Blood Brothers - Elias Chacour

I recently read Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour. At first it surprised me that this book didn’t seem to pop up immediately on search engines when I’d browse this subject matter. I’d already created a list of books I’m dying to read, but this one I hadn’t really heard of. It was by chance that I found this copy at a new & used bookstore for $3 (gotta love it when that happens!)

After reading, perhaps now I understand why I hadn’t heard much of it. In comparison to a myriad of more recent books, this one may seem "dated," although of course it’s still a worthy read. The issue is still as relevant as ever, and Chacour’s story is truly a touching and unique Christian Palestinian experience. We can never have enough of those. It is also non-evangelical, which I enjoy.

His story covers the time span from 1947 to 1982, starting with the arrival of European Jews to Palestine--including Chacour’s very own town of Biram-- and concluding with the events of the Lebanese refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. There is no mention of the 1979 Iranian Islamic revolution or of its influence throughout the Middle Eastern world, possibly because this influence took many years to manifest itself...

Chacour seems like a very honorable man who has done much to spread his wish for peace between Jews and Palestinians and who seems unmoved by personal or political gain. He studied in Paris and made connections throughout Europe, and was the first Palestinian to study at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has encountered different lifestyles and people and has accepted in his heart what matters most to him, culminating in his return to the land of his birth.

He continues his work in the Galilee region of Israel and if there was any way I could, I would truly love to meet him in person (but I’m sure he’s the rather busy man…).

As always, I have other books lined up which I hope to read and deliberate on very soon.

Among them:

Sociology of Early Palestinian Christianity by Gerd Theissen

Palestine at the time of Christ by Henri Daniel-Rops

But these will come as soon as I conclude Orhan Pamuk’s “Snow,” in which I am completely engulfed and finding very hard to put down…

Truly I’d be lost without books! +