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In the sixteenth century Jews began to produce maps showing the Exodus to the Promised Land. My aim in this article is to show that, through unique compositions of written biblical references and pictured symbolism (both Jewish and Christian), maps such as the Mantua map (1560s) and, a century later, the Amsterdam Haggadah [Passover] map (1695) were a means of constructing Jewish cultural memory and identity in the Diaspora and fostering aspiration for a second salvation through a return to Zion. I also explore the Jewish approach towards the biblical land as this was reflected in the maps.

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the evidence for the economy of the later Roman province of Third Palestine, which roughly corresponds to southern Jordan, the Negev desert in Israel, and the Sinai Peninsula. It begins with a discussion of the historiography and attempts to create modern models (cliometrics) to explain the ancient economy. After covering this foundational material, the author uses archaeological data, papyri, and literary sources to understand agriculture and pastoralism in the largely arid province, and he examines the limited evidence for the urban economy and industry, focusing on ceramics and copper production. The next chapter looks at regional trade in the province by plotting the finds of four amphorae types and also examines the trade in fish from the Red Sea through faunal remains and papyri. The chapter ends with a discussion of the date trade and the records of a particular caravan described in the Nessana papyri. The focus then shifts to the role of international trade, including Red Sea trade through the port of Aila and trade with Mecca. Next, the economic impact of monasticism and pilgrimage on the province is appraised. The final chapter critically evaluates the role of economic modeling and quantification for understanding the economy of Third Palestine. It argues that the ancient economy was neither primitive, nor modern, but something unique that should be approached without introducing contemporary assumptions.

Using both photographs and written narratives, The Bitter Landscapes of Palestine provides a depiction of the lives and struggles faced by Palestinians living in the occupied Palestinian territories on the West Bank, in particular the South Hebron Hills and the Jordan Valley. It sheds light on issues including house demolitions, conflicts between Palestinian shepherds or farmers and Israeli settlers, soldiers, and police, the daily struggles brought about by the occupation's efforts to displace Palestinians from their land, and the resilience and bravery required to endure these conditions. This moving book conveys the beauty of the landscape, the essence of the language, the value of friendships, and the richness of a threatened way of life. Voices of activists, both Palestinian and Jewish, are brought into focus. The historical context that generated present realities in Palestine is outlined briefly, as well as the history of the authors' partnership.  Their perspective mirrors extensive years of involvement in peace and human rights activism in Palestine. It also captures the ongoing dialogue between the two authors, who have experienced together the continually renewed astonishment that comes with such experiences and encounters.  

This article explores the Holy See’s enduring impact, moral authority, religious diplomacy, and peacebuilding efforts in one of the world’s most protracted conflicts. It examines the Holy See’s engagement, from its early support of the 1947 UN Partition Plan to its 2015 official recognition of the State of Palestine, emphasizing its advocacy for peaceful coexistence and the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians. Key milestones include the 1993 Fundamental Agreement with Israel, the 2000 Basic Agreement with the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and Pope Francis’s groundbreaking 2014 prayer meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Through decades of humanitarian aid, interfaith dialogue, and moral diplomacy, the Vatican has sought to elevate the global discourse on justice, human dignity, and reconciliation. Despite the limitations imposed by entrenched political complexities, the Vatican continues to advocate for a two-state solution, the protection of Jerusalem’s sacred status, and an end to violence.

The Descriptio Terrae Sanctae by friar Giovanni de Fedanzola from Perugia has been preserved in only one manuscript deposited at the Casanatense library in Rome. The only one edition of the text has been prepared by Ugolino Nicolini and Renzo Nelli and published in Jerusalem in 2003. Friar Giovanni introduced himself asMinister of the Province of the Holy Land. We know that he was the inquisitor of the Province of Rome and envoy from Michael of Cesena, Minister General of Order, to pope John XXII. It seems evident that author has been well educated.The Descriptio Terrae Sanctae has been prepared ca. 1330. The author has visited the Holy Land more than once. He travelled in the company of well informed guides – Jews, Christians and Muslims. We can presume that text has been prepared as a kind of a guidebook for pilgrims.The Descriptio Terrae Sancte is an important and valuable proof that the Minister of the Province of the Holy Land was preparing a plan for the return of the friars form Cyprus to Jerusalem on the eve of the successful mission undertaken by friar Roger from the Aquitane Province.

