My first problem is always introducing myself. If I call myself a Palestinian, people first equate me with terrorism. If I say I am an Arab, I am assumed to be a Muslim. If I say I come from Jerusalem, thinking that this might make things clearer for my fellow Christians, someone inevitably says, “Oh, you are Jewish! Shalom.” When I point out that I am a Christian, the inevitable query is, “Oh, when did you become a Christian?” I give the only reply I can: “I am a Christian, because my ancestors were disciples of Christ. Arabs were the first Christians. They formed the earliest Christian community in Jerusalem.”
–Jean Zaru, Occupied with Nonviolence, p. 1
The Christian community in Palestine, often referred to as “the living stones of Christianity,” stands as one of the oldest.[1] Regrettably, despite their rich history, many Christian circles in the United States remain unaware of their longstanding presence. In this moment of profound grief and deep sorrow, there is a pressing invitation to sit with our brothers and sisters at the table of the global Church. May we listen to their voices.
Here are fifteen Christian Palestinian theologians and biblical scholars you should know.
Munther Isaac
Twitter: @MuntherIsaac Facebook: Munther Isaac
Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac is the academic dean at Bethlehem Bible College in Palestine and the director of the Christ at the Checkpoint conference. An ordained minister of the Lutheran Church, he currently fulfills his pastoral duties at Christmas Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. Dr. Isaac holds a BS in Civil Engineering from Birzeit University in Palestine and an MA in Religion with a focus on Biblical Studies from Westminster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, USA. He completed his doctoral studies at Oxford Centre for Mission Studies in England, where he focused on A Biblical Theology of the Promised Land as his area of study and earned a PhD.
His publications include The Other Side of the Wall: A Palestinian Christian Narrative of Lament and Hope (IVP, 2020), Christ at the Checkpoint: Blessed are the Peacemakers (Independently published, 2018), and From Land to Lands, from Eden to the Renewed Earth: A Christ-Centered Biblical Theology of the Promised Land (Langham Monographs, 2015). He is also the author of “Ecclesiology and the Theology of the Land: A Palestinian Christian Perspective,” included in Majority World Theology: Christian Doctrine in Global Context (IVP Academic, 2020).
Mitri Raheb
Twitter: @RahebM Facebook: Mitri Raheb
Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb is the founder and president of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem. He served as the pastor of the Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem for about thirty years, and was elected as President of the Synod of the Evangelical Church in Jordan and the Holy Land from 2011 to 2016. At a national level, Dr. Raheb has served in the Palestinian National Council and the Palestinian Central Council, and as founding member of multiple institutions, including the National Library of Palestine and Kairos Palestine. His work has been recognized internationally and he has received multiple awards, including the German Media Prize in 2012 and the Tolerance Ring Award from the European Academy of Arts and Science in 2015.
Dr. Raheb holds a BA in Protestant Theology from Hermannsburg Mission Seminary in Germany, and an MA in Protestant Theology and a Doctor of Theology from Philipps University Marburg, also located in Germany. His doctoral dissertation is titled “The Heritage of Reformation among the Palestinian: The History of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan.”
A prolific author and editor, his publications include Faith in the Face of Empire: The Bible through Palestinian Eyes (Orbis Books, 2014), I Am a Palestinian Christian: God and Politics in the Holy Land: A Personal Testimony (Fortress Press, 1995), and The Cross in Contexts: Suffering and Redemption in Palestine (Orbis Books, 2017). His latest book, Decolonizing Palestine: The Land, The People, The Bible, was just published by Orbis Books in August of this year –2023.
Visit his website, mitriraheb.org, for more information about him and his work.
Dr. Grace Zoughbi
Facebook: Grace Zoughbi
Dr. Grace Al-Zoughbi is a Christian Palestinian born and raised in Bethlehem. She holds a BA in Biblical Studies from Bethlehem Bible College in Bethlehem, and a MA in Theology and a PhD in Theological Education from the London School of Theology. Her doctoral dissertation is titled “Arab Protestant Women in Theological Education: A Contribution to Ecclesial Understanding of Christianity in the Middle East.”
Dr. Al-Zoughbi serves in the Executive Team of the Middle East and North Africa Association for Theological Education (MENATE).
Her publications include “Theological Perspectives on the Theological Education of Women in the Middle East and North Africa,” published in Insights Journal for Global Theological Education (November 2019); “Esther,” in The Arabic Contemporary Commentary (Dar El-Thaqafa, 2018); and “18 Arab Female Theologians and Christian Leaders You Should Know About” (formerly The GlobalChurch Project, 2019). Her article “Today’s Arab Women Theologians Have Plenty of Past Exemplars” was published in Christianity Today earlier this year.
