The second week of November, our focus shifted to one of the most enduring and complex conflicts in modern history: Israel and Palestine. At first glance, the struggle seems primarily political, a dispute over land, sovereignty, and security. But as our readings and discussions revealed, religion is deeply woven into the fabric of this conflict, shaping identities, fueling passions, and influencing global actors.
Dov Waxman's chapters (Religion and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and The Basics) emphasize that while political and territorial issues dominate headlines, religious narratives often intensify the stakes. For many Jews, the land of Israel is not just a homeland, it's a covenantal promise. For many Muslims, Jerusalem is a sacred trust. These beliefs make compromise extraordinarily difficult because they frame the conflict in absolute, transcendent terms.
Heather Gregg's chapter on Zionism explores the battle to define Jewish nationhood and statehood. Zionism began as a political movement, but it drew heavily on religious symbolism and messianic hopes. This fusion of faith and nationalism created a powerful identity marker, one that continues to shape Israeli politics and Palestinian resistance.
Our weekly reading, Yaakov Ariel’s Doomsday in Jerusalem, adds another layer: global religious actors. Ariel shows how Christian messianic groups, especially evangelical premillennialists, view the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple as a sign of Christ’s return. These beliefs translate into political and financial support for Israel, but they also raise security concerns. Attempts to alter the Temple Mount, a site sacred to Jews, Muslims, and Christians, could ignite catastrophic violence. Ariel warns that theology, when tied to political action, can turn Jerusalem into a flashpoint for global conflict.What I found most illuminating is how this conflict is not just about borders, it’s about competing sacred narratives. Land becomes holy ground, and political decisions carry eternal significance. That makes peacebuilding far more complex than diplomacy alone can handle. It requires addressing the religious visions that animate both sides, and the global actors who amplify them.
Gregg, H. (2016). Zion: The battle to define the Jewish nation and state. In The path to salvation: Religious Zionism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (pp. 145–168). Georgetown University Press.
Waxman, D. (2013). Religion and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In C. Seiple, D. Hoover, & P. Otis (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of religion and security (pp. 238–248). Routledge.
Waxman, D. (2019). The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: What everyone needs to know (Chapter 1: The Basics). Oxford University Press.
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