Summaries,+PHL,+(Justin,+Jordan,+Vong)

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 * [[image:http://www.eurabiantimes.com/images_amazon_com/images/P/0446523062_01_LZZZZZZZ.jpg width="92" height="139"]] || **A Durable Peace:**

A Durable Peace is a book written by current Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu. In his book he addresses many key factors in the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. He lays out a foundation of history of which to build upon allowing us to not only read about his opinions and perspectives as the Israeli Prime Minister, but to do so with the proper knowledge to understand why he believes what he believes. One such example would be his extensive coverage over Zionism. Zionism is a movement within the Jewish community that focuses on the creation and continued existence of a Jewish State. As we all probably know by now, this movement has come to fruition in the creation of The State of Israel. But such a movement does not come without a particularly troublesome set of problems, one being the vast Palestinian population that already resides in the region. In his book, Netanyahu talks about the problems and conflicts that exist between the Israelis and Palestinians along with what he believes to be a way to usher in peace. He describes this peace as being a "durable peace," that brings about many aspects. There are different types of peace, two being peace by deterrence and another being what has come to be known as western peace. Deterrence peace refers to the show of force and defense that helps alleviate conflict and war, which is very prevalent in middle east specifically. A western peace is more like what is seen in the U.S. and European nations which includes open borders, a lack of military presence, and extensive economic and political cooperation. Netanyahu also explains how a peace with the Palestinians could leave Israel vulnerable to its other Arab neighbors such as Jordan, Iraq, and Iran. These points are valid concerns, especially for a person such as Netanyahu who has had a hand in Israeli politics for some time now. His book offered a vital view into the Israeli side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the middle east. ||


 * [[image:http://www.churches-together.net/Images/content/610/180669.jpg width="90" height="135"]] || **Blood Brothers, Ch. 1-8:**

Elias Chacour is an author who wrote the book Blood Brothers which takes place in 1947. The book is about Chacours life growing up in Biram. Chacour and his family were Palestinian Christians who faced difficulty living in Biram at the time because of the Zionist soldiers. Chacour’s father was a peacemaker and he emphasized the same ideology unto his family. In the first section of Blood Brothers, Chacour’s father tells Chacour and his siblings to treat the Jewish soldiers who were passing through as if they were at home in order to maintain peace between the Jews and Palestinians. One day, one of Chacour’s brothers brings home a rifle for protection against the Jewish soldiers and their father becomes extremely disappointed in him. The father tells the brother to get rid of the rifle immediately because that was not the way peace will be brought between the Israelites and Palestinians. Chacour and his siblings feared the Zionist soldiers because the Zionist believed in a “purification”, which means to bomb and kill a specific ethnicities or race in a specific area. Another one of the father’s characteristic is shown in this situation as a peacemaker and it is the characteristic of forgiveness. The siblings were scared to the point where they went out to find a gun to defend themselves because of the destruction the Jewish soldiers had caused, but the father remained calm. The father keeps reminding Chacour and his siblings to treat the soldiers with the utmost respect and forgive them for the damage they have already caused to the Palestinians. The mother was a storyteller who told many stories from the bible to Chacour and his siblings. Chacour refers to Jesus as his “Champion” and he would talk to Him regularly. Later in the chapters, Chacour’s family is forced out of Biram and after sometime Chacour’s parents sent him to an orphanage school to learn from a bishop. After finishing school at the orphanage, Chacour decided to continue his education in Seminary where he encounters many spiritual experiences.


 * Blood Brothers, Ch. 9-13:**

In the beginning of this section, Chacour and his best friend, Faraj, have their ordination ceremony. The ordination ceremony is a certification that sets individuals apart and gives them the privilege to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. Chacour receives his first job in ministry in a town called Ibillin. After having built up the church for some time Chacour starts to realize the hatred the people in Ibillin had in their hearts. One day Chacour speaks about forgiveness inspired by the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount inspired Chacour to seek the path to reconciliation between the Jews and Palestinians because it was those lessons that had taught him to become a peacemaker. When Chacour spoke at the church he said towards the end of his sermon that "I insisted, hammering home my points about reconciliation,"it does no good for you to sympathize with me as a Palestinian if it means that you hate the Jewish people as a result. That's not what I'm here for, we, all of us, have to become the preserving salt of the earth"". Chacour had gained his inner peace and his whole hearted act of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. This gave Chacour the passion in teaching people about peacemaking and forgiveness and emphasized teaching young people because he believed that the next generation of the Palestinian and Jews may be able to live in peace. The book is called Blood Brothers because Chacour believes that even though the Palestinians and Jews are in conflict they are considered blood brothers and should be living in peace together. ||


