In the Land of Israel

by Amos Oz

A snapshot of Israel and the West Bank in the 1980s, through the voices of its inhabitants, from the National Jewish Book Award–winning author of Judas.   Notebook in hand, renowned author and onetime kibbutznik Amos Oz traveled throughout his homeland to talk with people—workers, soldiers, religious zealots, aging pioneers, desperate Arabs, visionaries—asking them questions about Israel’s past, present, and future. Observant or secular, rich or poor, native-born or new immigrant, they shared their points of view, memories, hopes, and fears, and Oz recorded them.   What emerges is a distinctive portrait of a changing nation and a complex society, supplemented by Oz’s own observations and reflections, that reflects an insider’s view of a country still forming its own identity. In the Land of Israel is “an exemplary instance of a writer using his craft to come to grips with what is happening politically and to illuminate certain aspects of Israeli society that have generally been concealed by polemical formulas” (The New York Times).

Genres: Israel, Nonfiction, History, Jewish, Middle East, Politics, Judaism

262 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Amos Oz (Hebrew: עמוס עוז‎; born Amos Klausner) was an Israeli writer, novelist, journalist and intellectual. He was also a professor of literature at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba. He was regarded as Israel's most famous living author.

Oz's work has been published in 42 languages in 43 countries, and has received many honours and awards, among them the Legion of Honour of France, the Goethe Prize, the Prince of Asturias Award in Literature, the Heinrich Heine Prize and the Israel Prize. In 2007, a selection from the Chinese translation of A Tale of Love and Darkness was the first work of modern Hebrew literature to appear in an official Chinese textbook.

Since 1967, Oz had been a prominent advocate of a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oz is an outstanding writer, whether he is writing literature, memoir or journalistic essays, he manages to portray characters and events in all of their multilayered levels of complexity. In this book, he examines Israeli and Palestinian society during the 1980s at the height of the war in Lebanon.

In this journalistic venture, Oz travels around Israel and interviews Israelis and Palestinians from all walks of life and political persuasions. In the first five chapters, he provides background on each setting followed a more or less verbatim account of what his respondents said and how they said it.

Oz is one of the founders of Israel's peace movement, Peace Now, and in the sixth chapter, he eloquently explains his views on the need to end the occupation and form two states. His arguments are grounded in and his moral philosophy and a compassionate pragmatism that ring true today.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was by no means excited about having to read this for a class in college, but i found it to be a phenomenal, page-turning piece of non-fiction. Though it is dated (over 25 years old now!) it still has a lot to offer readers. More than any textbook, Oz describes the people and places of Israel so vividly you begin to feel as if you are visiting yourself. It was undeniably helpful to me, an American Christian who never really studied Israel, in understanding the complex world of Israeli politics. Moreover, it helped me to see the extent to which Judaism was present in Israeli life. He did a great job of giving Arabs a fair portrayal and a voice. Occasionally I had a hard time believing Oz didn't make these characters up!

[Tymciolina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spadkobiercy judaizmu.

Ortodoksi i ateiści,  muzealnicy i zwolennicy postępu, orędownicy pokoju i głosiciele polityki siły. Konserwatyści i miłośnicy zachodniego humanizmu. Oz dał dojść do głosu wszystkim. Nie modelował ich wypowiedzi. Pytał. Pozwolił płynąć potokowi słów. Słuchał. Z nim słuchalam ja i czułam się jakbym tam była z nimi.

Dzięki tak przyjętym założeniom oraz geniuszowi literackiemu Oza ta krótka książeczka, napisana przeszło 40 lat temu czyni więcej dla zrozumienia dzisiejszego Izraela, kwestii Palestyny, kształtu Knesetu niż uczone monografie i elaboraty.

Bo naród to przeróżne, ścierające się jednostki, których Oz wysłuchał:

- Jest sprawiedliwość, ale nad sprawiedliwością jest rzeczywistość.

