The power of scripture – be it used by a Jew, a Christian or a Muslim (or any other religion for that matter) – is a power with a life of its own. There exists the word of God as a peacemaker and there exists the word of God as a vengeance taker. There is revealed in scripture, much about God, and sometimes more about the one selecting the word and using the word of God. For what we choose as a passage and how we use that particular passage in a given context can shape the meaning of the word and of God to the one hearing – the one receiving the word.

Following talks at the White House and the signing of the Palestinian-Israeli Declaration of Principles peace agreement, on 13 September 1993, President Clinton presented to the world Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Chairman and PLO President Yasser Arafat. Rabin and Arafat joined hands in what has become known as ‘the handshake’, with President Clinton pushing each of them to turn to the other. At that time, President Clinton said that both leaders had been, ‘shaped by the values of the Torah, the Koran and the Bible’ (Prior 1999: 39). That is the blessing and that, apparently, is the curse.