Mein gelobtes Land

The Great Story of Israel. Renowned journalist Ari Shavit sees Israel in a precarious and hopeless situation: as a Jewish-Western state threatened in its existence by an Arab-Islamic (surrounding) world since its founding, while simultaneously being an occupying power over another, the Palestinian people. The innovative spirit and zest for life of its people stand in stark contrast to a crumbling community, exhausting conflicts, military facades of success, and a loss of international standing. What began as a hopeful communal endeavor, especially after the horrors of the Holocaust—the joint construction of Eretz Israel—has today given way to widespread disillusionment and disintegration. Shavit tells a very personal story of Israel over the last one and a half centuries, initially following in the footsteps of his Zionist great-grandfather, highlighting successes in the ongoing struggle for survival.