Lords of the Land: The War Over Israel's Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007

Idith Zertal · Akiva Eldar

2009 eka. · Saltzailea: Bold Type Books

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Lords of the Land tells the tragic story of Jewish settlement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In the aftermath of the 1967 war and Israel's devastating victory over its Arab neighbors, catastrophe struck both the soul and psyche of the state of Israel. Based on years of research, and written by one of Israel's leading historians and journalists, this involving narrative focuses on the settlers themselves -- often fueled by messianic zeal but also inspired by the original Zionist settlers -- and shows the role the state of Israel has played in nurturing them through massive economic aid and legal sanctions. The occupation, the authors argue, has transformed the very foundations of Israel's society, economy, army, history, language, moral profile, and international standing. "The vast majority of the 6.5 million Israelis who live in their country do not know any other reality," the authors write. "The vast majority of the 3.5 million Palestinians who live in the regions of their occupied land do not know any other reality. The prolonged military occupation and the Jewish settlements that are perpetuating it have toppled Israeli governments and have brought Israel's democracy and its political culture to the brink of an abyss."

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Professor Idith Zertal, PhD, is a leading Israeli historian. Among her major publications are From Catastrophe to Power: Holocaust Survivors and the Emergence of Israel and Israel's Holocaust and the Politics of Nationhood. She currently teaches at the Institute of Jewish Studies at the University of Basel and lives in Israel and Switzerland. In 2009 she will be a fellow of the Remarque Institute at New York University.

Akiva Eldar is currently chief political columnist and editorial writer for the Israeli daily Ha'aretz. In May 2006 the Financial Times selected him as among the most prominent and influential commentators in the world. He lives in Israel.