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oa Een Godgegeven probleem
Palestina-watcher Johannes de Groot over de verhouding tussen Joden en Arabieren in het Heilige Land voor de Tweede Wereldoorlog
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: DNK : Documentatieblad voor de Nederlandse kerkgeschiedenis na 1800, Volume 45, Issue 99, Dec 2023, p. 165 - 189
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- 01 Dec 2023
Abstract
‘A God-Given Problem’
This article analyses the views of the Old Testament scholar and orientalist Johannes de Groot on the relations between Jews and Arabs in Palestine. De Groot (1886-1942) visited the Holy Land five times in the period before World War II: in 1912, 1926, 1929, 1931 and 1937. Much more than fellow travelers and scholars he was interested in the situation and future of Arabs and Jews living within the same borders. He gave testimony of the growing tensions and showed comprehension to both sides. How to deal with their rights and ideals? De Groot considered the complicated relationships in Palestine as a God-given problem to mankind wearying itself. At this early stage, he already judged the Israeli-Palestine conflict as insolvable. The future was only safe in the hands of God.