Blood Brothers: The Dramatic Story of a Palestinian Christian Working for Peace in Israel by Elias Chacour
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really liked this book. It’s the autobiography of Elias Chacour a Palestinian Christian living in the Galilee area. He was a young boy when Palestine was partitioned followed shortly by the formation of the State of Israel and the war of 1948. The area in which the Chacours lived became part of Israel and they were forced to leave their village. Elias eventually went to school in Haifa and then to a seminary and became a priest.

It is an amazing story and Chacour presents a view of the history of the Middle East that is not often seen or heard. But beyond the first person description of how the Six Day War, for example, affected the Christian and Palestinian communities, it’s also the story of Chacour putting aside his anger and becoming a servant of God. I think everyone who is thinking about becoming a priest or a pastor should read the chapter about his first church assignment!

This is a compelling story and well worth reading. Chacour’s work for peace between the Palestinians and Israelis is based on a bottom up view of the process: people from different backgrounds getting to know each other and learning to live together. I highly recommend this book.