West German Protestantism and the Middle East Conflict. An Investigation of Political and Theological Patterns of Interpretation.

The Middle East conflict continues to be a source of controversial discussions in West German Protestantism up till the present day. A close relation between theological and political pronouncements can be discerned in many utterances. The aim of the research project is to analyze these interrelationships with special focus on Judaism and State Israel. The research project focuses on the years between the Six-Day War (1967) and the First Intifada (1987-1993). This period was marked by numerous violent conflicts in the Middle East. In the context of the process of politicization and pluralization processes of the West German society and the theological discussions about the Judaico-Christian relationship, the Middle East conflict became an intensively discussed and controversial topic within West German Protestantism especially in the 1970s and 1980s. This wide spectrum of opinions is explored here for the first time.