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A review by skitch41
My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel by Ari Shavit
5.0
(Full Disclosure: I had the opportunity to meet the author and get a signed copy of this book last year. Having said that, this review reflects my own views and does not reflect that of the author or publisher.)
When discussions about Israel come up in America, they quickly get caught up in domestic politics and polarized. So it's refreshing to get a perspective on Israel from an Israeli and one of Israel's best journalists at that. And, boy, what a perspective. In this wonderful book, Mr. Shavit explores the 100+ years of Zionism and Israel starting with his Great-Grandfather, Herbert Bentwich, and his fact-finding mission to Palestine in 1897 to the present. He often personal and always insightful. His greatest insight is the fact that, according to Mr. Shavit, Zionism is in deep crisis both internally and, in the long term, externally. Ever since the wars of 1967 and 1973 and the creation of the settlements a few years later broke the socialist-liberal foundations Israel was founded on and has lacked the political leadership to address the issues. Not only that, but the Arab Spring, while making things easier for Israel in the short term, could make things more dangerous in the long term. But this book is not all doom and gloom. Mr. Shavit also celebrates Israel's accomplishments like the kibbutzes of the 1930s, the strong economy and military Israel built in the 1950s, and Israel's ability to absorb so many immigrants from Europe in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust. This book is both intimate and broad. The only thing I have against this is that, with Mr. Shavit's change in topics from chapter to chapter, particularly as he comes to the 2000s, feel like they were lifted from articles he wrote as a journalist. In fact, in one of his chapters, he does that at length. However, his writing is great, so I don't begrudge him at all for this. Also, the hardcover copy of this book only goes to about 2013 and talks about the existential threat Iran's nuclear program, but doesn't get as far as the recent deal between Iran and the P5+1 nations. Perhaps an updated paperback copy has an afterword about this and I would recommend looking for that edition rather than this hardcover. Otherwise, this is a great book about Zionism and Israel's past, present, and future, and I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in this country.
When discussions about Israel come up in America, they quickly get caught up in domestic politics and polarized. So it's refreshing to get a perspective on Israel from an Israeli and one of Israel's best journalists at that. And, boy, what a perspective. In this wonderful book, Mr. Shavit explores the 100+ years of Zionism and Israel starting with his Great-Grandfather, Herbert Bentwich, and his fact-finding mission to Palestine in 1897 to the present. He often personal and always insightful. His greatest insight is the fact that, according to Mr. Shavit, Zionism is in deep crisis both internally and, in the long term, externally. Ever since the wars of 1967 and 1973 and the creation of the settlements a few years later broke the socialist-liberal foundations Israel was founded on and has lacked the political leadership to address the issues. Not only that, but the Arab Spring, while making things easier for Israel in the short term, could make things more dangerous in the long term. But this book is not all doom and gloom. Mr. Shavit also celebrates Israel's accomplishments like the kibbutzes of the 1930s, the strong economy and military Israel built in the 1950s, and Israel's ability to absorb so many immigrants from Europe in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust. This book is both intimate and broad. The only thing I have against this is that, with Mr. Shavit's change in topics from chapter to chapter, particularly as he comes to the 2000s, feel like they were lifted from articles he wrote as a journalist. In fact, in one of his chapters, he does that at length. However, his writing is great, so I don't begrudge him at all for this. Also, the hardcover copy of this book only goes to about 2013 and talks about the existential threat Iran's nuclear program, but doesn't get as far as the recent deal between Iran and the P5+1 nations. Perhaps an updated paperback copy has an afterword about this and I would recommend looking for that edition rather than this hardcover. Otherwise, this is a great book about Zionism and Israel's past, present, and future, and I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in this country.