Newsletter:
Vol. 5. Iss. 3
10 August 2004
Appreciation for Michael Prior, cont'd.
The Rev. Dr. Duncan MacPherson
During his two years study and teaching in the Holy Land he became an enthusiastic
supporter of Palestinian rights. Convinced that much western biblical scholarship
was either indifferent to or supportive of the expropriation and oppression
of the Palestinians he also considered ways in which the story of the Exodus
and the Conquest in the Bible had been used to justify colonialism in Latin
America, South Africa and, of course, Palestine: a thesis explored in his
The Bible and Colonialism (1997). In 1999 his major historical work Zionism
and the State of Israel: A Moral Inquiry analysed the history of Zionism,
to show that its roots were in secular nationalism roots and that support
for Zionism by religious Jews was relatively recent. He further sought to
demonstrate that the expulsion of the Palestinians, did not result either
from the Nazi Holocaust or of the fortunes of war in 1948 but had been intended
and planned by the founding fathers of Zionism from the outset. His final
article published in The Tablet today (30 July) challenged the allegation
that opponents of Zionism were necessarily anti-Semitic. His last words to
me were that what was needed was a new forum for Jewish-Christian dialogue
that did not involve political pre-conditions but that allowed anti-Zionist
Jews and anti-Zionist Christians to be party to the conversation. “Go
for it! We’ll do it!” he said.
So how are we to cope with our sorrow at losing Michael? Above all we can
do this by imitating his Christian faith and his commitment to justice and
peace. I know that not everyone here shares Michael’s faith. Not everyone
here accepts Michael’s politics. But Michael’s faith and Michael’s
friendship were robustly inclusive. He was the kind of Catholic who was at
ease with Christians of other traditions, with believers in Judaism and Islam,
with agnostics and atheists. He would be happy for everyone to follow him
as far down the road as they are able, preaching good news for the poor and
liberation for captives: “Go for it! We’ll do it.”’
