STRESS AMONG PALESTINIAN WOMEN UNDER MILITARY OCCUPATION; WOMEN'S APPRAISAL OF STRESSORS,THEIR COPING MODES,AND THEIR MENTAL HEALTH

Psychological responses and mental health of 174 Palestinian women living in the occupied West-Bank and the Gaza Strip were studied through a stress model. Thirty-five Palestinian women living in Israel proper who had not been exposed to military occupation were interviewed as a comparison group. The stress process studied consists of women's appraisal of threat and the importance of the stressors in their lives, the estimation of their own resources to cope with stress, actual coping modes, and mental health outcomes. Women living under military occupation tended to appraise their environment as highly threatening and their experiences as strain-producing. At the same time they believed they had sufficient assets, especially collective and ideological resources, to deal with the stressors. This tendency was particularly evident among victims of political violence. Women strongly exposed to hardships of military occupation tended to employ more social and political activity and less inactive and accommodative coping modes than did less traumatized women. Exposure to stressful events, characteristic to military occupation and armed conflict, tended to deteriorate women's mental health, as indicated by severe anxiety, depression, hostile feelings and psychiatric symptoms, and also deteriorating their general health. Multiple regression analysis of the data pertaining to the stress process indicated not only the existence of objective stressors but also the appraisal of their harmfulness, the coping modes as well as vulnerability-protective factors which determine the outcomes of the stress process. A good economic situation, sufficient social support, and religious commitment functioned as protective factors in stress process, i.e., they were able to diminish the impact of exposure to stressors on women's mental health. In the case of the Palestinian women the hardships due to military occupation and national struggle initiated a different stress process than did the daily life difficulties. This indicates that in studies on psychological functioning in a political and armed conflict, the collective level of coping, values, norms, ideology as well as the concrete political aims of the society should be included in analysis and interpretation.     

Is moral ambiguity all we have to offer?

Theology risks marginalization in the debate about ethical medicine, if theologians merely surrender to ambiguity. We live in a pluralistic society, C. Ben Mitchell points out, but Christians must not accept pluralism as an ideology. In light of our own tradition, we must speak out on ethical issues as we see them. Since "the public" is sympathetic to religious values, public policy should not be dictated by anti-religious points of view.     

Sailing Through Troubled Waters: Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land

For many people the names "Arab Christians" and "Palestinian Christians" seem to be oxymoronic. Christianity was, however, born in the Middle East, in a little town called Bethlehem. This article explores the ways in which Palestinian Christians, a minority group in both Palestine and Israel, relate to both Jews and Muslims in Palestine and Israel. Though there is no covert persecution of Palestinian Christians, they face the same trials as other Arabs and Muslims in Palestine, due to the current policies and actions of the Israeli government and to the current "war on terrorism." In fact, Christians in Palestine become easy targets for both those enraged by and supportive of the US declaration of war. At the same time, they offer the world an example of healthy Christian–Muslim relations. Perhaps too, Palestinian Christians can be the bridge between the Jewish and Muslim communities in the Holy Land.     

The Future of the New World that Was Supposed to Be

Abstract :  "North‐South" divides usually overlook the fact that Latin America was also part of the New World. It was only after WW II that these countries were lumped together in a large bunch called "third world." For the sake of simplicity, this paper restricts itself to the period when Liberation Theology made its appearance until now. Even though the seventies devised an autonomous Christianity, with its own traits and purposes, nowadays the churches are back in the mainstream. Issues that engage Christians there are not unlike their counterparts in "the North," thanks to globalization. Demographic changes are still more important than cultural ones, and economic prospects are more likely to interfere in the shape of Christianity than the will and emotions of leaders and the faithful alike.     

Sense of community coherence and inter-religious relations

ABSTRACT

The current article attempts to broaden the individual-based concept of sense of coherence to the community level. We examine sense of community coherence and its connection with perceptions of collective narratives and acculturation tendencies in the social context of Palestinian Muslims and Christians living in Israel. Questionnaires that were developed and adapted for the unique population in this study were distributed to a representative sample of 1034 Muslims (455 males) and 720 Christians (354 males), all Israeli citizens aged 18 and up. As expected, sense of community coherence was negatively related to the level of acceptance of the out-group collective narratives and positively related to the level of acceptance of the in-group collective narratives. In the same vein, it was also positively related to the tendency for separation and negatively related to the tendency for integration and assimilation. The discussion focuses on the contribution of the research findings to the deepening of our understanding of the concepts of sense of coherence and sense of community coherence.     