- Nawet jeśli pewnego dnia obie strony zrezygnują z "ziemi obiecanej", nie  nastąpi za żadne skarby kompromis ani rezygnacja z prawa do uchodzenia za ofiary. Z przyjemności bycia prześladowanym. Z gorzko slodkiego ciepłego poczucia, że "cały świat jest przeciwko nam", "obcy tego nie zrozumieją", z wizerunku drobnego Dawida, który zmierzył się z kwiożerczym Goliatem. Zarówno Izrealczycy jak i Palestyńczycy będą zapewne kurczowo trzymać się tych płaczliwych lecz satysfakcjonujących emocji.

- Tak czy owak nigdy nas nie pokochają, ale przynajmniej będą się nas bać.

I wiele, wiele innych słów i poglądów. Tylko ich przekrój pozwala spleść poszarpane nitki w całość.

[Paweł Czech · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ta książka poruszyła coś, o czym nie miałem pojęcia, że we mnie jest.

Wybitne, szczere do bólu i nader aktualne (mimo że świętowały właśnie 30 lat!) reportaże.

Gorąco polecam!! 10/10

[MaRysia (ostatnia_strona) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Te reportaże pokazują że była kiedyś nadzieja na pokój 😔

[Magdalena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in Polish and English.
It’s troubling to witness escalating acts of violence happening in Israel. One ponders the origins of the conflict and wonders if any solutions can be offered. Quite unexpectedly the recent events coincided with my reading of Amos Oz’s book and helped me understand certain attitudes on both sides. Although written at the beginning of the 1980s, it is a still a very poignant portrayal of the land of Israel and its citizens. Oz talks to but mostly listens to both Palestinians and Israelis and attempts to understand the roots of the conflict between both nations. He’s always open-minded, respectful, and frank. He transcribes dozens of conversations he has and jots down multiple points of view. Always trying to comprehend the interlocutor, never judging. Although he finishes his English edition with a pretty optimistic message about possible future peace, in retrospect, sadly, we know that the solution had never been at hand.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is composed of a series of interviews Oz has conducted with Israelis from different walks of life. All of them are insightfully presented and illuminating of certain aspects of Israel's political and social turmoil; a few of them are frightening to read for the stark and brutal world view the interviewees hold -- and I do mean frightening.

Another thing that was really impressive about this book was that the author did not make any attempt to explain Israel's complicated political scene to the reader. When you think about it, perhaps the reason is that to do so would inevitably be to take sides in the various debates about the nature of the country. Instead, he presents himself openly as a participant in (rather than an "impartial" presenter of) those debates -- an uncommonly passionate and committed participant. But then this books presents an Israel that is full of uncommonly passionate and committed participants in debates that have relevance far beyond Israel.

Fascinating reading.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read if, like me, you're fascinated by listening to the polemics of the Arab-Israeli conflict (ie: the New York Times jocks it). Otherwise, nothing amazing - just an extremely skilled journalist trotting around Israel interviewing people about their beliefs. I could have lived with a bit more editorializing, because presumably it's just the author paraphrasing discussion, and Amos Oz is my boy... my dovish Jew boy... uh... yeah this book is pretty good.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this break from fiction, Oz travels Israel and the occupied territories allowing the people he encounters to talk about their feelings on "the situation." Oz hardly speaks at all and lets his interviewees rant and rave as much as the please and its refreshing because we are hearing the opinions from all over the socio-political spectrum here. The setting is 1982, so while those speaking are still raw from the first war with Lebanon.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most insightful books I ever read. It really gets into the psyche of Israelis and Palestinians without an objective. These interviews by Amos Oz from 1982 are as relevant today as they every were. I highly recommend this book to anyone that has an interest in really understanding the Jewish and Arab psyche in relation to the middle east.

