The Palestinian Uprising: A War by Other Means (review)

Abstract

Book Reviews 199 The final chapter explores Paul's relationship to the church in Jerusalem and the place ofJames (pp. 149-92). Hill suggests that while the Jerusalem church recognized Paul's ministry, it never accepted his understanding of the law. This led to Paul's break with Antioch and made his standing as an apostle ambiguous. Paul's opponents in Galatians, Philippians, and II Corinthians were not, however, Judaizers representing Jerusalem. James was a moderate who was forced to contend with both Paul and his opponents. The strengths of Hill's monograph lie in his careful reading of NT texts and thorough critique. Apart from a couple of bothersome gaps he has collected and analyzed all of the available biblical and secondary material. His reasoning is penetrating and forceful. The monograph successfully lays to rest the spectre of early Jewish Christianity in two neatly defined groups. It is of value to anyone seriously interested in Jc::wish Christianity, Paul, or Acts. On the other hand, the reader who hopes to find a convincing historical reconstruction 'of the earliest communities will be disappointed. One factor which limits the reconstructions Hill offers is the fact that he depends almost exclusively on the biblical text. Even when he cites other ancient evidence it is almost always through secondary sources. Hengel's work is clearly superior here. If Baur built too much on too little, Hill builds too little on too much. Gregory E. Sterling Department of Theology University of Notre Dame The Palestinian Uprising: A War by Other Means, by F. Robert Hunter. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991. 312 pp. $24.95. This detailed study of the Intifada is a thoroughly researched and documented examination of a major milestone and set of events and, developments in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is a worthwhile and thoughtful (and thought provoking) study wl,ich is done in historical development from a background of the Palestinian uprising through the first half of 1990. Professor F. Robert Hunter ofTulane University was most fortunately positioned to launch into this study when the Int.ifada got underway just as he was starting a year as a Visiting Research Scholar at the Hebrew University ofJerusalem. Hunter's book includes a wide range of cited source materials and extensive interviews, a substantial majority of which are with Palestinians. 200 SHOFAR Winter 1993 Vol. 11, No.2 The footnotes tend to focus quite heavily on Palestinian Arab sources. Israeli Jews interviewed, while thoughtful, are preponderantly on the critical side of the internal discussion and debate in Israel vis-a-vis governmental policies and actions concerning the Intifada. For instance, Dr. Meron Benvenisti, Director of the West Bank Data Base Project and former Deputy Mayor ofJerusalem, is a highly respected authority on West Bank developments and their significance; in this reviewer's judgment he is a powerful and incisive critic of Israeli policy who deserves to be heeded, but in a variety of passages and sections of his book Hunter relies rather excessively on Benvenisti's thoughts and materials. Hunter's book is not a case for the prosecution against Israel and its handling of the Intifada, and he works at making a scholarly presentation and keeping a moderate tone. What emerges then is a sometimes blow-byblow account which in some respects can be more damaging to the Israeli governmental position and actions (land expropriations, documented cas~s of police and military brutality, a host of economic sanctions all too indiscriminately applied, etc.) than some high pitched or clearly partisan presentation. The author's accounts of Palestinian organizational activities and efforts through a network of committees, and such varied things as private gardens, the use of homes for conducting retail trade and other business during the uprising, show an impressive set of operations by the people of the West Bank and Gaza. At times Hunter seems to be overidealizing the Palestinians, and he sometimes seems to be swallowing everything he is told. He does, however, warn himself and his readers to resist the temptation to exaggerate the Intifada's accomplishments. He points out and illustrates the tensions between the "popular committees" and the local population, and between...