Reviews

Book reviews in this articles:
ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN: Jews, Christians and Liberation Theology by Rabbi Dan Cohn-Sherbok.
TOWARDS A JEWISH THEOLOGY OF LIBERATION by Marc H. Ellis
THE WAY OF PARADOX: SPIRITUAL LIFE AS TAUGHT BY MEISTER ECKHART, by Cyprian Smith, O.S.B.
THE LIVING VOICE OF THE GOSPEL: The Gospels Today by Francis J. Moloney.
THEOLOGY AND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL by Kenneth Surin.
DOMINICAN PAINTING IN EAST ANGLIA: The Thornham Parva Retable and the Musée de Cluny Frontal by Christopher Norton, David Park & Paul Binski.     

Perception of the minority's collective identity and voting behavior: the case of the Palestinians in Israel

The author investigated how Palestinian (n = 130) and Jewish (n = 153) Israeli university students perceived the collective identity of the Palestinian minority in Israel. The Palestinian and Jewish respondents perceived the "identity space" of the minority as linear, or bipolar, with 1 pole defined by the national (Palestinian) identity and the other defined by the civic (Israeli) label. The Palestinian respondents defined their collective identity in national (Palestinian, Arab) and integrative (Israeli-Palestinian) terms; the Jewish respondents perceived the minority's identity as integrative (Israeli-Palestinian). Different political outlooks among Palestinian respondents were related to their identification with the civic (Israeli) identity but not to their identification with the national (Palestinian) identity. In contrast, different political outlooks among Jewish respondents were related to their inclusion, or exclusion, of the national (Palestinian) component in their definition of the minority's identity. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of a minority acculturation model (J. Berry, J. Trimble, & E. Olmedo, 1986).     

Perception of the Minority's Collective Identity and Voting Behavior: The Case of the Palestinians in Israel

Abstract

The author investigated how Palestinian (n = 130) and Jewish (n = 153) Israeli university students perceived the collective identity of the Palestinian minority in Israel. The Palestinian and Jewish respondents perceived the “identity space” of the minority as linear, or bipolar, with 1 pole defined by the national (Palestinian) identity and the other defined by the civic (Israeli) label. The Palestinian respondents defined their collective identity in national (Palestinian, Arab) and integrative (Israeli-Palestinian) terms; the Jewish respondents perceived the minority's identity as integrative (Israeli-Palestinian). Different political outlooks among Palestinian respondents were related to their identification with the civic (Israeli) identity but not to their identification with the national (Palestinian) identity. In contrast, different political outlooks among Jewish respondents were related to their inclusion, or exclusion, of the national (Palestinian) component in their definition of the minority's identity. Implications of the results are discussed in terms of a minority acculturation model (J. Berry, J. Trimble, & E. Olmedo, 1986).     

Palestinian Autobiographical Memory Regarding the 1948 Palestinian Exodus

Background : Collective memory of intractable conflict is an important sociopsychological phenomenon which influences the psychological and behavioral reactions of each party to the conflict. This memory is composed of two kinds of memories: autobiographical memory—the memory of the people who experienced the given events directly—and indirect‐collective memory—the memory of the people who learned about the given events second hand, via books, etc. Purpose : This study explores the characteristics of Palestinian autobiographical memory with respect to the causes of the 1948 Palestinian exodus and how it relates to other Palestinian memories of that exodus (official, historical/academic, and indirect‐collective). From these empirical findings, theoretical insights are concluded. Method : This is done by analyzing the content of four oral history projects of 1948 Palestinians refugees (in total, 131 interviewees from 38 localities). In addition, the content of these projects is compared to the accounts of documented Israeli history (using the research of Israeli historian Benny Morris). Studies of the other Palestinian memories are also used. Findings : The findings reveal that the Palestinian autobiographical memory is not a typical memory of conflict (e.g., with relatively low focus on the expulsion cause for the exodus). It is also compatible to a large degree with documented Israeli history. However, it is very different from other Palestinian memories of the exodus (official, historical/academic, and indirect‐collective), which focus almost exclusively on the expulsion cause. Other empirical findings and their explanations are discussed. The findings have mostly theoretical implications regarding various kinds of memories of conflicts (and memories in general), as well as some methodological implications with regard to the usage of oral history.     

Power on the margins: A new place for intellectuals to be

This paper is concerned with rethinking the nature of social life in terms of how it appears — not to us academics at the centre of it, as consisting in a system, or a plurality of systems -but how it might appear from a position more in on the margins, at those moments when ordinary people must relate themselves to each other, unsystematically and practically. To do this, we must also rethink the nature of language and thought as possessing within these moments, a formative or creative character — for it must have the ability to create practical connections between aspects of people's lives, as required, on the spot. This is to privilege the role of rhetoric in these regions over that of logic. This also leads to a rethinking of ideology and power: as being to do with, not ideas, but the practical shaping (or not) — in moments when in practical communication with others — of collective, sharable forms of life. Where it is in such moments, in which different people meet each other in socially constructing their lives together, that political struggles are their most intense, and where ideology can be detected at work.     

