Zealots For Zion

The peace agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization gives us hope for the future of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, but no one expects the transition to be easy. Who are the Jewish zealots who care so deeply about retaining that land for their own? Robert I. Friedman, a prize-winning journalist, takes a hard, close look at the legacy of the controversial policy of building settlements in the Occupied Territories.

This is a new release of the original 1931 edition.

Lords of the Land tells the tragic story of Jewish settlement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In the aftermath of the 1967 war and Israel's devastating victory over its Arab neighbors, catastrophe struck both the soul and psyche of the state of Israel. Based on years of research, and written by one of Israel's leading historians and journalists, this involving narrative focuses on the settlers themselves -- often fueled by messianic zeal but also inspired by the original Zionist settlers -- and shows the role the state of Israel has played in nurturing them through massive economic aid and legal sanctions. The occupation, the authors argue, has transformed the very foundations of Israel's society, economy, army, history, language, moral profile, and international standing. "The vast majority of the 6.5 million Israelis who live in their country do not know any other reality," the authors write. "The vast majority of the 3.5 million Palestinians who live in the regions of their occupied land do not know any other reality. The prolonged military occupation and the Jewish settlements that are perpetuating it have toppled Israeli governments and have brought Israel's democracy and its political culture to the brink of an abyss."

Temple Mount is believed by some Jews to be the locus of their ancient Temple. Known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), this site is home to two mosques, one of which is the third most holy shrine in all of Islam. Jewish fundamentalists want to destroy the mosques on Temple Mount and rebuild the Temple. Christian apocalypticists are financing and supporting their efforts. If the mosques are destroyed, Islamic fundamentalists have vowed to destroy Israel, resulting in the possibility of nuclear war. This book addresses the idea that the recent rise of militant Christian, Jewish, and Muslim fundamentalisms and their interaction are endangering peace in the Middle East. It fully examines the thesis that apocalypticist fundamentalists—Christians in America, Jews in Israel and America—are working together to hasten the coming of the Messiah by instigating a Holy War in the Middle East. Several chapters focus on three U.S. political figures—Jerry Falwell, Ronald Reagan, and Pat Robertson—who helped bring Christian fundamentalism into the mainstream of American politics. One chapter tells of Jewish preparations for rebuilding the Temple on Temple Mount. Other chapters document the rise of religious fundamentalism in Israel since 1967, Haram al-Sharif–Temple Mount crises involving Christian-Jewish cooperation, and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. Separate chapters are devoted to Israel’s nuclear program and political psychology, and the fact that nuclear weapons are leaving Russia and finding their way to Islamic nations and Islamic terrorists.

The multidisciplinary anthology Religious Fundamentalism in the Age of Pandemic provides deep insights concerning the current impact of Covid-19 on various religious groups and believers around the world. Based on contributions of well-known scholars in the field of Religious Fundamentalism, the contributors offer about a window into the origins of religious fundamentalism and the development of these movements as well as the creation of the category itself. Further recommendations regarding specific (fundamentalist) religious groups and actors and their possible development within Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism round up the discussion about the rise of Religious Fundamentalism in the Age of Pandemic.