My Promised Land

country and to establish a state; he wishes to face God.

I remain on deck for a moment. I want to understand why the Oxus is making its way across the sea. Who exactly is this ancestor of mine, and why has he come here?

As the twentieth century is about to begin there are more than 11 million Jews in the world, of whom nearly 7 million live in Eastern Europe, 2 million live in Central and Western Europe, and 1.5 million live in North America. Asian, North African, and Middle Eastern Jewry total less than one million.

Only in North America and Western Europe are Jews emancipated. In Russia they are persecuted. In Poland they are discriminated against. In Islamic countries they are a protected people living as second-class citizens. Even in the United States, France, and Britain, emancipation is merely a legality. Anti-Semitism is on the rise. In 1897, Christendom is not yet at peace with its ultimate other. Many find it difficult to address Jews as free, proud, and equal.

In the eastern parts of Europe, Jewish distress is acute. A new breed of ethnic-based anti-Semitism is superseding the old religious-based anti-Semitism. Waves of pogroms befall Jewish towns and townships in Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Romania, and Poland. Most shtetl Jews realize that there is no future for the shtetl. Hundreds of thousands sail to Ellis Island. The Jewish Diaspora experiences once again the cataclysmic phenomenon of mass migration.

Worse than the past is what the future holds. In the next half century, a third of all Jews will be murdered. Two-thirds of European Jewry will be wiped out. The worst catastrophe in the history of the Jewish people is about to occur. So as the Oxus approaches the shores of the Holy Land, the need to give Palestine to the Jews feels almost palpable. If the Jews won t disembark here, they will have no future. This emerging coastline may be their only salvation.

The

The Wall Street Journal
 
A tour de force. Jewish Journal

Reads like a love story and a thriller at once. Dwight Garner, The New York Times

[A] searingly honest, descriptively lush, painful and riveting story of the creation of Zionism in Israel and [Shavit s] own personal voyage. The Washington Post
 
Shavit is a master storyteller. [His] retelling of history jars us out of our familiar retrospections, reminds us (and we do need reminders) that there are historical reasons why Israel is a country on the edge. . . . Required reading for both the left and the right. The Jewish Week
 
The most extraordinary book that I ve read on [Israel] since Amos Elon s book called The Israelis, and that was published in the late sixties. David Remnick, on Charlie Rose
 
My Promised Land is an Israeli book like no other. Not since Amos Elon s The Israelis, Amos Oz s In the Land of Israel, and Thomas Friedman s From Beirut to Jerusalem has there been such a powerful and comprehensive book written about the Jewish State and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ari Shavit is one of Israel s leading columnists and writers, and the story he tells describes with great empathy the Palestinian tragedy and the century-long struggle between Jews and Arabs over the Holy Land. While Shavit is being brutally honest regarding the Zionist enterprise, he is also insightful, sensitive, and attentive to the dramatic life-stories of his fascinating heroes and heroines. The result is a unique nonfiction book that has the qualities of fine literature. It brings to life epic history without being a conventional history book. It deepens contemporary political understanding without being a one-sided political polemic. It is painful and provocative, yet colorful, emotional, life-loving, and inspiring. My Promised Land is the ultimate personal odyssey of a humanist exploring the startling biography of his tormented homeland, which is at the very center of global interest. Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Israel
 
With deeply engaging personal narratives and morally nuanced portraits, Ari Shavit takes us way beneath the headlines to the very heart of Israel s dilemmas in his brilliant new work. His expertise as a reporter comes through in the interviews, while his lyricism brings the writing and the people to life. Shavit also challenges Israelis and Diaspora Jewry to be bold in imagining the next chapter for Israel, a challenge that will no doubt be informed by this important book. Rick Jacobs, president, Union for Reform Judaism

This is the epic history that Israel deserves beautifully written, dramatically rendered, full of moral complexity. Ari Shavit has made a storied career of explaining Israel to Israelis; now he shares his mind-blowing, trustworthy insights with the rest of us. It is the best book on the subject to arrive in many years. Franklin Foer, editor, The New Republic
 
A beautiful, mesmerizing, morally serious, and vexing book. I ve been waiting most of my adult life for an Israeli to plumb the deepest mysteries of his country s existence and share his discoveries, and Ari Shavit does so brilliantly, writing simultaneously like a poet and a prophet. My Promised Land is a remarkable achievement. Jeffrey Goldberg, national correspondent, The Atlantic
 
Ari Shavit s My Promised Land is without question one of the most important books about Israel and Zionism that I have ever read. Both movingly inspiring and at times heartbreakingly painful, My Promised Land tells the story of the Jewish state as it has never been told before, capturing both the triumph and the torment of Israel s experience and soul. This is the book that has the capacity to reinvent and reshape the long-overdue conversation about how Israel s complex past ought to shape its still-uncertain future. Daniel Gordis, author of Saving Israel and Koret Distinguished Fellow at Shalem College, Jerusalem

This book is vital reading for Americans who care about the future, not only of the United States but of the world. Jon Meacham, author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power