The role of dual categorization and relative ingroup prototypicality in reparations to a minority group: An examination of empathy and collective guilt as mediators

In the current study, we investigate factors that facilitate or otherwise obstruct reparations of a perpetrating group (i.e. Muslims) to a victim group (i.e. Christians). The study (N = 200) reveals that among Muslim participants, the role of dual Abrahamic categorization in positively predicting reparation attitude towards Christians was mediated by the first group's prosocial emotions of empathy and collective guilt towards the latter group. In addition, relative Muslim prototypicality negatively predicted dual Abrahamic categorization and each of the two prosocial emotions. Empathy and collective guilt in turn mediated the role of relative ingroup prototypicality in negatively predicting reparation attitude. Moreover, as hypothesized, we found that the roles of empathy and collective guilt in predicting reparation intention, as manifested in participants' willingness to engage in collective action on behalf of the victim group, were not significant on their own, but were mediated by reparation attitude. These findings shed light on the importance of the relationship between the perpetrating group's shared identity with the victim group, reduced ingroup focus and its support for making reparations to the victim group. Theoretical implications, study limitations and practical strategies highlighting how to decrease relative Muslim prototypicality are discussed.     

Palestinian Educational Philosophy Between Past and Present

The article discuses the education issue as a central and decisive factor inshaping, reproducing and representing individual and collective identity.I present the Palestinian case study because the Palestinian people are atthe present in a very critical period of constructing their national identityand education is part of the nation-building project. I have chosen to studytwo periods in the life of Palestinians, 1972 during the revolution and thepresent 1999 the start of the establishment of an independent Palestinianentity and to examine how the economic, social, political conditions etc.affect the formation of the educational philosophy of those periods; aneducational philosophy that will affect the formation of education and theformation of private and collective consciousness.     

Women in the draft resistance movement

Why has the position of the sexes become an issue in some social movements and not in others? Under what conditions has feminism emerged out of movements devoted to other causes? Starting with these general questions, this case study, based on participant observation, explores the factors which led women in the draft resistance movement in Boston in the late 1960s to turn toward, and help found, a Women's Liberation group. The strategies and tactics of the Resistance (more explicitly than other New Left movements) differentiated male from female participants. The segregation and subordination of women within the Resistance drew them into awareness of themselves as a distinct group; the Resistance ideology, which had strong egalitarian themes, contradicted their subordination and could be extended to define sexual inequality as a political issue. Contact with outside feminists helped precipitate the shift from draft resistance to Women's Liberation.     

Rejecting Sectarianism: Palestinian Christians' Role in Muslim–Christian Relations

The study of Muslim–Christian relations often focuses on Islamic theology and Muslim behavior while overlooking the role that Christians play in shaping interreligious encounters. This article examines a series of historical examples from various periods of Palestinian history that highlight Arab Christians' insistence that they were Palestinian Arabs first and were fully engaged in the nationalist movement. Palestinian Christians' approach to local politics, even in the face of interreligious conflict, allowed them to maintain far better relations with Muslims than Arab Christians in some neighboring Arab countries. By way of comparison, the article highlights the Druze's acceptance of a unique communal relationship to the Zionist leadership and later, to the state of Israel. The article concludes that, while modern Islamism presents a challenge to minority Christian groups, historical examples suggest that Christians' actions have a profound impact on the nature of Christian–Muslim relations.     

Tunes of religious resistance? Understanding Hamas music in a conflict context

Hamas (Harakat al-Muqawamat al-Islamiyya) was established in 1987 as a resistance organization against Israel and as an alternative to Fatah. One of the resistance tools of Hamas is music, which it produces, performs, records, and uses. Music in the Palestinian context can be seen as creating a political space for expression that the Israelis cannot control; inasmuch as as Hamas was established as a result of the occupation, so also, to a large extent, was its music. Palestinian resistance music has existed ever since the 1948 al-nakba (the catastrophe), and music centers in Cairo and Beirut have been influential factors in its production. Originally, the music was constituted by a wide range of popular music, which included lyrics about the Palestinian struggle. This article scrutinizes how Hamas music is being created, how it is used, and how it is linked to the organization??s resistance struggle against Israel and for a Palestinian homeland in the context of the Israeli?CPalestinian conflict. It concludes that Hamas resistance music is not permeated by the religious affiliation of the organization. Rather, it has as its aim social connection, spreading the messages of the organization, and exhorting resistance against Israel. In addition to resistance music, Hamas produces and uses music of grief and tributes to political and religious leaders, as well as anashid, songs different from the resistance music saturated by a religious character.     

REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
On Human Dignity: Political Theology and Ethics by Jürgen Moltmann
Nineteenth Century Religious Thought in the West Edited by Ninian Smart, John Clayton, Patrick Sherry and Steven Katz
Theological Dialogue between Orthodox and Reformed Churches Edited by T. F. Torrance
A Black Theology of Liberation by James H. Cone
Theology and Religious Pluralism: the Challenge of Other Religions by Gavin D'Costa
Theology and the Problem of Evil by Kenneth Surin     

Spirituality in Christian Transhumanism: Commentary on Cole-Turner,Green, and Cannon

Christian transhumanism is the growing movement in which Christians appropriate the transhumanist vision of human technological evolution in the twenty-first century for millennialist ends. In the April 2015 issue of Theology and Science, three Christian transhumanist theologians present their visions and arguments for why Christians should accept transhumanism. I draw upon the wisdom of age from the World War II generation. Their concerns about an erosion of trust that decreases quality of life guide my commentary on the theological papers. Identifying issues with vision, theology, values, character, messaging, and leadership, I present spirituality as potentially supporting future wisdom.     

Short Notices

Books reviewed in this article: Jonardon Ganeri, Philosophy in Classical India Joseph Epes Brown with Emily Cousins, Teaching Spirits: Understanding Native American Religious Traditions Cyril S. Rodd, Glimpses of a Strange Land: Studies in Old Testament Ethics Chris Rowland and John Vincent (eds), Bible and Practice Robert Cummings Neville, Symbols of Jesus: A Christology of Symbolic Engagement David Batson, The Treasure Chest of the Early Christians: Faith, Care and Community from the Apostolic Age to Constantine the Great Florent Gaboriau, The Conversion of Edith Stein Peter C. Hodgson, Christian Faith: A Brief Introduction Michaela Davey, Mastering Theology Ray Billington, Religion Without God Daniel M. Bell, Liberation Theology After the End of History: The Refusal to Cease Suffering Kevin J. Vanhoozer (ed.), Nothing Greater, Nothing Better – Theological Essays on the Love of God Craig A. Carter, The Politics of the Cross: The Theology and Social Ethics of John Howard Yoder Andrew Shanks, ‘What Is Truth?’: Towards a Theological Poetics Richard Madsen, William M. Sullivan, Ann Swidler and Steven M. Tipton (eds), Meaning and Modernity: Religion, Polity and Self Alister E. McGrath, The Future of Christianity Stephen H. Webb, Good Eating Mark D. Jordan, The Ethics of Sex Eugene F. Rogers, Jr (ed.), Theology and Sexuality: Classic and Contemporary Readings Philip L. Culbertson (ed.), The Spirituality of Men: Sixteen Christians Write About their Faith Lothar Bauerochse, Learning to Live Together: Interchurch Partnerships as Ecumenical Communities of Learning Wade Clark Roof, Spiritual Marketplace: Baby–boomers and the Remaking of American Religion William A. Dyrness, Visual Faith: Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue B. P. Vysheslavtsev, The Eternal in Russian Philosophy Andrew Purves, Pastoral Theology in the Classical Tradition Fraser Watts, Rebecca Nye and Sara Savage, Psychology for Christian Ministry Diane Jonte–Pace, Speaking the Unspeakable: Religion, Misogyny, and the Uncanny Mother in Freud’s Cultural Texts     

Spirituality and aging: How worship communities of older adults sustain their faith in the absence of traditional ordained leadership

ABSTRACT

This article considers how older Christians (aged over 70) exercise worship in an environment of shared ministry. Specifically, the Local Shared Ministry Units (LSMU) model of worship within the Auckland Diocese of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa/New Zealand and Polynesia (Auckland Diocese). A collective case study approach was used, and individual members of four LSMUs were interviewed with the resulting comments treated as a collective case study. The findings indicate these older adults are still seeking faith formation, do not regard themselves as fully formed spiritually, and use personal prayer in particular to enhance and nourish their faith growth.     

REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: Types of christian Theology, by Hans W.frei; eds george hunsinger and Willliam C.Placher. God for Us: The Trinity and Christian Life, by Catherine Mowry LaCugna The Liberation of Dogma: Faith, Revelation, and Dogmatic Teching Authority, by Juan Luis Segundo. judism: Practice and belief, 63ce-66ce, by E.P.Sanders System and Revelation: The Philosophy of Franz Rosenzweig, by Stephane Moses Seek my face, Speak my name, by A Green, Sacred Violence: Paul's Hermeneutic of the Cross bgy Robert G Hamerton-Kelly How to Read Karl Barth: The Shape of his Theology, by Geoge Hunsinger A Theology on its way? Essays on Karl Barth, by Richard Is there only one true religion or are there many? by Schubert M.Ogden