Yohanna Katanacho
Twitter: ykatanacho Facebook: Yohanna Katanacho
Rev. Dr. Yohanna Katanacho is a Palestinian Israeli evangelical born and raised in Jerusalem. Currently, he serves as the academic dean at Nazareth Evangelical College in Israel, where he also serves as professor of Biblical Studies. Rev. Dr. Katanacho is an ordained minister with Christian and Missionary Alliance, a Billy Graham scholar, a Langham/John Stott Scholar, and the ScholarLeader of the Year 2019 with ScholarLeaders International. He holds a BSc from Bethlehem University, an MA from Wheaton College, and a Master in Divinity and PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
His publications include Reading the Gospel of John through Palestinian Eyes (Langham Preaching Resources, 2020), Praying Through the Psalms (Langham Global Library, 2018), and The Land of Christ: A Palestinian Cry (Pickwick Publications, 2013).
Read his author spotlight with Langham here.
Naim Ateek
Rev. Dr. Naim Stifan Ateek, born in the Palestinian village of Beisan, is a Palestinian priest in the Anglican Communion and co-founder of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem. He is also a former Canon of St. George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem. He holds a PhD from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA, and received the Distinguished Alumni Award from San Francisco Theological Seminary, where he earned an SM degree.[2]
His publications include A Palestinian Theology of Liberation: The Bible, Justice, and the Palestine-Israel Conflict (Orbis Books, 2017), A Palestinian Christian Cry for Reconciliation (Orbis Books, 2008), and Justice and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation (Orbis Books, 1989).
Jean Zaru
Facebook: Jean Zaru
Jean Zaru is a Palestinian Christian who lives in Ramallah, outside of Jerusalem. She is a founding member of Sabeel, an ecumenical grassroots liberation theology movement among Palestinian Christians in Jerusalem, and a leader in the Palestinian Quaker community. Zaru served on the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, the Working Group in Interfaith Dialogue, and as vice-president of the World YWCA.
Her publications include “Biblical Teachings and the Hard Realities of Life,” in Hope Abundant: Third World and Indigenous Women’s Theology (Orbis Books, 2010); Occupied with Nonviolence: A Palestinian Woman Speaks (Fortress Press, 2008); “The Intifada, Nonviolence, and the Bible,” in Feminist Theology from the Third World: A Reader (SPCK/Orbis Press, 1994; Wipf and Stock, 2015); and “Women in the Intifada and in the Churches,” in Faith and the Intifada: Palestinian Christian Voices (Orbis Books, 1992).
Niveen Ibrahim Sarras
Rev. Dr. Niveen Ibrahim Sarras was born and raised in Bethlehem, Palestine. She currently serves as pastor at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Wisconsin.[3] Prior to this position, she served as pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church of Wausau in Wisconsin. Rev. Dr. Sarras earned Master of Divinity from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, and a PhD in Hebrew Bible from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
Her publications include “Refuting the Violent Image of God in the Book of Joshua 6-12,” in The (De)Legitimization of Violence in Sacred and Human Contexts (Springer International Publishing, 2021), “A Palestinian Feminist Reading of the Book of Jonah,” (Journal of Lutheran Ethics, 2015), “The Prophet Amos and Palestinian Women” (Journal of Lutheran Ethics, 2013).
Rula Khoury Mansour
Facebook: Rula Khoury Mansour
Dr. Rula Khoury Mansour is the founding director of the Nazareth Center for Peace Studies and associate professor of Reconciliation Theology, Peace Studies, and Christian Ethics at Nazareth Evangelical College. A Palestinian Protestant theologian from Nazareth and a citizen of the State of Israel, she also serves as adjunct professor at Bethlehem Bible College and the Asia Graduate School of Theology in the Philippines. Dr. Khoury Mansour holds a law degree from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, and a master’s degree in Conflict Resolution from Tel-Aviv University. With over a decade of experience as a public prosecutor, she became the first Palestinian to be appointed deputy head of a public prosecution office in Israel.
Dr. Khoury Mansour became the first female Langham graduate from the Middle East and North Africa region in 2018, when she graduated with a PhD in Peace Studies and Theology from Oxford Centre for Mission Studies in England.
Her publications include Theology of Reconciliation in the Context of Church Relations: A Palestinian Christian Perspective in Dialogue with Miroslav Volf (Langham Monographs, 2020); “The Mission of the Church: Just Peacemaking and Reconciliation,” in Asian Christian Ethics: Evangelical Perspectives (Langham Global Library, 2022); and “The Role of the Palestinian Church in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” in Together in the Mission of God: Jubilee Reflections on the International Missionary Council (World Council of Churches, 2022).
