It seems odd that today, as the nations of Eastern Europe restore diplomatic ties to Israel, the Vatican still refuses to have normal relations with it. But, as Sergio Minerbi writes in this fascinating account, the Papacy has been consistently hostile to Zionism since before the First World War. Drawing on many unpublished documents from diplomatic archives, Minerbi brings to light the little-known role of the Vatican in relation both to the Great Powers and the Zionists in the early years of the twentieth century. Engaged in a complex balancing act involving the Ottoman rulers of Palestine, rival Christian churches (both Eastern Orthodox and Protestant), and the conflicting claims of Catholic countries with regard to the Protectorate over the Holy Places, the Vatican looked with dismay on the possibility of a Protestant British mandate--especially after the 1917 Balfour Declaration, which declared Whitehall's sympathy with Zionist aspirations. To the Vatican, a British mandate was disturbing, but a Jewish state was anathema. Vatican opposition to the formation of a Jewish homeland stemmed largely from traditional Christian anti-Semitism, which in modern times took the form of an equation of Zionism with Bolshevism, and ancient theological doctrines regarding Judaism. In 1904, the Zionist leader Theodor Herzl obtained an audience with Pope Pius X in the hope of persuading the pontiff to support the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Herzl's hopes were dashed: the Pope's response to his requests was "Non possumus"--"We cannot." In 1917 Pius X's successor, Pope Benedict XV, received a later Zionist leader, Nahum Sokolow, with more courtesy, but displayed an equally sturdy refusal to support a Jewish state. The Zionists, who had pronounced themselves ready to respect the sanctity of the Holy Places, mistakenly believed that the Vatican would be satisfied with control over individual sites, rather than territory. The Vatican's bid for control over the territory encompassing the Holy Places ultimately failed. The international commission on the Holy Places it had hoped for was never formed, and it was not invited to attend the 1920 Sanremo conference, which decided the fate of Palestine. The Vatican, acting on the same fundamental policy, still refuses to establish diplomatic relations with the state of Israel. Intensively researched and trenchantly argued, The Vatican and Zionism sheds important new light on a critical but neglected episode in the history of Zionism and the Roman Catholic Church.

In this timely study Gavin D'Costa explores Roman Catholic doctrines after the Second Vatican Council regarding the Jewish people (1965 - 2015). It establishes the emergence of the teaching that God's covenant with the Jewish people is irrevocable. What does this mean for Catholics regarding Jewish religious rituals, the land, and mission? Catholic Doctrines on the Jewish People after Vatican II establishes that the Catholic Church has a new teaching about the Jewish people: the covenant made with God is irrevocable. D'Costa faces head-on three important issues arising from the new teaching. First, previous Catholic teachings seem to claim Jewish rituals are invalid. He argues this is not the case. Earlier teachings allow us positive insights into the modern question. Second, a nuanced case for Catholic minimalist Zionism is advanced, without detriment to the Palestinian cause. This is in keeping with Catholic readings of scripture and the development of the Holy See's attitude to the State of Israel. Third, the painful question of mission is explored. D'Costa shows the new approach safeguards Jewish identity and allows for the possibility of successful witness by Hebrew Catholics who retain their Jewish identity and religious life.

"This unique collection of essays from leading Catholic theologians from the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, England, and the Middle East reflect on the theological status of the land of Israel. These essays represent an exhaustive range of views. None avoid the new Catholic theology regarding the Jewish people. Some contributors see this as leading towards a positive theological affirmation of the state of Israel, while distancing themselves from Christian Zionists. All contributors are committed to rights of the Palestinian people. Some affirm the need for strong diplomatic and political support for Israel along with equal support for Palestinians, arguing that this is as far as the Church can go. Others argue that the Church's emerging theology represents the guilt conscience of Europe at the cost of the Palestinian people. None deny the right of Jews to live in the land. Two Jewish scholars respond to the essays creating an atmosphere of genuine interfaith dialogue which serves Catholics to think further through these issues"--

Paul Merkley draws on the published literature of the World Council of Churches, the Middle East Council of Churches, the Roman Catholic Church, and other Christian organizations that have an interest in the question of Israel's past, present, and future, and on interviews with numerous key figures within the government of Israel, spokesmen for the Palestine Authority, and leaders of all the major pro and anti-Zionist Christian organizations to demonstrate that Christian attitudes towards Israel remain remarkably polarized. To most evangelical and fundamentalist Christians, loyalty to Israel is a kind of second patriotism, nurtured by the conviction that Israel's restoration is a part of God's plan for history. However mainstream Protestantism champions "Palestinian nationalism" and, drawing on the rhetoric of the Middle East Council of Churches, does not hesitate to portray Israel as an Aoppressor." Merkley concludes that Christian attitudes towards Israel reflect fundamental theological attitudes that must be studied against the long historical background of Christian attitudes towards Judaism and Islam.

The standard histories of Zionism have depicted it almost exclusively as a Jewish political movement, one in which Christians do not appear except as antagonists. In the highly original Zeal for Zion, Shalom Goldman makes the case for a wider and m

Imagine yourself transported two thousand years back in time to Galilee at the moment of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. After hearing it, would you abandon your religious beliefs and ideology to follow him, or would you hold on to your own beliefs and walk away? In A Rabbi Talks with Jesus Jacob Neusner considers just such a spiritual journey.

Has God brought the Jewish people back to Palestine? How can both Jews and Christians be God's chosen people? How many covenants are there in the Bible? Do all Christian Zionists accept dispensational teaching? Does the God of Israel ever change his promises? These are some of the questions that must be faced in the light of current attacks on Christian Zionism by some evangelical writers. David Pawson believes that Christians need very clear biblical understanding before making political pronouncements about conflict in the Middle East.