The Settlers

by Gadi Taub

The controversy over settlements in the occupied territories is a far more intractable problem for Israel than is widely perceived, Gadi Taub observes in this illuminating book. The clash over settlement is no mere policy disagreement, he maintains, but rather a struggle over the very meaning of Zionism. The book presents an absorbing study of religious settlers’ ideology and how it has evolved in response to Israel’s history of wars, peace efforts, assassination, the pull-out from Gaza, and other tumultuous events.

Taub tracks the efforts of religious settlers to reconcile with mainstream Zionism but concludes that the project cannot succeed. A new Zionist consensus recognizes that Israel must pull out of the occupied territories or face an unacceptable alternative: the dissolution of Israel into a binational state with a Jewish minority.

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

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

טאוב למד בבית הספר התיכון שליד האוניברסיטה בירושלים. בצעירותו, הגיש בערוץ הראשון את רצועת תכניות הילדים וכן מספר תכניות בגלי צה"ל, בהן "ציפורי לילה". למד לתואר ראשון ושני בהיסטוריה באוניברסיטת תל אביב, ולתואר דוקטור באוניברסיטת רטגרס בניו ג'רזי. עבודת הדוקטורט שלו עוסקת בהגותו של הפילוסוף האמריקני ריצ'רד רורטי.
ערך את כתב העת לספרות ולחברה "מקרוב" יחד עם נסים קלדרון, וכותב קבוע במדור הדעות של ידיעות אחרונות. הוא משתתף קבוע בתוכנית "מועצת החכמים" בערוץ 10, ומשמש כחבר בוועד המנהל של מרכז מציל"ה למחשבה ציונית, יהודית, ליברלית והומניסטית. הוא מלמד בבית הספר למדיניות ציבורית ובחוג לתקשורת באוניברסיטה העברית.
כתב גם ספרי ילדים. על ספרו "המכשפה מרחוב מלצ'ט 3" זכה בפרס זאב לספרות ילדים ונוער לשנת תשס"א (2000-2001), ועובד לסרט טלוויזיה בבימוייה של דינה ריקליס.

Reviews

[Sivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful and concise book about the history of Israeli settlement and the differences between secular and religious Zionism. Slight tendency to have run-on / very long sentences, which is why it's 4 stars instead of 5. It honestly did not occur much, but enough for me to notice and be annoyed. So not the strongest writer, but powerful writing, if that makes sense. Learned a lot. Certainly my favorite read of the semester.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should warn you that this review will probably bore you (as this book would) if you're not interested in Israeli politics and religious vs. secular Zionism. I am, so I found it pretty fascinating.

I always thought of myself as a religious Zionist, although my understanding of the term before I lived in Israel was somewhat limited. This book served to further complicate my understanding of religious Zionism. It explained religious Zionism's roots in the philosophy of Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook, the different direction taken by his son Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook, and how that direction ultimately influenced the actions of Baruch Goldstein, Yigal Amir (Rabin's killer), and the intense reaction by settlers to Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza.

To vastly oversimplify, Taub explains that secular Zionism is about maintaining Jewish sovereignty in the state of Israel while religious Zionism (at least the version espoused by the settlers) has become focused on settling all parts of the land of Israel as part of the Messianic process. These two goals, once compatible, have become a conflict of interest.

Though Taub's viewpoint appears critical of the settlers, he does express sympathy and understanding at times and presents a (mostly) nuanced picture of their position. His language was convoluted and not always easy to read, which may or may not be a function of the translation. The book was short enough, though, that anyone with a strong interest in the subject should find it readable.

[Stewie Eskridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was easy to read and got me hooked because it opened my mind up to different perspectives on something I thought I already knew a lot about. Showed the Zionists perspectives on why they thought they were entitled to land in the Middle East and broke down the arguments from there. Also put me onto good information about this mass killing I never heard about before called the Goldstein massacre also known as the Cave of the Patriachs massacre. This American Zionist named Baruch Goldstein killed 29 people, some as young as 12 years old during a Jewish holiday that overlapped with Ramadan while they were worshipping in a mosque on February 25, 1994. I’m glad that this weird dude was beaten to death by survivors.

[Zach Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

15 years old and written just at the beginning of Netanyahu’s return to power, so worth bearing in mind. The thesis that settlement and secular Zionism are opposed and that the former is a danger to Israeli sovereignty is definitely interesting… I’d be interested in his views now after October 7 and the reality of there now being nearly 1 million West Bank settlers…

[أحمد الدين · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book to understand the actual reason for settlement and the religion reasons for it and how politicians are using it

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating, because I have never read a detailed account about the different types of settlers and their differing political/historical/religious ideology. I found this book to be extremely difficult to read though, and best attempted only by someone with a serious interest the subject and many other related books read under their belt.

[Wendy]

Thank you to Anne, Ghada and others in the Middle East group for the great discussions around this topic. I am hoping that this book will help me understand the history of the Zionist movement, etc.

[Michale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some small hope.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good history for someone not immersed in the issues. What is Zionism? Tough question....