Customer Reviews

We Belong to the Land: The Story of a Palestinian Israeli Who Lives for Peace & Reconciliation (Erma Konya Kess Lives of the Just and Virtuous Series)

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The response written by "lars399" reveals to the educated reader that he is misinformed and pushing a (theologically questionable) Zionist agenda.

The facts related in Father Chacour's literature are not only truthful, but mild in comparison to the full facts facing the myths that Israel propogates about its inception. I am very displeased to find that so many people found his review helpful. If one takes a look at his previous record, he also very boldly refutes other scholarly work on the subject, particularly that of Israeli New Historian Tom Segev.

Before taking "lars399"'s word as gospel truth, the reader of this review should spend sometime having a brief history lesson of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the theological underpinnings of Christian Zionism (based in dispensational theology). As a Palestinian (Protestant) Christian who has visited and studied this area, I can attest to the truth of Father Chacour's historical analysis. If you hoping to free yourself from propoganda and theological error, challenging the perceptions that American (Christian Zionists) blindly hold on this issue, Fr. Chacour is a good place to start. Most respected academians and states around the world have recognized this truth-including Israel. It's time Americans started thinking critically and challenging the bias that is so ill-informed.

I have had the privilege of spending 10 days with Abuna Elias Chacour in Ibillin. This book tells of not only the struggle of the Palestinian people who have been robbed of their land and heritage, but also about the enduring faith and selflessness of Abuna Chacour. He has devoted his life to making a better life for Palestinians so that one day they may live side by side with the Jews. He does not preach a message of hate, but rather one of love. We are all God's children and should act like it. If one responds to violence with more violence then the ugly cycle will never end.... but, enough from me, Abuna is able to tell these messages so much better...

We Belong to the Land offers a perspective to the Palestinian situation that rarely is seen. Abuna Elias Chacour gives a first hand account of the occupation of Palestine by the Zionists from the Palestinian point of view. It was amazing to learn that the Jews were initially welcomed to Palestine by most Palestinians and were not rejected until Palestinian cities were distroyed and Palestinian communities eradicated. Chacour's personal story is the story of Biram, a small Palestinian village that was leveled by the Israeli Army. To this day (or atleast to the time of publication)the people of Biram are forced to live in exile, unable to return to there ancient home. The truely amaxing thing about this story, however, is not the way the Zionists treated the native people like Abuna Chacour, but the great work that he has done to reconcile the Jews and Palestinians. This is a truely uplifting story that shows there is hope for peace in Palestine despite the harsh rule of the Israeli government. A must read for anyone looking for the true story of the modern state of Israel.

In Blood Brothers, Abuna mentions the massacre/mass grave in Gish very briefly. Abuna's motivation has been, and continues to be the search (and work) for peace. Yet there are those who dispute him because the truth is too hard to swallow. Abuna does not write a polemic and is not apologetic in his views. He simply and deeply wants peace. I am not a religious person at all, but I am from Gish. Members of my family in 1948 were instructed by jewish soldiers to collect the dead bodies from roof tops and narrow alleys and move them to the mass burial place in Gish. All of us kids [of Gish] knew where that spot was and we never played near it. Some people will accept the truth only when it fits their beliefs. But unless we learn from history and come to terms with certain atrocities (both palestinian and israeli), peace has no chance.

Love. If anyone can express the idea, emotion and action of the word it is Elias Chacour. I too, have had the honor of meeting this man, who is truly the most normal of peole who has mad ehis life into one giving peace and love to people through hard work. This book expresses the little hope I have to the Palestinian Israeli (pardon my spelling) conflict, and really or the people all over the worl who cannot live together in peace. Hearbreaking and vivid, meaningful more than just literature.

Elias Chacour is a man of peace and a man of God. He has been awarded the World Methodist Peace Prize for his efforts, as well as many other accolades. He has brought together people of many faiths and races and broken down barriers of hate and discrimination without himself succumbing to these forces. At the same time, he has told the story of Palestine's tragedy just as it is. I am a Palestinian Christian and I can attest to the accuracy of his facts. His Web site (look under Mar Elias College) tells of the great things he and his supporters around the world have done to educate Palestinian youth who were denied the opportunity to learn by the Israeli school system. The review by Lars399 is stilted, particularly as it is influenced by Maronite Christians whose allegiance to Israel and hatred for Palestinians is a well known fact. Lars was duped. This book is a great eye-opener and a useful starting point for understanding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, especially for American Christians who are so influenced by the one-sided media blitz after 9/11 and the Iraq war.

If all people thought and lived like Abuna Chacour war would not exsist. A true follower of Jesus Christ, Abuna truly walks the walk and talks the talk. How can anyone Not read these books and how can anyone having read them not believed every word as gospel? American Christians especially supporters of Zionism need to wake up and realize what they are really supporting. How silly to think that we can hurry the return of Christ by blindly supporting Isreal (the Zionist and their supporters) and their ungodly actions. REALLY humans hurrying the RETURN of Christ? How silly. One must also know that not all Jews in the Middle East support Zionism. One question that needs to be asked is where have all the Christians gone that once lived in the land where Christ walked? People do your research. Are we not told to question/test all things?

During my second reading, Elias Chacour's _We Belong to the Land_ continues to draw me in with its imagery, challenging message, humor, and engaging observations about the Holy Land. I have studied the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, traveled the West Bank and Galilee, and met with Israeli leaders, and yet, Chacour's text provides insight into the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the plight of indigenous peoples of the Holy Land that no amount of studying or traveling could provide.

If you consider yourself pro-Palestinian, I challenge you to read this text. If you are pro-Israeli, Christian Zionist, or Jewish Zionist, I challenge you to read this text. If you are serious about understanding the challenges we face in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, then I challenge you to read this text.

And I promise, you won't regret it.

I have just completed reading this book a second time and I became compelled to write a review. The book is fantastic! I would love to see this book as reading material in high school classrooms. I would have loved to have it as a reading assignment when I was in high school. It teaches that we are all capable of being compassionate towards others and capable of building a greater world for all of to live in. I think it goes beyond the religion. To me, this book is right there on the list next to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Both are must reads for all. If only the American media actually reported news, we would all know of all the things that happen in the world, instead of just hearing a bias viewpoint.

"All countries keep their citizens oppressed to one degree or another. The countries that are best at it are better at hiding it from their citizens."

Very inspirational that there are godly people trying to work toward a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Chacour helps us see the situation through the eyes of someone who has lived through the changes in Israel and has helped to make the world a better place.