Viola Raheb
Facebook: Viola Raheb
Dr. Viola Raheb was born in Bethlehem, Palestine. She earned a master’s degree in Education and Evangelical Theology from the Ruprecht-Karls-University in Heidelberg, Germany, and a PhD in Advanced Theological Studies from the University of Vienna. She headed the educational work of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and Palestine from 1998 to 2002, and from 2013 to 2021, she served as a researcher at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the University of Vienna. Since 2021, she has been heading the communication and projects at the PRO ORIENTE Foundation.
Her publications include “In Conflict with the Old Testament about the Land,” in Christian Theology in the Palestinian Context (AphorismA, 2019); Latin Americans with Palestinian Roots (Diyar Publisher, 2012); “Women in Contemporary Palestinian Society: A Contextual Reading of the Book of Ruth,” in Feminist Interpretation of the Bible and the Hermeneutics of Liberation (Sheffield Academic Press, 2003).
Elias Chacour
Most Rev. Elias Chacour is a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee (1986, 1989, 1994) and former Archbishop of the Melkite Catholic Church for Akko, Haida, Nazareth, and all of Galilee. He was born to a Palestinian Christian family in the village of Kafr Biri’m in Galilee and experienced eviction by the Israeli authorities in 1948. His life has been dedicated to peacemaking work and education.
Rev. Chacour holds a master’s degree in Bible and Talmudic Studies from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and a PhD in Ecumenical Theology from the University of Geneva. He is the founder and president of Mar Elias Educational Institutions in Ibillin, Israel.
His publications include Blood Brothers: The Dramatic Story of a Palestinian Christian Working for Peace in Israel (Baker Books, 2013; first published in 1984), We Belong to the Land: The Story of a Palestinian Israeli Who Lives for Peace and Reconciliation (University of Notre Dame Press, 2001), and Faith Beyond Despair: Building Hope in the Holy Land (Canterbury Press Norwich, 2008).
Yousef Kamal Khoury
Twitter: @KhouryYousef Facebook: Yousef Kamal Khoury
Dr. Yousef Khoury “identifies himself as a Christian Arab Palestinian. He was born in Gaza to a Christian family that has a long heritage of serving in the priesthood of the Greek Orthodox Church.”[4] Currently, he holds the position of lecturer of Biblical Studies and Missions at Bethlehem Bible College in Palestine. Additionally, he has served as the academic dean assistant for extracurricular programs at the college and has been actively involved in coordinating the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference.
Dr. Khoury earned his BA in Biblical Studies and Christian Education from Bethlehem Bible College. Subsequently, he pursued his Master of Divinity with a specialization in Theology and Missions at Alliance Theological Seminary in New York, USA. In January 2024, he marked the completion of his doctoral studies, receiving a PhD in Contextual Interpretation of the Bible and Contextual Theology from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. His doctoral project is titled “The Kingdom of God and Empires: A Contemporary Palestinian Christian Contextual Biblical Interpretation.” ¡Muchas felicidades, Dr. Khoury!
His publications include “Eschatology and Creation Care in the Context of the Israeli Colonization of Palestine,” in Decolonizing Ecotheology: Indigenous and Subaltern Challenges (Pickwick Publications, 2022).
Jack Sara
Twitter: @jacksara2 Facebook: Jack Sara
Rev. Dr. Jack Sara is an ordained minister with Evangelical Alliance Church in the Holy Land and currently serves as the president of Bethlehem Bible College. In addition to these key roles, he is a consultant for the World Evangelical Alliance for the Middle East & North Africa and is actively involved on the boards of various local and international ministries and organizations. Before his presidency at Bethlehem Bible College, he devoted 13 years to serving as the senior pastor of the Jerusalem Alliance Church. Rev. Dr. Sara holds a BA in Biblical Studies and Christian Education from Bethlehem Bible College in Bethlehem, a Master of Divinity from Alliance Biblical Seminary in the Philippines, and a doctorate degree in Missions and Cross-Cultural Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in the USA.
Among his publications is his article “Teach Us Your Ways, Lord (Micah 4:1-3)”, published in Ex auditu in 2019.
Salim Munayer
Facebook: Salim Munayer
Dr. Salim Munayer, a Palestinian-Israeli born in Lod, serves as a senior consultant and founder of Musalaha. Established in 1990, Musalaha is a faith-based organization that focuses on teaching, training, and facilitating reconciliation primarily between Israelis and Palestinians, who come from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds. The organization also extends its efforts to international groups, basing its approach on biblical principles of reconciliation.[5] In addition to his role with Musalaha, Dr. Munayer has recently accepted an appointment as Regional Hub Coordinator of the Middle East and North Africa region for the Peace and Reconciliation Network of the World Evangelical Alliance.
