My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel

My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel is a 2013 work of historical nonfiction by Israeli author and journalist Ari Shavit. It was a New York Times Bestseller in 2013. Shavit’s book explains the history of Zionism in Palestine: its triumphs and tragedies, the creation of the Israeli state, Palestinian and Middle Eastern conflicts, and assessments of both Israeli and Jewish futures. Shavit combines Zionist history with first-hand reflections on pivotal moments. He addresses Israel’s accomplishments and misdeeds and argues for the legitimacy of the Jewish state of Israel.

Shavit begins My Promised Land by describing his great-grandfather’s 1897 Zionist expedition from Britain to Palestine. Many European Jews migrated to Palestine during the first half of the 20th century. As their population increased, they improved the land and the region’s economy, but their growing regional power increased hostilities with Arab neighbors. For much of the early 20th century Jews and Arabs lived together in Palestine peaceably, but in 1936 violence erupted, and it has never abated. After World War II, the United Nations implemented a partition plan dividing Palestine into two sovereign states: Israel for Jews and Palestine for Arabs.

Israel’s post-World War II history is marked by frequent wars with neighboring countries and clashes of violence with its Palestinian neighbors. Both groups deny Israel’s legitimacy. Israel exacerbated these tensions with its construction of occupying settlements in Palestinian territories. The settlements are one of the world’s last colonial enterprises and weaken Israel’s standing in the international community.

Israel’s strong military, nuclear capability, booming economy, and relationships with Western powers ensure its security, but this situation will not last, Shavit argues. Israel will not forever be the only regional power with nuclear weapons, it will not forever maintain strong relationships with Western powers if it continues its colonialist expansionist regime, and the country’s internal stability will not last forever. Zionists have ingeniously achieved the impossible, thrived in a hostile land, and created an enviable society in a short time. To survive, Israel must mend its fractured society, reunite its national effort, and continue innovating as few other nations have.

My Promised Land is a highly personal review of Israel’s difficult past, as well as a diagnostic of its current situation. Shavit argues that a moral imperative exists for advocating Israel’s continued protection.