If you're keen on getting a fresh perspective on the history of modern Israel, then "My Promised Land" is an absolute gem. I can't recommend it enough!
The author of 'My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel' has been widely praised for his candidness about the state of affairs in Israel. However, in my opinion, the reviews were greatly exaggerated. I understand that Shavit has some internal conflicts regarding his homeland, but he excessively idealizes the establishment and colonization of Israel, failing to address the harsh realities that have resulted from these idealized narratives for both Israelis and Palestinians.
The audiobook 'My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel' appeared to heavily focus on the Palestinian perspective without recognizing Israel's intrinsic right to exist and its efforts to establish peaceful coexistence, which unfortunately were rejected by the Palestinians.
I'll make sure to mention to the Rabbi at my synagogue in upstate New York that I've finished reading this book. He might brush it off, saying he doesn't want to bother discussing it since it was written by a left-wing Israeli. This actually highlights one of the issues that Shavit points out in the book – the divisive influence of Orthodox religiosity and the lack of communication between different groups of Jewish Israeli citizens. "My Promised Land" covers a wide range of topics related to the history of Zionism, both positive and negative, hopeful and disheartening. The underlying message is that Zionism is inherently contradictory as it involved granting a land to a displaced people by displacing another people. Shavit, who has a deep love for Israel, doesn't see a clear solution to this contradiction. He believes that without Israel, the Jewish people will gradually fade away. He acknowledges that the Israeli settlements pose a threat to Israel's position in the West, but also recognizes that if Israel were to withdraw from these settlements, they would likely be taken over by various forms of Arab terrorism, just as it happened in Gaza. Shavit's hope for a healthier civil society in Israel lies in the integration of Ultra Orthodox Jews into the secular population and the full embracing of Palestinian citizens by Israelis. As for whether Israel will survive in the face of a nuclear Middle East, Shavit doesn't provide a definitive answer. His discussion of Netanyahu in this context is quite intriguing. It's a shame that there isn't a follow-up to "My Promised Land" to delve further into these topics.
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