[Pola Dzon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trudno mi ocenić tę książkę.
Literacko - wspaniała, 5/5.
Treściowo - wiedziałam, że będzie ciężko czytać ją zaraz po „Palestynie” R.Khalidi, mimo to doceniam za świetne pokazanie różnorodności izraelskiego społeczeństwa.
Redakcyjnie - katastrofa: GDZIE SĄ PRZYPISY?! Gdzie jakiś sensowny wstęp/wprowadzenie? Zastanawiam się, dla kogo Czarne ja wydało? Dla Pawła Smoleńskiego - to jasne. Ale dla jakiego czytelnika? Przecież to popularna seria reportaży, raczej nie dla ekspertów i pokolenia, które śledziło wiadomości z regionu na początku lat osiemdziesiątych. Współczesny czytelnik, nawet bardzo zainteresowany tematem, ma do wyboru, albo prześliznąć się po tekstach, czego osobiście nie znoszę, albo czytać z telefonem w drugiej ręce i ciągle coś sprawdzać, doczytywać, żeby zrozumieć kontekst.
Wniosek: piękna i frustrująca lektura.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parę prawd o Izraelu i Palestynie, i parę bardziej uniwersalnych, o wojnie, pokoju, nacjonalizmie, sąsiedztwie. Przedstawia problem Izraela z wielu perspektyw, właściwie wszystkie są wciąż aktualne po ponad 40 latach

"Jakie to wielkie osiągnięcie? Że staliśmy się tacy jak inne narody? Przecież także teraz nie jesteście jak inne narody, dawno staliście się od nich dużo gorsi!"
"... cała ta sprawa z panstwem to jest gojim naches, przyjemność dla gojów, bez naches."
"Tak jak nie cierpicie Żydów z krajów arabskich, tak kochacie Arabów."
"Pytam, co będzie po wojnie.
— Następna wojna — kwituje Naif — A potem następna. Będzie jeszcze sto wojen.
— A po wszystkich wojnach?
(...)
"

[Paulina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kim jest autor, pisarz, reportażysta?
Świadkiem rzeczywistości, którą filtruje przez swoją osobistą perspektywę?
Czy twórcą przestrzeni, do której zaprasza rozmówców, przysłuchując się im z ciekawością, nie ingerując, nie pouczając, nie korygując? Jedynie zadając pytania.

Amoz Oz podąża tym drugim nurtem, który budzi w czytelnikach intensywne, często skrajne reakcje.

Ta książka to zbiór krótkich reportaży. Rozmów z mieszkańcami Izraela w 1982 roku, eksplorujących ich rzeczywistość - konflikty wewnętrzne i zewnętrzne, historię, religię, politykę.

Ten barwny wachlarz perspektyw podszywa trauma pokoleniowa i kolektywna. Rozczarowanie Zachodem i wielopokoleniowym doświadczeniem diaspory, wojnami, Holocaustem, pogromami. Jest też przestrzeń na traumę Palestyńczyków - wygnanie, konflikt zbrojny, kryzys tożsamości.

Najbardziej poruszyła mnie wypowiedź Abu Chaleda, palestyńskiego pisarza, w rozdziale "Świt":
"(...) Jesteśmy dwoma narodami podobnymi do siebie. (...) Nasze losy są ze sobą związane. Czy się z tego cieszę? Nie. Bynajmniej. Wy też się z tego nie cieszycie. Ale trudno, jesteśmy połączeni. Wy jesteście naszym losem. My jesteśmy waszym. Nasze i wasze kłopoty trwają tu od kilkudziesięciu lat, i to nas związało. I tyle. Albo będziemy dalej upierać się każdy przy swoim, aż zniszczymy siebie nawzajem, albo uznamy nawzajem swoje istnienie i tę naszą więź, i może to położy kres cierpieniu. Może."

Oba narody są połączone miłością do ziemi i traumą z nią związaną. Praca z taką traumą jest ciężka i wymaga czasu. Może dlatego dzisiaj klimat i ton rozmów w Izraelu nie zmienił się znacząco od 1982.

Na ostatnich stronach książki, autor dzieli się swoją perspektywą. "Być może ta opowieść to nie opowieść krwi i ognia, ani zbawienia i pociechy, lecz opowieść o próbie powolnego zdrowienia. Może nie istnieje droga na skróty."

W moim odczuciu, oba narody - palestyński i izraelski, ale przede wszystkim izraelski - nowo powstały, niesamowicie zróżnicowany etnicznie, wyznaniowo, światopoglądowo - postawiły wokół siebie wysokie mury, których zaciekle broniły. Broniły z pozycji strachu, lęku i upiorów przeszłości. Proces uleczania traumy, pomógłby im otworzyć się na innych przy zachowaniu określonych granic, bronionych z pozycji siły, niezależności, z szacunkiem do przeciwnika, bez wyolbrzymiania jego win.

