Walking to Jerusalem by Justin Butcher (Hodder and Stoughton)

A pilgrimage of penance, a march of solidarity - 3,400km, 147 days across eleven countries, three seas, mountains, rivers and soul-stirring landscapes from the green fields of Kent to the desert dust of Jordan . Part travelogue, part pilgrimage, part walking journal, part political activism - Walking to Jerusalem is the record of Justin Butcher's six-month walk from London to Jerusalem.

2017 marked three major anniversaries in the Palestinian struggle: the centenary of the Balfour Declaration, the fiftieth year of Israel’s military occupation of the Palestinian Territories, and the tenth year of the blockade of Gaza. Playwright, actor and musician Justin Butcher worked with human rights charity Amos Trust to mount the Just Walk to Jerusalem, June-November 2017. Calling for full equal rights for everyone in the Holy Land, more than one hundred walkers took part. Nine walked the whole way. 

This is their story - walking journals and travellers’ tales on paths of pilgrimage and conquest, from monasteries and mountain passes to Bedouin camps and desert wadis across Europe and the Middle East. Through Roman roads and refugee routes, Justin Butcher traces the pull of Jerusalem on the European imagination - the many strands of legend, fable, shrine and iconography radiating from the Holy Land and its three faiths.

‘So impressive … interweaving face-to-face experiences and political realities, this book displays the kind of unusual empathy essential in that tangled and tragic situation.’ 

BRIAN ENO

‘A must-read for everyone who yearns for peace in Palestine.’

DAVID SUCHET

‘An incredibly moving and fascinating book, a powerful pilgrim’s tale of love, humour and solidarity.’ 

ROSALIND NASHASHIBI, 2017 Turner Prize nominee

'Justin Butcher’s crisp and vibrant writing style grabs the reader’s hand and leads us on a fascinating and thoughtful tour through history into the heart of the politics of contemporary Palestine.’ 

JEREMY HARDY