Dr. Munayer holds a BA in History and Geography from Tel Aviv University in Israel, an MA in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary in the USA, and a PhD from the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies in the UK. His doctoral dissertation was titled “The Ethnic Identity of Palestinian Arab Christian Adolescents in Israel.” Additionally, he pursued graduate studies in New Testament at Pepperdine University in the USA. He was recognized as the 2009 ScholarLeader of the Year.
His publications include Journey through the Storm: Lessons from Musalaha – Ministry of Reconciliation (Langham Global Library, 2020), Through My Enemy’s Eyes: Envisioning Reconciliation in Israel-Palestine (Paternoster, 2014), co-authored with Lisa Loden; and The Land Cries Out: Theology of the Land in the Israeli-Palestinian Context (Cascade Books, 2012), co-edited with Lisa Loden.
John S. Munayer
Twitter: @JohnMunayer Facebook: John Munayer
A new generation of Palestinian theologians is rising, and among them is John S. Munayer, a Palestinian Christian born and raised in Jerusalem. Currently, he serves as the Director of International Engagement at the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue, an interreligious organization based in Jerusalem. Additionally, John has lectured at Bethlehem Bible College and has been a speaker at the Christ at the Checkpoint conference.
John holds a BA in Religion, Politics, and Society from King’s College London; an MSc in International Relations of the Middle East from the University of Edinburgh; and a MA in Theology and Religious Studies with a focus on building interreligious relations from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Currently, he is pursuing a doctorate degree at the University of Edinburgh. He is a current recipient of the LeaderStudies Scholarship, awarded by ScholarLeaders.
Among his publications is the article “Decolonising Palestinian Liberation Theology: New Methods, Sources, and Voices,” co-authored with his brother Samuel S. Munayer. This article was published in the journal Studies in World Christianity in 2022.
Anton Deik
Twitter: @Anton_Deik Facebook: Tony E. Deik
Anton Deik is a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem. He is a lecturer in Biblical Studies at Bethlehem Bible College. Throughout his years of ministry, he has served internationally in East Asia, England, Palestine, and Bolivia. Anton holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Systems Engineering from Birzeit University and an MA in Transformation: Scripture, Church, and World from the London School of Theology. He is a PhD candidate in New Testament Studies at the University of Aberdeen and a current recipient of the LeaderStudies Scholarship, awarded by ScholarLeaders.
His publications include “Christian Zionism and Mission: How Does Our Understanding of Christianity Impact Our Witness in the World?,” in The Religious Other: A Biblical Understanding of Islam, the Qur’an and Muhammad (Langham Global Library, 2020); and “Justice in Ecclesiastes (3:16-4:3 and 8:10-17): A Missional Reading from and for Palestine,” in Reading Ecclesiastes from Asia and Pasifika (SBL Press, 2020).
For my students in the BRS 342 Theology II course and my friend Quina Aragón: I pray you always do theology with the global Church, knowing yourself as part of it.
[1] “Palestinian Christians,” Palestine Portal, accessed October 28, 2023, https://www.palestineportal.org/learn-teach/israelpalestine-the-basics/palestinian-christians/
[2] It was a little harder on my end to find information on the specificity of Dr. Ateek’s degrees from a trusted source. So, I am including the two sources I used for this particular information: Bio blurb on the article “Palestinian Elections: A Christian Perspective,” Church & Society 96 no. 6 (July/August 2006): 146; and bio blurb on the back cover of his book Justice and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation (Orbis Books, 1989).
[3] See https://stmarksneenah.org/our-staff/.
Glocal Theology 
Thank you. I have been to Palestine and I weep for the people.
Thank you for reading. I share the tears.
Many years are being shed along side each other.
Thank you for this article. It opens a window to all in the West about the richness of Palestinian Christian Theology. My only comment is that this list includes only Evangelical Christians and not Palestinian Catholics or Orthodox. You can contact me If you want to be introduced to some of them.
Habib, thank you so much for your comment and for reading! I would love to learn about Palestinian Catholic and Orthodox theologians! As it has happened with all the other lists on the website, they start growing thanks to people just like you who introduce me to other names and publications. I so deeply appreciate because the learning is communal.
Too many American Protestant Christians are ignorant concerning Palestinian and Israeli Christians. This ignorance causes misunderstanding,
and can create difficulty concerning what
role Christians have during this current time of war.
Excelente trabajo, Juliany !
Mi querida Agustina, muchas gracias. Le envío un abrazo.
I’ve never understood why we do not hear more about the Christians who live in Bethlehem and Galilee. Thank you for your enlightened information.
Thank you for reading, Margaret!