Utilizing the lens of new historicism, this study examines how hagiographers Stolz, Duvignau, and Khoury, from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, have constructed and modified the narrative identity of St. Marie Alphonsine through different periods—1936, 1989, and 2012–2015. This approach illuminates the complex relationship between religious storytelling, cultural identity formation, and perceptions of “otherness”. The chronological dissection of St. Marie Alphonsine’s portrayal uncovers the hagiographers’ efforts to recalibrate her image in response to the changing cultural, spiritual, and communal demands within the Patriarchate’s jurisdiction and among the faithful. Highlighting the hagiographers’ instrumental role on behalf of the Patriarchate in molding religious and cultural discourses, the article explores the profound impact of saintly veneration on shaping the religious identity and cultural narratives of the Catholic community in the Holy Land. It underscores the essential function of the Patriarchate in steering the Catholic community through the complexities of the evolving socio-religious landscape.

Pilgrimage is undergoing a revival in western Europe, mainly as newly established or revitalised pilgrim routes, such as the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. These trails have helped to foster the widespread idea that pilgrimage is essentially a journey: a spiritual or “meaningful” journey undertaken slowly, and preferably on foot, in the medieval tradition. The purpose of this article is to problematise this journey-oriented understanding of pilgrimage in Christian and post-Christian societies and to suggest that the importance given to the pilgrimage journey by many scholars, and by wider society, is more a product of modern Western values and post-Reformation culture than a reflection of historical and current-day religious practices. Drawing on evidence from a range of contemporary sources, it shows that many medieval pilgrims understood pilgrimage as a destination-based activity as is still the case at numerous Roman Catholic shrines today.

Although Christians form a significant proportion of the Palestinian Arab minority in Israel, very little research has, until now, been undertaken to examine their complicated position within Israel. This book demonstrates the limits of analyses which characterise state-minority relations in Israel in terms of a so-called Jewish-Muslim conflict, and of studies which portray Palestinian Christians as part of a wider exclusively religious-based transnational Christian community. This book locates its analysis of Palestinian Christians within a broader understanding of Israel as a Jewish ethnocratic state. It describes the main characteristics of the Palestinian Christian community in Israel and examines a number of problematic assumptions which have been made about them and their relationship to the state. Finally, it examines a number of intra-communal conflicts which have taken place in recent years between Christians and Muslims, and between Christians and Druze, and probes the role which the state and various state attitudes have played in influencing or determining those conflicts and, as a result, the general status of Palestinian Christians in Israel today.

Why do some national movements use violent protest and others nonviolent protest? Wendy Pearlman shows that much of the answer lies inside movements themselves. Nonviolent protest requires coordination and restraint, which only a cohesive movement can provide. When, by contrast, a movement is fragmented, factional competition generates new incentives for violence and authority structures are too weak to constrain escalation. Pearlman reveals these patterns across one hundred years in the Palestinian national movement, with comparisons to South Africa and Northern Ireland. To those who ask why there is no Palestinian Gandhi, Pearlman demonstrates that nonviolence is not simply a matter of leadership. Nor is violence attributable only to religion, emotions or stark instrumentality. Instead, a movement's organizational structure mediates the strategies that it employs. By taking readers on a journey from civil disobedience to suicide bombings, this book offers fresh insight into the dynamics of conflict and mobilization.

It has recently been claimed that the Madaba map illustrates notions of law and ownership, and that it was displayed in a hall with secular functions. The present article rejects this claim, asserting that while we have insufficient evidence for determining the building's context, the map speaks in religious language. I argue that the Madaba map conveyed the very same message communicated by both early Christian typological imagery and Palestinian pilgrimage art, suggesting that apart from conceptualizing the topography of Palestine in religious terms and as a sacred space, the map gave expression to the theological notion of Fulfilment.