Yakov M. Rabkin, “What Is Modern Israel?” (U. Chicago/Pluto Press, 2016)
New Books in Middle Eastern Studies
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The Christian Roots of Zionism
The idea of creating a state for the Hebrews, as they used to say in the 19th century, is an idea that was formulated by English-speaking Protestant Christians and Angelicals. And it goes back to the 17th century, there are important intellectuals like Joseph Christian,. Britain in the 18th century, Lord Shaspary in 19th century... So there's a whole background of tremendous attention to the Holy Land. As I think Gershengornberg, an Israeli writer once put it, it's a play in five acts and we disappear in the fourth one.
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