Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Unholy Land: In Search of Hope in Israel/Palestine

Unholy Land: In Search of Hope in Israel/Palestine

Raczka, Witt

Paperback

IslamJudaismIsrael & Palestine History

ISBN10: 0761866728
ISBN13: 9780761866725
Publisher: Hamilton Books
Published: Nov 30 2015
Pages: 418
Weight: 1.35
Height: 1.10 Width: 6.00 Depth: 8.80
Language: English

Traveling major highways and secondary roads, walking unpaved paths, the author recites contradictions of the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, the Holy Land. Here, religion uneasily confronts politics and democracy, sublime nature undergoes militarization, and hospitality and empathy mix with brutality, hatred and violence.

Everything becomes security: not just borders and relations with the neighbors, but also water and archaeological evidence, demography and voting Arabs. Control of holy sites, perception of illegal immigrants, separate highway networks and built-up hilltops are all viewed through the prism of threat and security. Threats proliferate, be they real or imaginary, spontaneous or politically-driven. Whether in Jerusalem, the city of the world, or in small towns, tensions are palpable between Israel's radical Jews and its Arab residents. Even within the Jewish community itself, increasingly nationalistic, animosities between ultra-Orthodox and more secular inhabitants are on the rise. Christians also feel under attack, as do moderate Palestinians from their Islamized brethren. In the occupied West Bank, Palestinian villagers confront radical settlers, often protected by Israeli soldiers, while in the isolated Gaza, Hamas imposes ever stricter rules upon its people. Not surprisingly, the Holy Land has become aplenty with both mental and physical barriers, with walls, checkpoints, no-go and firing zones.

Will rage and fear, sorrow and despair eventually trump hope? Although glimmers of hope exist--new water technology, Tel Aviv's culture of tolerance, more pressures from the international community--the author remains more pessimistic than ever, as reflected in the book's title.

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