Hope – a defiant theological stance

David Neuhaus SJ, of the École Biblique de Jérusalem, gave a moving talk as guest speaker, via Zoom, at the Belfast Book Club, on Wednesday 18 February 2026. Members of the book club have been studying weekly since January, the chapters from The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivating Palestinian Theology Amid Gaza. The book is a compilation of seven essays by eight Christian Palestinian theologians, edited by John S. Munayer and Samuel S. Munayer and published by Orbis Books ».

Fr. David reflected on chapter five by Daniel Munayer (brother of John and Samuel), and he also shared his personal journey story. He described himself as a “Jewish Israeli who became a Catholic and a Jesuit priest.” He deliberately made the decision to remain as part of the Jewish Israeli Hebrew-speaking society so as to identify clearly the existence of this third group of collaborators with Palestinians within Israel.

The compiling editors of The Cross and the Vine are sons of Fr David’s longtime friend, David Munayer. This meant Fr David got a look at the book before it was published. He said the realisation that his schooling as a boy was so similar to Daniel’s ‘hit him between the eyes.’

Daniel was Palestinian, but educated in the Israeli Hebrew-speaking school system. David, having moved from South Africa to Jerusalem when he was 16, was a South African, English-speaking Jew, also educated in that system. “I was coming from the other side of the classroom… But Daniel was one hundred per cent right …We were educated in a system where Israel was at the centre of our consciousness, where Palestinians were never mentioned except to say they were those who questioned our possession of the land, and were defined as enemies. For most of the time, they weren’t even there. It was a land without a people for a people without a land.”

In chapter five, Daniel Munayer focuses on how Palestinian Christians can construct and sustain a theology of hope while living under the realities of occupation, dispossession, and recurring violence in Gaza. David Neuhaus says that despite the almost insurmountable nature of the suffering and daily challenges the Palestinian people face, he still has hope.

The cross is presented as a central framework– not as passive acceptance of suffering, but as a commitment to nonviolent resistance, solidarity with the oppressed, and the pursuit of dignity amid systemic injustice. Olive trees function as a metaphor for steadfastness, rootedness in the land, and the slow, patient work of cultivating peace and justice despite destruction. And hope is portrayed not as optimism but as a defiant theological stance rooted in the resurrection, which serves as a symbol of God’s presence amid devastation, enabling communities to imagine a future beyond violence.

Fr. David has many videos on YouTube. His latest offering was posted five weeks ago and offers a good introduction to Fr. David and his thought ».