 * [[image:http://www.richard-seaman.com/USA/Cities/Chicago/Landmarks/ChicagoSkyline1.jpg width="240" height="169"]] || **Chicago Trip:**

The Chicago trip was an eye opening experience for a lot of us. Chicago is one of the most, if not the most, diverse cities in the U.S. The trip to the Mosque was a great experience, it really showed us sheltered Christian college students how similar Islam is to Christianity and vice versa. They believe in all the prophets of the Old Testament, they believe in God, and they believe that God is the only God. During the service, we witnessed people coming in kind of at their own pace. Each one would stand up facing Mecca, put their hands behind their ears, bend down with their hands on their knees, repeat this a couple more times, then get on their knees to pray face-down. The structure of this ritual was very intriguing, and seemed very foreign to us Christians. Later on, the man explained to us that it was just a way of getting yourself to solely focus on God. The men and women were also separated which, again, was just a simple way of keeping distractions to a minimum in the Mosque. Next was the Jewish Synagogue, the men sat on the right side and the women on the left. The man speaking did most of it in a different language so we could not understand what he was saying most of the time, but they had told us from where in the Bible he was reading. We later learned that one of the only main differences between Judaism and Christianity was that the Jews do not believe Jesus was the son of God and the Messiah and that they are still waiting for their messiah. These visits uncover an interesting question I think as Christians, we must address. Do we all worship the same God? Is the God of the Islamic Qur'an the same God as ours in the Bible? It is a question that one cannot answer easily, but an important question nonetheless. ||


 * [[image:https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSkig4_5I6VRqQRE2Scgx9oOr2rqGxl-V7t6YdfsMhLjxzgaTTa5A align="center"]]





|| **Articles**
 * Primary Set:**

In the “__How Christians are Israel's Friend__” article, Levens says that while the Christian contingent is almost all evangelical, the Jewish contingent ranges from Orthodox to Reform. What holds everyone together is their support for Israel and its current government and their willingness not to press religious differences. It is important to set certain differences aside while trying to work towards a greater purpose. The goal of a Christian is to reach out and give a helping hand to others including the Jews and Israelites.

In the "__Muslims in America__" reading, it talks about the practices of Muslim faith in America. The Muslims cherish every moment of showing their faith. The article also mentions that about 7 out of 10 Muslims said that their faith has transformed their lives. This is high number in the Muslim community within America, which is for the better. American Christians and Muslims have different practices but both live by faith. This is what will bond the two together if other religious differences are set aside.

In the "__Jews in America__" reading, it says that the Jewish perception about God is not such an element within the Jewish community. It also states that only about one out of four Jews says that their lives have been transformed through faith. This is significantly lower than the Muslims, and it could possibly be because of recent incidents that have caused the Jews to have a lower percentage. Incidents such as the Holocaust could be one of the reasons that some Jews have lost faith in God, because if He were what He is, then He would not have let his people suffer. This is a tough pill for the Jews to swallow and thus weakens their faith.

One of the Christian Palestinians said in the article “__What Palestinian’s Want__," “Normally we don't have any problems with Jews. We consider them our elder brothers and have our roots in the Old Testament. Our problem is not with Judaism; it is with soldiers and settlers." The relationship here could be considered mutual on a religious aspect. However, until one or the other makes themselves completely vulnerable for a peace agreement, the whole people group on both sides will still have tension towards one another even though they call each other brothers. Both sides want peace but there are still some things that are holding both back from agreement, such as land ownership and others.


 * Articles**
 * Secondary Set:**


 * American Articles:**

The third set of articles in the Secondary set talks about the United States views, misconceptions, and opinions on the situation in Israel. In the Article "__Can Israel Survive Friends Like These__," Pruden talks about the tensions between Israel and the U.S. Government. He talks about how Obama failed to visit Jerusalem, but sent Joe Biden to “sing a love song with lyrics that nobody cares about." They were upset at the rebuilding of all the apartments in Jerusalem. The next article talks about the large number of high tech weapons we sell to Arab states. They say the reason is to maintain the, “balance of power,” but the most likely reason is to keep the oil flowing. The article says that the majority of citizens, and party members believe that we should stop aiding the middle east in this way. So is it time to rethink this policy? The next article talks about the Anti-Semites, or the people who are against Israel. There are many reasons pointed out in the article, but one thing stuck out. An Irish filmmaker said that it is part of his identity as an Irishman to be anti-Israel. ||







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