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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How do the Christians in Ibillin feel?

2. How does Elias say terrorism is often redefined as?

3. Who begins the process of unity?

4. What happens to a village as a result of Elias' intercession?

5. Of what are those who are killed accused?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Elias Chacour hope about his book?

2. Why does he consider the conflict in Israel so horrific?

3. What does Elias ask of the Jew, Westerners, and Arabs?

4. What massacre was Elias told about that made Elias decide not to leave Israel?

5. What was the political and economic situation like in Israel in 1967?

6. What does Chacour call upon the nations who war and why does he see it as an insult to God?

7. What type of personal epiphany did Elias have at Ibillin and what did he decide?

8. How was Palestine ruled until the end of World War I and then what happened?

9. What had happened in Palestine by the time Elias returned there after his studies in Paris?

10. What did Elias see as the view the Western world had of the Jews and a homeland?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A second Supreme Court ruling returns Biram to its original residents. This time, the soldiers gave the villagers the date of December 25 for return. On Christmas morning, the villagers of Gish walked to Biram, only to find the village still surrounded by soldiers and tanks. Then, as the returning residents watched, the Zionists destroyed the village. Elias is devastated but, even more, experiences a rage that cannot be reconciled with the teachings of Jesus to love and pray for one's enemies. Discuss the following:

1. Is Elias' rage understandable? Do you think he expects too much of himself to want to love and pray for the soldiers as he watches them destroy his village?

2. How does Elias eventually release the rage he experiences at the Zionist? Does it seem he is sincerely healed of the anger?

3. One of Jesus' teachings says that if someone smite you on one cheek, turn the other cheek. Is this realistic in a situation such as the one with the Zionist destroying Biram? Why or why not? What kind of person would be able to follow such a teaching? Could you?

Essay Topic 2

Elias Chacour is part of a group of believers who call themselves "Melkite Christians." Discuss the following:

1. Briefly state and analyze the history of Melkite Christians.

2. What do the Melkite Christians believe? Give a brief synopsis.

3. How do they (or do they) differ from the Roman Catholics?

4. Do the Melkite sect still exist today?

Essay Topic 3

In "Singled Out," it is the end of 1949, and things had begun to change somewhat. The new Zionist landowners were unschooled in the proper cultivation of the orchards and needed to employ native Palestinians to care for them. Discuss one the following:

1. Compare and contrast Michael's reaction to working in his own orchards as hired help with that of Elias' reaction. Which reaction is more like to how you would feel? Which seems psychologically healthier? Which seems more in line with the doctrines of Christianity?

2. In this same chapter, it states that other villagers left for Haifa, hoping to secure better jobs in the new factories being built by the Jews. What is the irony in both this situation and in that of the former orchard owners working as hired hands in their orchards?

3. How do you think the Jewish families who steal the Palestinian lands justify such actions? Is the land stolen? Or paid for by fair market value? Even if the land is paid for, if the villager does not want to sell but is forced to do so, it that a fair exchange?

(see the answer keys)

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