Jak więc postrzega Amos Oz ówczesny stan Izraela? "Nie "zmartwychwstali Machabeausze", lecz środziemnomorski naród o gorącym sercu i temperamencie, który wciąż się uczy, w znoju, w chaosie zgiełku i gniewu, jak wyzwolić się stopniowo zarówno od przerażających koszmarów przeszłości, jak i starożytnych, i nowych wizji wielkości."

Od 1982 roku ta powolna i mozolna nauka trwa. Nie tracę nadziei na uzdrowienie relacji izraelsko-palestyńskich.

[Ami Kopstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

What Oz heard at different corners of Israel in 1982

This book is a collection of streams of consciousness that the author listened to and reconstructed with his own commentaries and deliberation and published in the weekend editions of Davar the daily paper that was the mouthpiece of the original party of Ben Gurion.
In of themselves these independent windows into the existence and views of Israelis from different walks of life is well written, interesting and very educational. Clearly a caleidoscope of life.

The author's thoughts and vew points which he put to those he engaged did not affect any and obviously not very popular or accepted neither then or 30 years later.
All they accomplished was to bring to light a deep split in Israeli society rather than build consensus. The Israeli left kept losing credibility and strength and bled almost to death.
Their tactics and philosophy have turned off the majority of ISRAELIS.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of Story, some parts more challenging to read than others, particularly because of the intermingled Israeli and Palestinian political and historical references that I'm beginning to grasp. I know I'll re-read it someday, both to savor my favorite sections -- Oz in a cafe in Ramallah speaking with two young Arab men while a third older man sits quietly until the end, with writers for an Arab newspaper in East Jerusalem, and bearing witness to the story of an old pioneer who grew up under the Ottomans and saw his country change in unimaginable ways -- and to try again to absorb the maddening, fascinating, near stream-of-consciousness accounts from settlers, fundamentalists, and idealists. My edition has an updated author note from 1993 (the book was originally published in 1983), and I'd love to read another updated note from Oz for the 21st century.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

On it’s surface maybe this book, which is largely comprised of rambly transcriptions of interviews, followed occasionally by Oz’s rambly personal thoughts, shouldn’t be awarded five stars. But this is my rodeo. :P

And I remain fascinated by Oz’s z”l nonfiction focus. His obsession with zealotry and extremism (near the end of the book, he catalogues receiving flack from his more moderate neighbors living within Israel’s Green Line.) I think this also speaks to how he believes any peace process between Israelis and Palestinians might go. He was an ardent supporter of the two-state solution and “making peace with one’s enemies,” but his emphasis was a bit on “the enemies” part.

“This conflict can be resolved through compromise, through a partition, but not by simply having a nice cup of coffee with my enemy,” he writes. “Rivers of coffee cannot diminish the tragedy of two peoples loving the same homeland. I don’t need to go somewhere for a tete a tete with my Palestinian colleagues to get to like them—I like them, and yet they are my enemies. And it is precisely because they are my enemies that I believe I need to make peace with them.”

This book isn’t so much about fostering peace as it is about gaining an understanding. In the early 1980s, as a reporter, Oz goes to the fringes in Israel and the West Bank. He interviews Haredim—the ultra-orthodox—and nonreligious settlers. He went to both the Ashkenazim (European) and Sephardic (kind of a catch all for Spanish, North African and Middle East, also referred to as “Mizrahim”) Jews. He also interviews some Palestinians. His interviewees were almost always men in societal constructs he more or less described as patriarchal. Most opinions were outsized and bombastic; his subjects created highly binary worlds for themselves. There’s a lot of insider baseball politics, specific references at rapid fire, which Oz doesn’t break the narrative to explain. It’s definitely a book for people who already live—physically or mentally—in this space.

