The Body and the Blood

Mr. Sennott discussed his book The Body and the Blood: The Holy Land’s Christians at the Turn of a New Millennium, published by PublicAffairs. According to Mr. Sennott, the conflict in the region entails more than just the controversy between Judaism and Islam or Jews and Palestinians. The book addresses the presence of the often over-looked and rapidly declining Christian community in the Holy Land. A century ago Christians represented as much as 20 percent of the population of what is today Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. They now comprise less than 2 percent of the total population. Mr. Sennott feels that analysis of the situation can provide a more complete perspective of the Middle East, and he offer possible solutions to the conflict during his presentation. In addition, Mr. Sennott asserted that many of the themes that resonated in the region 2,000 years ago, including occupation, globalization and religious extremism, continue to characterize present-day problems. After he sp close