The Invention of the Land of Israel: From Holy Land to Homeland
Sand is an Israeli academic with a talent for outraging holders of mainstream Jewish opinions both within and outside of Israel while providing fodder for anti-Zionists. In his previous work, The Invention of the Jewish People (2010), he described the Jewish people as an artificial construct grafted upon disparate groups adhering to a religious confession. Here he builds on that premise, asserting that centuries-long Jewish attachment to “Eretz Israel” is a myth perpetrated by Zionists and Christian fundamentalists beginning in the late nineteenth century. Although Sand has some useful things to say about the fostering of a national identity, this is basically a one-sided polemic utilizing intellectually sloppy arguments. If one follows his criteria for “peoplehood,” one could exclude Arabs, Kurds, and many other groups. In “demolishing” opposing arguments, he takes statements by extremists and presents them as standard views. Sand’s real agenda seems to be to change current Israeli policy towards Palestinians. That may be a worthy goal, but it deserves a better advocate than Sand. --Jay Freeman