It's also a book that was penned in the 1980s, with an addendum from ten years later. Already, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict has changed so much. Though Israelis were reeling from the first Lebanon war, the settlements were still a small enterprise in the 1980s; Yitzhak Rabin was still alive and ushering in an age of hope in the early 1990s. Maybe the only thing that feels the same is the fanaticism. :/

And it's possible what I love most about Oz’s nonfiction is how he lived on the knife’s edge. He gave space for all of these fraught, deeply emotional beliefs. Then he tackled his own fraught, deeply emotional beliefs, but they felt like more of a salve because he was more willing to struggle with himself, I think, than any of his subjects here. There was a segment on nationalism, the good and the bad of it, that I loved so much I quoted on Facebook. In that vein, I respect that he wasn’t singing “kumbaya”, either. He was trying to find something lasting, in a land with very high stakes.

Were his conclusions about the future always the “right” ones? Probably not. But I respect his mindset and the challenges he embraced. May his memory be a blessing, and he still has a lot to teach the rest of us.

[Kuna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trudno mi uwierzyć, że ci wszyscy ludzie faktycznie powiedzieli wszystkie te rzeczy. Każda wypowiedź brzmi jak powiedziana tym samym głosem (autora? tłumaczki?). Tym bardziej zważając na fakt, że rozmowy nie były nagrywane, a jedynie zapisywane ich „najważniejsze fragmenty” - nie dziwią mnie komentarze w uwagach końcowych, w których respondenci uważają że „wsadzono im słowa w usta”.

[Matthew Petti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review at: https://www.pettimatthew.com/p/amos-o...

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. Nicely written even through the translation and a fascinating walk through the many factions that make up Israel in the '80's. He takes the reader through the experiences of the second and first generation Sephardic and Mizrachi Jews and their resentment of Ashkenazi domination of the Israeli political scene. He explores the Settler movement, the peaceniks who hate them, and the Israeli Arabs and Palestinian Arabs who advocate war, peace, and everything in between. The book is really a collection of interviews, conversations, and monologues on what Israel was, is, and should be, woven together by the author giving context to the speakers in question.

There are some wonderful quotes in this book, enjoy a taste:

"Listen, friend, a people that let iself be slaughtered and destroyed, a people that let its children be made into soap and its women into lampshades, is worse criminal than its tormentors. Worse than the Nazis. To live without fists, without fangs and claws, in a world of wolves is a crime worse than murder. Fact: Himmler and Heydrich and Eichmann's grandchildren live well, on the fat of the land, and even preach to us while they're at it, and the grandchildren of the sainted rebbes of Eastern Europe and those humanistic, pacifistic Jews who philosophize so prettily in Prague and Berlin-- they can't preach to anyone. They're gone, never to come back." (94)

"Is it possible that Hitler not only killed the Jews but also infected them with his poison?" (98)

"I ask Yisrael Harel where he thinks the major barricade stands in the Land of Israel right now. He is silent for a long while before he replies, 'With a number of reservations and only for the sake of brevity, I'll put it this way: the major barricade is the one that divides the Jews from the Israelis. The Jews are those who want to live, to one degree or another, in accordance with the Bible. The Israelis pay lip service, but in essence they aspire to be a completely new people here, a satellite of Western culture. For many of those Israelis the Land of Israel is no more than a 'biographical accident'. As it happens, they make a decent living here, but if they were offered a better job somewhere else, abroad, they'd simply pack up and move. Eretz Yisrael means very little to them.'" (115)

"....any ideology that does not contain at least a grain of belief in the absolute is destined to decay." (117)

"Were I to skip directly to the bottom line and put it dramatically, I would formulate it this way: You people are convinced that to relinquish Judea and Samaria would endanger the existence of the State of Israel. I think that the annexation of these regions endangers the existence of the State of Israel" (128)

[Jim Leffert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book from 1983 presents a series of interviews and discussions that Oz conducted with people with various points of view, including Jews, Palestinian Arabs, and even a Christian cleric, regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the future of the State of Israel.

