Divinity School scholars invite you along on their trip to the Middle East

A group of 34 scholars and students from the Yale Divinity School have embarked on a two-week travel seminar through Israel-Palestine, and they invite members of the community to become their virtual traveling companions.

The Middle East excursion is part of the school’s “Sacred Land: Common Ground?” Lenten Study, led by Dean Harold Attridge.

The study program, notes the introductory essay on the “Sacred Land: Common Ground” website, “will engage in exploration of historical as well as contemporary aspects of the faiths and people of the ‘Holy Land’” in order to ”develop a richer understanding of both realities and their interconnectedness. …

“There are so many ways to tell the story of this ancient land and the peoples who reside there today,” notes the essay. “Who you are, where you live, your religious identity, and your ethnic identity — all of these factors and more contribute to a wide range of different and often competing narratives. … In the context of Israel/Palestine today, even (and perhaps especially) archeology has become politicized. How we interpret the past can have very real consequences for the present.”

Each weekday during Lent, study materials have been and will continue to be posted on the “Sacred Land: Common Ground” website, and during their Israel-Palestine journey (March 4-17), members of the group are documenting their experiences through texts and photos on an accompanying seminar blog.

Click here to read the study materials.

Click here to read the seminar blog.