Middle East.
The Question of Palestine by Edward Said, New York, Times Books, 1979 and Vintage Books, 1980.
Remembering Deir Yassin: The Future of Israel and Palestine, by Daniel A.McGowen & Marc H. Ellis, eds. Olive Branch Press, 1998.
Personal recollections of the 1948 massacre of Palestinians.
Sacred Landscape: The Buried History of the Holy Land Since 1948 by Meron Benvenisti. Berkeley, Ca: University of California Press. 2000.
The truth behind the myths we have been given about the state of Israel.
Silent No More, by Paul Findley. Beltsville, MD: Amana Publications. 2001.
Congressman Findley chronicles the false stereotypes of Islam in the minds of the American People.
They Dare to Speak Out, by Paul Findley. Westport, CT: Lawrence Hill & Company. 1985.
The pervasive influence of the AIPAC lobby and the people and institutions that have confronted it.
This Side of Peace: A Personal Account, by Hanan Ashrawi. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995.
An insider view of Middle East diplomacy and Ashrawi’s life story.
Through the Eyes of the Victims: The Story of the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Alex Awad, Bethlehem: Bethlehem Bible College. 2001. (Call 1-800-825-00192)
A comprehensive history plus resources such as maps, definitions, questions and answers and information for further study. CD included.
We Belong to the Land by Elias Chacour with Mary E. Jensen. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. 1990.
The story of a Palestinian Israeli parish priest in the Galilee who works for peace and reconciliation.
Women in Middle Eastern History, edited by Nikki R. Keddie and Beth Baron. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. 1991.
Perspectives on women’s roles from early Islam to the present, emphasizing the social changes that have taken place.
Zionism and the States of Israel: A Moral Inquiry, by Michael Prior. London and New York: Routledge. 1999.
Examines the use of the Bible as a legitimization for the implementation of the political program of Zionism and its consequences.