Amahl Bishara

Mapping Exile and Return

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“With theological sensitivity Alain Epp Weaver unveils authentic Jewish sources beyond ideological Zionist readings of the purported binary of exile/return. Here a minority Christian voice enlists minority Jewish voices to open that polarity to reveal a 'shared future,' a future foreclosed by the current use of that polarity. Epp Weaver's study suggests new ways of living together in west Asia, imaginatively mining the psyche and resilience of Palestinians and Israeli Jews alike to replace violent binaries with fresh hope.” —David Burrell, C.S.C. Hesburgh Chair of Theology and Philosophy emeritus University of Notre Dame “The right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes is in many ways the central issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Epp Weaver takes on this topic from the novel perspective of political theology. Examining a wide variety of cartographic imaginings of return demonstrates the vitality of practical thinking on this issue. It highlights the diversity and creativity of Palestinian Christian thinking on—and mapping of—return. This nuanced and moving book will be valuable to scholars and activists concerned with refugee rights, and to all of those interested in theological conceptions of place, rights, and liberation.”