In the Land of Israel

I decided to re-read this book after 25 years. And once again I was dazzled by the quality of the insights, and the masterful handling of dialogue, in which Amos Oz excels. For the non-Jewish American it is difficult to obtain an authentic, realistic portrait of Israel through the American media filter. Far better for that is Haaretz and Amos Oz. He sees, and conveys the anguish, in this collection of eleven marvelous short stories. One of the major themes, but fortunately there are numerous others, is the one that divides the secular Israelis from the religious ones, the "Jews", which he conveys so eloquently in his story on "An Argument on Life and Death (A)". And it is the latter, in the adherence to their mindless fundamentalism that are ascendant; Oz struggles to convey the sentiments of the "Jews" even-handedly, but it is a struggle that he often loses. Oz has this incredible ear for dialogue and the ability to transpose this to the written page. In short vignettes he explains why there was a major political transformation, without 800 pages of leaden analysis. For example, his story "The Insult and the Fury" clearly captures the anger that resulted in the rise of the Likud, and the political victory of Begin. Oz goes to the village of Bet Shemesh, with its heavy Sephardic population. The resentment seethes: "I'll tell you something about the hatred. But write it in good Hebrew. You want the hatred between us to end? First of all, come and apologize, properly." A catalog of grave offenses and slights of the "elite" Ashkenazis follows. One of the resounding point made is their unwillingness to ever give up the West Bank, because of their feeling that they had been brought to Israel to be the "hewers of wood, and drawers of water" for the Ashkenazis. No longer, they say; that chore is "delegated" to West Bank and Gaza Arabs. The opposite sentiment is expressed in the story "The Finger of God?" The Arabs would be expelled from their homes in Nablus, Bethlehem and Hebron, just like they were from Ramla and Jaffa in '48. Ethnic cleansing, but then who will be those "hewers"? In "An Argument on Life and Death (B)" Oz takes a completely different approach. No selected dialogue. It is his well-argued position made before the "settlers" in Ofra. At the beginning he clearly states: "You are convinced that to relinquish Judea and Samaria would endanger the existence of the State of Israel. I think that annexation of these regions endangers the existence of the State of Israel." The subsequent exposition of his case is as valid 25 years later as it was then. In the story, "The Dawn" he goes to the editorial offices of the East Jerusalem Arabic newspaper, "Al-Fajr." Among others, he talks to Attallah Najar, a 30 year old Israeli citizen, who was born in the Galilee. Probing his duel allegiances, he asks him a fascinating question: "What if you are one day offered a choice between serving as the Israeli ambassador to Palestine and serving

This is a book about meetings in Israel with different kinds of Israelis. Oz does a good job of listening sympathetically and narrating the stories and complaints of those he meets. One especially powerful meeting occurs in a development town where those of the ' second Israel' powerfully spell out their grievances. The writing here is clear and often very moving. Though Oz is of course touted for his fiction it seems to me that this small piece of writing is , to the point he wrote it, his most effective work.

This book is an excellent contribution to the understanding of Israel in general and of the situation between the Palestinians and Israelis in particular and is, in my opnion, a "must read" for anyone interested in deepening their knowledge in this area.The book is a collection of articles first published serially in 1982-83. Each chapter is an interview that author Amos Oz conducted in Israel or the Palestinian territories in late 1982. The interviews include a teacher at an orthodox rabbinical high school, two Palestinian journalists/writers, an Israeli Arab, settlers in the West Bank, North African Jewish immigrants, a French Catholic priest in Jerusalem, a Jewish farmer and his wife living in the coastal plain, and an elderly Rumanian immigrant in the seaside city of Ashdod.It should be emphasized that the book is NOT a "cross section" of Israeli society and it does not profess to portray the "average" Israeli. Amos Oz himself says as much when he says he does not believe these articles to be a "representative" picture. Nevertheless, these articles have value in that they provide in depth views into one of the smallest yet one of the most complex and diverse societies on the planet.However, what is most valuable about the book is the 17-page postscript added at the end. This postscript is a lecture that the author delivered in Michigan in 1993, ten years after the original interviews had taken place, and it presents the author's analysis of the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Mr. Oz believes in a two-state solution: Israel and Palestine, two independent states co-existing side by side peacefully. In this lecture, he presents the sanest, most rational, most balanced perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict of anyone I have ever heard or read. It is more insightful than anything I have heard from a "talking head," news commentator, or media pundit. Although it was written 10 years ago, nearly all of it is still valid today (in 2002). The postscript itself is almost worth the price of the whole book. Outstanding. This book has my highest recommendation.

This book was one assigned in my judaic civ class at unc. I was by no means excited about having to read it, but i found it to be a phenomenal, page-turning piece of non-fiction. More than any textbook, Oz describes the people and places of Israel so vividly you begin to feel as if you are visiting yourself. It was undeniably helpful to me, an American Christian who never really studied Israel, in understanding the complex world of Israeli politics. Moreover, it helped me to see the exent to which Judaism was present in Israeli life. He did a great job of giving Arabs a fair portrayal and a voice. I had a hard time believing Oz didn't make these characters up! I am looking forward to starting in on some of his fiction. What a brilliant writer!

This book takes the breath out of me! I have never been to Israel, but I've met israeis out and about. The violence of the opinions that people hold about israel etc. are difficult to handle sometimes. My admiration has always been for people who can discuss such intense issues squarely and without losing their cool. Oz does this. I don't know how fair the book is, or how reasonable, but was like holding dynamite in my hands. Each chapter develops the arguments presented by a different person/group of people. It leaves the impression of brave, passionate people in an intense country. Usually I can read a book from cover to cover, but this time is was like: read a chapter, recover for a few days, read another one. I strongly recommend this book. In some places it's beautiful.