Holy Land, Whose Land?; Modern Dilemma, Ancient Roots

Seattle, WA: Educare Press, 2002. Third printing [stated]. Hardcover. xix, [1], 326, [6] pages. Maps. Illustrations. Glossary. People in the Holy Land. Place Names. Sources. Index. Autographed sticker on front of DJ. Signed by the author on the title page. Dorothy Drummond is an educator, author, speaker, and world traveler. She is a former president of the National Council for Geographic Education, has authored three World Cultures textbooks, and has traveled widely in the Middle East. The Holy Land struggles with the continual intrusion of the past upon the present. "Holy Land, Whose Land? Modern Dilemma, Ancient Roots" investigates the tradition, history, and beliefs that underlie the deep divisions between Israelis and Palestinians. Without bias, she tells the complicated story -- both sacred and profane -- of a unique, beautiful, and tortured land. From Abraham to Arafat, the Holy Land has long been a cauldron of conflict. Holy Land, Whose Land? Modern Dilemma, Ancient Roots investigates the complex political and philosophical choices that have perpetuated the incessant rivalry between Israel and the surrounding Arab states. Holy Land examines how this region, claimed by three of the world's largest monotheistic religions, struggles with the continual intrusion of the past upon the present. This is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the complicated story, both sacred and profane, of this unique, beautiful and tortured land. Holy Land Whose Land? unravels the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A primer for the thinking person, the book connects religious and geopolitical threads of the past with the present. The author, a geographer who has traveled widely in the Middle East, lays out the wider world implications of volatile Holy Land issues. A crossroads of civilizations, the land at the eastern edge of the Mediterranean was the cradle of three world religions. Through the centuries, Jews, Christians, and Muslims conquered and occupied the land, layering it with traces of their faith and their way of life. Today Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs live here in uneasy proximity, each laying out emphatic claims and each countering the other. A wall/barrier separates the two parts of the Holy Land, but there is no peace.
The Author lays out the issues that stand in the way of peace. She sympathizes with the dilemma that both peoples share; that peace can only come about through bitter compromise. As Dorothy Drummond takes her readers through four thousand years of history--from before Abraham to the present--gradually the realization builds: it is with string and deeply held convictions that two peoples today are pitted against each other in agonizing conflict over a piece of real estate no bigger than the state of New Jersey. The book is in three parts:
Part I, "Turmoil in the Holy Land" lays out the conflict as it exists in the Holy Land today, with chapters on the beginning of the Israeli State, on Palestinian refugees, on Jewish settlements in Palestine, and the ongoing struggle for a Palestinian state; Part II, "The Past as Prologue" traces the history of the Holy Land, the origins of the three monotheistic faiths rooted there, and the twists and turns of geopolitics that have repeatedly shifted the region’s “ownership;" and Part III, “In the Vortex,” details the wider world implications of the struggle between Israelis and Palestinians, not only in the Middle East and Islamic countries outside the Arab sphere, but in the West as well. Readers of Holy Land, Whose Land? Modern Dilemma Ancient Roots will arrive at a nuanced perspective on the struggles of this embattled land and the viewpoints and frustrations of its beleaguered peoples. The author has enriched the books with vignettes and insights from her experiences in the Holy Land and with 19 photographs. The book also has 30 maps and an extensive glossary.
Condition: Very good / Very good.

Keywords: Middle East, Israel, Jews, Arabs, Palestine, Occupied Territories, Arafat, Golan Heights, Refugees, Holy Land, Promised Land, Pilgrimage, Diaspora, Byzantine, Islam, Crusaders, Mandate, Suleiman, West Bank, Gaza Strip, Exodus

ISBN: 0944638309

[Book #85240]

Price: $125.00

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