Other excellent books, such as My Promised Land by Arie Shavit (see also Like Dreamers by Yossi Klein-Halevi) provide a more up-to-date perspective on these questions. Oz’s book is nonetheless worth reading for three reasons: 1) deploying his writerly skills, Oz does a wonderful job of bringing diverse perspectives to life on the page; 2) the conversations, are helpful for understanding the state’s history and, to some degree, are relevant to issues today; and, perhaps most importantly, 3) Oz presents an impassioned argument for a liberal, democratic, secular vision of the Jewish State. Responding to fervent right wing secular and religious views that Israel’s mission as a Jewish State is to dominate the Arab population within Israel, rule over the Palestinians on the West Bank, and to incorporate all of the territories occupied in 1967 into a Greater Israel, Oz presents an eloquent and forceful counter-argument.

The paperback edition includes an afterward written in the early 1990’s.

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nhw.livejournal.com/1097337.html[return][return]A very interesting account of attitudes in Israel in the winter of 1982, just after the first invasion of Lebanon; the leftish author mainly reports on right-wing voters who disagree with him, though he has a couple of short chapters with Palestinians in Ramallah and Jerusalem. I must say that my main reaction, having read this en route from Switzerland to Belgium after giving a conference presentation on the Balkans and the Caucasus, is that actually the Israel / Palestine conflict is a lot less special than its protagonists like to think it is.

[Neil Jacobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book back in 1985 (in Hebrew, actually) and I recently re-read it. In late 1982, the author visited and interviewed Israelis of various backgrounds (Arabs, Jews, new immigrants, old immigrants, civilian, military, religious, secular) and had them share their thoughts. He did so without judgement but he probed and clarified to ensure that their ideas were clearly enunciated. What is most interesting and distressing is that despite the 30 year interval, the situation, politics, positions and arguments remain the same.

[Riv Begun · Rating 5 out of 5]

"For some time I have been hearing something like this from Western Intellectuals: Well, the Palestinians, they have suffered a lot, they've been oppressed and humiliated, they are a part of the Third world after all so it's only natural for them to become a bit violent" what else do you expect? The Jews, on the other hand, they've suffered so much, they've been oppressed and discriminated against, how on earth can they, having experienced all this, behave violently? Now this, I believe, is giving double standards a bad name. "

[Marjorie Towers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminded me of Steinbeck's Travels with Charlie. The author travels to different cities in Israel and interviews (or in some cases just overhears) the people living there. And Oz is just as good a writer. Excellent insight into the Israeli-Arab conflict. i read this as assigned reading for an upcoming trip to Israel. It definitely was worth the read and helped me to understand the situation in a way I never have before.

[Dillon Tatum]

Excellent book, written around the time of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982...
Oz is a journalist who travels throughout the West Bank talking to Israeli settlers about life, Zionism, the Arabs, and War.
It demonstrates just how divided the Israeli's themselves are, and reminds us that no nation is truly cohesive, and that the "Israeli View" is non-existent in those terms.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking to learn more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this book, along with I Saw Ramallah is a great start. This book takes you through the Israeli's perspective on the situation and how people's opinions differ in why this is a problem and what should be done. A must-read to understand these cultural and political differences.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hegel said 'The march of God in the world, that is what the state is.' In the Land of Israel is an exploration of a state created self-consciously, with the aim of being the march of God in the world. Amos Oz drifts and wanders to/through different communities, institutions and neighbourhoods, finding anger and fear and prejudice, and also deep felt conviction and humanity.

[Juanjo Dolz Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro de artículos de Amos Oz a pesar de tener ya sus años, se publicó en 1983, sigue siendo muy interesante de leer y sorprende lo relevantes que son aún muchos de los problemas que disecciona. El libro consta de una serie de entrevistas anónimas (en su mayoría) a gente de Israel. Recomendado a cualquiera interesado en Israel/Oriente Medio.

[Jeffrey Spitz Cohan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amoz Oz wrote "In the Land of Israel" 25 years ago, but 90 percent of his observations and the observations of his interviewees are still highly relevant today.

Even if only 50 percent were relevant, this book would still be an important read for anyone who cares about Israel and/or Judaism.

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously one of the best books I've ever read. Mr. Oz paints a fascinating picture of the most extreme points of view present in Israeli society and along the way, makes some excellent points about nation building, what it means to be Jewish and the responsibility that both entail.