- Hardcover: 576 pages
- Publisher: Nation Books (25 Oct 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1568583702
- ISBN-13: 978-1568583709
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.7 x 4.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 776,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'(This book is) an essential resource-exhaustively researched and vividly written.' -- New Statesman
Product Description
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. "
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a important work, its the first book to trace the history of Israeli settlements in the Occupied territories. Zertal and Eldar detail the Israeli states collaboration in the Jewish settlement drive. This has occurred via Israel's arming of Jewish settlers, the passing of laws to aid settlements, state planning of settlements locations and ploughing millions of tax payers money into settlements through loans and mortgage incentives. Furthermore, 'Lords of the land' explores the pressure that Gush Emunim and other settler movements applied to Politicians and the Civil Administration and the links that developed between the Israel Defence Force (IDF) and settlers. While the IDF initially removed settlers from certain locations, with time the Israeli Defence Force has increasingly offered a great deal of security and protection for the Jewish settlers. Despite continued public declarations by Israel that it is committed to the peace process, this book details the long established covert links between the Jewish settlers and Israeli government and how both have persistently exploited this mutually beneficial relationship to achieve the same ends - territorial expansion and the seizure of Palestinian land.
Format:Paperback
You wouldn't want to read this book as your introduction to the Middle East - you need a good grip of Israeli politics and it's key personalities, as well as the context of the settlement movement to make sense.
But if you know the background and want to really understand the first 40 years of creating Jewish-only settlements on the occupied 'West Bank' / Judea and Samaria - this book will tell you a very great deal.
Surprisingly, it's also a cracking good read, with sections being real page turners. Some of the chapters are denser and the narrative jumps around chronologically, but overall a strong, if partisan (ant-settlement) contribution to the literature of the Israel-Palestine subject.
But if you know the background and want to really understand the first 40 years of creating Jewish-only settlements on the occupied 'West Bank' / Judea and Samaria - this book will tell you a very great deal.
Surprisingly, it's also a cracking good read, with sections being real page turners. Some of the chapters are denser and the narrative jumps around chronologically, but overall a strong, if partisan (ant-settlement) contribution to the literature of the Israel-Palestine subject.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
14 reviews
60 of 67 people found the following review helpful
Important Book
5 Nov 2007
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
'Lords of the Land' is unquestionably the definitive account of the settler movement written so far. It sets out in rich detail how successive Israeli governments, including Labour ones supported this disastrous enterprise. It chronicles how Sharon and others on the Israeli right were instrumental in the enterprise. Further then that - it details how intertwined the IDF and government ministries have been with the settlers.
Particularly interesting are the sections regarding the legal mechanisms that have been used over the years for the purpose of settlers aquiring land such as the earlier attempt in the Beth El case to cloke settlements as a "security" consideration to the more sophistacted attempts to turn land in the West Bank into "state land" and ultimately then land for the settlers.
Anyone who cares about peace between Israelis and Palestinian and a two-state solution ought to read this book. Anyone who may naively have thought the settlers were brave Zionist pioneers are likely to be disappointed - if anything, the settlers represent the very opposite - a distortion of Zionism.
Particularly interesting are the sections regarding the legal mechanisms that have been used over the years for the purpose of settlers aquiring land such as the earlier attempt in the Beth El case to cloke settlements as a "security" consideration to the more sophistacted attempts to turn land in the West Bank into "state land" and ultimately then land for the settlers.
Anyone who cares about peace between Israelis and Palestinian and a two-state solution ought to read this book. Anyone who may naively have thought the settlers were brave Zionist pioneers are likely to be disappointed - if anything, the settlers represent the very opposite - a distortion of Zionism.
69 of 82 people found the following review helpful
The settlements are illegal under both international and Israeli domestic law.
13 Oct 2007
Format:Hardcover
A previous reviewer made the shocking (but incorrect) assertion that the legality of the settlements is somehow in question. She is absolutely incorrect. See Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which explicitly stipulates: "The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies."
Perhaps she should have read the footnotes of this excellent book, or just searched for the terms "prohibition on settlement of occupied territory" to see a comprehensive discussion of this question from a legal perspective.
Obviously many other people (not only the previous reviewer) may somehow fail to understand that the prohibition on settlement on occupied territory was designed specifically to prevent projects like the Nazi plans for Poland, in which large numbers of civilians were transferred to establish agricultural colonies in various areas. The prohibition is absolute and non-derogable (which means that a country can't opt out of it under certain conditions).
As such, the (il)legality of the settlements under international law is almost universally accepted, with the exception of a VERY small number of scholars seeking to justify this blatant breach of international humanitarian law (the law of war). This excellent book shows how the settlement movement has not only violated international humanitarian law, but also Israeli domestic law (see, for example, the Israeli Supreme Court decision ruling that settlements built on the land of the Palestinian village of Belin were illegal since they were built on land stolen from private owners, yet still allowing the Israeli settlers who broke into the unfinished buildings to remain in the homes).
An excellent, well-researched, and highly relevant book.
Perhaps she should have read the footnotes of this excellent book, or just searched for the terms "prohibition on settlement of occupied territory" to see a comprehensive discussion of this question from a legal perspective.
Obviously many other people (not only the previous reviewer) may somehow fail to understand that the prohibition on settlement on occupied territory was designed specifically to prevent projects like the Nazi plans for Poland, in which large numbers of civilians were transferred to establish agricultural colonies in various areas. The prohibition is absolute and non-derogable (which means that a country can't opt out of it under certain conditions).
As such, the (il)legality of the settlements under international law is almost universally accepted, with the exception of a VERY small number of scholars seeking to justify this blatant breach of international humanitarian law (the law of war). This excellent book shows how the settlement movement has not only violated international humanitarian law, but also Israeli domestic law (see, for example, the Israeli Supreme Court decision ruling that settlements built on the land of the Palestinian village of Belin were illegal since they were built on land stolen from private owners, yet still allowing the Israeli settlers who broke into the unfinished buildings to remain in the homes).
An excellent, well-researched, and highly relevant book.
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Long overdue
27 Jan 2008
Format:Hardcover
(This review is of the Hebrew edition of the book). This is a very well written and extremely well investigated book looking into one of the great tragedies of modern times. Rather than try and use the territories captured in 1967 to help solve the Palestinian refugee problem created with its establishment in 1948, Israel decided to colonize them in a way that would make it very hard ever to disengage from them. This book looks at the process through which this occurred, as well as the effects subjugating another people for the last 40 years has had on Israeli society.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
