“The land doesn’t belong to us, we belong to the land”: Militant uses of theology and identity shaping in Israel-Palestine
Bandini, Caterina
“The land doesn’t belong to us, we belong to the land”: Militant uses of theology and identity shaping in Israel-Palestine - 2023.
19
In the context of colonial conflict in Israel-Palestine, relationship to the land arises as a political, economic, and religious question for the occupiers as well as for the occupied. Given the strong territorial dimension of the conflict, this paper explores evolving relations to the land – and to its holiness – within the framework of religious “peace” activism. This study falls within a reflection on militant uses of religion in general, and of theology in particular, in a situation of colonial conflict. In order to grasp the place of religious activism within the Israeli-Palestinian context, the first section revisits the history of peace activism in the region. The second section highlights the specific features of the activism under examination: the religious nature of these movements compels activists to take a stand in relation to the symbolic heritage of the “Holy Land” within Jewish and Christian religious traditions. Symbolic changes occurring in conceptualisations of the land are analysed in the third section with regard to Christian Palestinians, and in the fourth section with regard to Israeli Jews.
“The land doesn’t belong to us, we belong to the land”: Militant uses of theology and identity shaping in Israel-Palestine - 2023.
19
In the context of colonial conflict in Israel-Palestine, relationship to the land arises as a political, economic, and religious question for the occupiers as well as for the occupied. Given the strong territorial dimension of the conflict, this paper explores evolving relations to the land – and to its holiness – within the framework of religious “peace” activism. This study falls within a reflection on militant uses of religion in general, and of theology in particular, in a situation of colonial conflict. In order to grasp the place of religious activism within the Israeli-Palestinian context, the first section revisits the history of peace activism in the region. The second section highlights the specific features of the activism under examination: the religious nature of these movements compels activists to take a stand in relation to the symbolic heritage of the “Holy Land” within Jewish and Christian religious traditions. Symbolic changes occurring in conceptualisations of the land are analysed in the third section with regard to Christian Palestinians, and in the fourth section with regard to Israeli Jews.
Réseaux sociaux