Reflections of a Catholic priest in Palestine/Israel
David Neuhaus SJ was the guest speaker at a Zoom hub meeting of Jesuits, colleagues and friends, to launch his latest book Conquest or Leven: Reflections of a Catholic Priest in Palestine/Israel ». A warm welcome was extended to all, by Caren Collins of the Belfast Centre, who organised the event, which took place on 19 October, 2026 at 7pm, and chaired the launch. Watch the full proceedings on the video above.
Fr David, a South African born Jewish Israeli who became a Catholic and a Jesuit priest, joined the meeting from Johannesburg. In an half-hour address he told the story of his life, illustrated with photos and clippings.
After his talk, Fr David was interviewed about his book by Pat Coyle of Irish Jesuit Communications. Having acknowledged himself that the book, Conquest or Leven, has been written largely in a time of conquest for the people of Gaza, she asked him to expand on his assertion that the white Christian western and North American worlds are complicit in the genocidal conquest inflicted upon them.
David also discussed his vision of a future of ‘hope’, of justice and peace (articulated at the end of his book) and what people can do to make it a reality by acting as prophets like the ‘Good Samaritan’, whose care of his ‘neighbour’ and refusal to walk by him was prophet- like.
After a short break, questions from the various hub groups were collected and responded to by David, including how to address the assertion by some Jewish people that Christianity was founded on violence. It was, David replied, or at least Christendom was, and we must honestly and sorrowfully admit that.
About the author: David Mark Neuhaus SJ is a member of the Jesuit community in the Holy Land. He teaches Scripture in various institutions in Israel and Palestine, including the Latin Patriarchate Seminary in Beit Jala, Bethlehem University, and the Salesian Theological Institute in Jerusalem. He completed a BA, MA and PhD (Political Science) at Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He then completed pontifical degrees in theology and Scripture in Paris (Centre Sevres) and Rome (Pontifical Biblical Institute). He is the author of numerous books and articles. He is emeritus Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Hebrew-speaking Catholics, Migrants and Asylum Seekers in Israel. At present, he is also a fellow at the Jesuit Institute of South Africa.
His book is published by Orbis Books, a ministry of the Mary Knoll Fathers in the US formed one of the hubs. The other hubs present on the evening of 19 October were Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice and the Manresa Jesuit Centre for Spirituality in Dublin, and members of the Belfast Jesuit Centre.
