Walter Brueggemann Pens CHOSEN

Walter Brueggemann, a respected and prolific biblical scholar, provides candid commentary about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his new book Chosen? Reading the Bible amid the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Westminster John Knox Press). Encouraging his contemporaries to reconsider their stance as well, Brueggemann offers a no-holds-barred perspective on the ongoing situation in the state of Israel. He explains how to read Scripture given the current context by answering difficult questions such as, Was the promise of land to Moses permanent and irrevocable? Is the state of Israel the same as the Israel in the Bible? Who are the Zionists?

In the introduction, Brueggemann restates his support of the state of Israel as a result of the Holocaust and the long history of Christian anti-Semitism. However, that support should not cause blindness or indifference to the new political reality and the way in which uncritical endorsement does enormous damage to prospects for peace and to the hopes and historical possibilities of the vulnerable. He writes, "The attempt to frame the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in terms of anti-Semitism is unpersuasive. More courage and honesty are required amid the realities of human domination and human suffering."

A question-and-answer section with Walter Brueggemann is also included, further explaining his position on the issue and discussing a possible solution.

Media interested in a review copy or author interview should contact skizer(at)wjkbooks(dot)com. For more information about the book, click here: http://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/066426154X/chosen.aspx

Walter Brueggemann is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary. An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, he is the author of dozens of books, including Sabbath as Resistance; Introduction to the Old Testament, Second Edition; Mandate to Difference; and From Whom No Secrets Are Hid.