The Invention of the Land of Israel: From Holy Land to Homeland Paperback – April 1, 2014

The Invention of the Land of Israel by Shlomo Sand"The Invention of the Land of Israel" is the follow up to the fascinating and controversial "The Invention of the Jewish People". This excellent book serves as a complementary addition to the aforementioned book and fills gaps left behind. Historian and outspoken professor, Shlomo Sand does it again with this enlightening and educational book that reveals the history behind the Land of Israel. This 304-page book is composed of the following five chapters: 1. Making Homelands: Biological Imperative or National Property?, 2. Mytherritory: In the Beginning, God Promised the Land, 3. Toward a Christian Zionism: and Balfour Promised the Land, 4. Zionism Versus Judaism: The Conquest of "Ethnic" Space, and 5. Conclusion: The Sad Tale of the Frog and the Scorpion.Positives:1. A well-researched and well-cited book that takes you into the always fascinating world of Jewish history.2. As candid and forthright a book as you will find. Professor Sand provides solid and well-cited evidence in support of his arguments.3. Enlightening and thought-provoking book to say the least.4. An excellent complement to his best-selling book "The Invention of the Jewish People".5. The myth that was the forced uprooting of the "Jewish people."6. The book does a wonderful job of explaining how the dissemination of a formative historical mythos occurred. "Never did I accept the idea of the Jews' historical rights to the Promised Land as self-evident."7. Clarifies some of the misunderstood points made in his previous book.8. Professor Sand takes pride in his historical scholarship and it shows. The quest for primary sources. The author does a good job of letting the readers know what he does have a good handle on and what he doesn't.9. Explains what really precipitated the establishment of the State of Israel.10. The book achieves its goal of tracing the ways in which the "Land of Israel" was invented.11. The book achieves the main goal of disparaging the official historiography of the Zionist Israeli establishment.12. The notion of "homeland" in perspective. "It is important to remember that homelands did not produce nationalism, but rather the opposite: homelands emerged from nationalism." The concept of territorial entity.13. Was the Land of Israel the ancestral land of the descendants of the children of Israel? A biblical perspective...14. The great minds behind the Jewish connection with the Land of Israel. Fascinating history.15. The history of the three main revolts. Their causes and results.16. The factors that revitalized interest over the Holy Land for all three Abrahamic religions.17. The evolution of Zionism including the Christian variety. The colonization of the Middle East. The main players and factors involved. The Balfour Declaration.18. An interesting look at the Arab inhabitants of Palestine. The increasing use of the moral superweapon "historical right."19. A condensed history of the Diaspora. Zionism versus Judaism.20. The "redemption" of the land to "Judaization of the country". The 1947 resolution regarding the partition of Palestine. The acquisition of land. The three most significant moments in the long history of the occupations and the settlements in the occupied territories that most likely were decisive in shaping the future of Israel and its neighbors.21. An excellent final chapter that summarizes the main points of this interesting book.22. Excellent citations.Negatives:1. Lack of visual aids to assist the reader. As an example, maps would have added much value.2. The book at times is repetitive.3. No formal bibliography.4. A cast of characters, timelines, even glossaries would have immensely assisted an American audience that may not be familiar with this fascinating history.5. The book lacks panache. English is not the author's main language. This book is about substance over style.In summary, this is a fascinating and enlightening book. I really enjoyed it and I must thank the author for the education. Professor Sand succeeds in educating the reader on the history of the "Land of Israel". It's a great complement to his previous best-selling book. I highly recommend it!

Sand makes very interesting, compelling arguments that enlarge one's understanding of a complex situation.He discusses Judaism as a religion and dismisses the notion of Jews as a "a people" by "blood" and categorizes Jews as simply those who belong to the Jewish religion. On that basis, why not give Catholics their own state, he reasons. But Jews are members not only of a religious group but of a cultural group, a wider and more inclusive definition than he allows. Just as Kurds want their own homeland or the Irish wanted their own state, so do the Jews. He counters that Jews were not struggling to repopulate Palestine until recently, that most Jews remained in the respective countries in which they were born, even despite persecution. And when they did move, they moved to neighboring states that welcomed them. However, that same thing was true of other persecuted minorities--they moved close by, they moved to areas where they could get work, where relatives already lived. People did not really set out for lands unknown until settlement in the New World, the Americas, began. Greater knowledge has made choices more available and understandable for many people now; these options didn't exist in a real and practical sense for the average household throughout most of European history.In short, Sands book(s) allow the reader to understand a perspective with which he may be unfamiliar; it allows the reader to evaluate his own positions more carefully and realize there are other, often diametrically opposed opinions, that have validity. The careful reader can come away from reading, I think, with a broader understanding of the issues, a more empathic understanding of the complexities of the situation and, perhaps, a renewed understanding of the basis of his own viewpoint . This book evokes a reasoned discussion with a scholar, not an exchange of slogans.

Just an incredible book. Mr. Sand is an excellent writer and it is a joy to read his prose. He does not make blanket statements without backing them up with scholarly facts. This is like a follow-up to his first book," The invention of the Jewish people". IT really opens up the mind and helps in seeing this part of the world in a different light. All his books should be required reading in academia with respects to world history.

More Americans should be fully educated as to the true beginnings of Israel, because so much destruction and death has resulted therefrom. Destructive and discriminating and racist behavior should not be tolerated regardless of religious beliefs or self righteous claims of superior legal positions.

This book is as good as Sand's first one, "The invention of the Jewish people." He demonstrates very convincingly that Jews never owned Palestine, not at any time in history, and consequently they have no right to advance a historical claim to it now. The people who lived there through the centuries were a mix of Hebrews who converted to Islam when the Arabs moved in, and Arabs, and some Hebrews and others who converted to Christianity and then some converted again to Islam and some remained Christians. If anyone has a claim to Palestine, it is the Palestinians who inhabited the land for centuries, some of whom are probably the descendents of some of the original Hebrews (although most of the Hebrews scattered throughout the Mediterranean in Roman times, according to Sand's first book).

Dr. Sands is a historian at Tel Aviv University in Israel. He is an Israeli who recognizes that the modern narrative being promoted and pushed concerning Israel is inaccurate and perhaps detrimental to the nation of Israel. He sees peace with the Palestinians as the only path that can secure Israel's future. His writing separates the myth from the reality, giving an accurate historical perspective.

Perfetto

Jewish Israeli historian Shlomo Sand's research into the origin of the concept of Israel as a Jewish homeland follows his research into the actual origin of (most of) the Jewish people today. These should be required reading for all those who are passionate about this issue.

Enfin la vérité dite par un autochtone sur la réalité de cet état, On a souvent été bassonés de contre vérités, que le mérite de l'auteur s'en trouve décuplé et son courage aussi de contrer un courant dévastateur.

This is an extremely well researched and elegantly written book. The story with supporting theories and arguments is rolled out with with robust vigour and delightful threads of humour and irony which make the reading delightful." The Invention Of The Land Of Israel" is a very valuable contribution to this field of enquiry. The references to the vast literature that he has mastered in the putting together of this book makes me want to explore these sources myself and acquire something of the expertise that the author shows.I am also reading "The Invention of the Jewish People" which is also just wonderful. Waiting in the wings I have also "On THe Nation and the 'Jewish People'" to look forward to.

A "Must Read" book for everyone, especially the ones who turn blind eye to the politics of the Zionist..