Decolonizing Palestine: The Land, the People, the Bible

Decolonizing Palestine challenges the weaponization of biblical texts to support the current settler-colonial state of Israel. Raheb argues that some of the most important theological concepts -Israel, the land, election, and chosen people - must be decolonized in a paradigm shift in Christian theological thinking about Palestine. Decolonizing Palestine is a timely book that builds on the latest research in settler-colonialism and human rights to place traditional theological themes within the wider socio-political context of settler colonialism as it is practiced by the modern nation-state of Israel. Written by a native Palestinian Christian theologian who continues to live in the region, Decolonizing Palestine provides an insider's perspective that disrupts hegemonic and imperialist narratives about the region.

Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb is the founder and president of Dar al-Kalima University. The most widely published Palestinian theologian to date, Dr. Raheb is the author and editor of over 40 books. Rev. Raheb served as the pastor of the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem from 1987 until 2017 and as the President of the Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land from 2011-2016. Raheb has founded several NGOs, including the Christian Academic Forum for Citizenship in the Arab World (CAFCAW). In 2012 the German Media Prize was awarded to Dr. Raheb for his "tireless work in creating room for hope for his people, who are living under Israeli Occupation, through founding and building institutions of excellence in education, culture and health." In 2015, he received the Olof Palme Prize for his courageous and indefatigable fight against occupation and violence, and for a future Middle East characterized by peaceful coexistence and equality for all. In 2017, he received the Tolerance Ring Award by the European Academy of Arts and Science. In 2018, Dr. Raheb was elected to the Palestinian National Council and to the Palestinian Central Council.