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To Jerusalem and Back
To Jerusalem and Back: A Personal Account | Saul Bellow
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Nobel laureate Saul Bellow’s revealing interviews and meditations, steeped in history and literature, on the unique spirit and challenges of Israel A Penguin Classic A powerful, stimulating testament, To Jerusalem and Back is a rigorous attempt to come to grips with Israel’s history and future. Immersing himself in the landscape and culture of this “small state in perpetual crisis,” Bellow records the opinions, passions, and dreams of Israelis of varying viewpoints—Yitzak Rabin, Amos Oz, the editor of the largest Arab-language newspaper in Israel, a kibbutznik escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto—and adds his own reflections on being Jewish in the twentieth century. Saul Bellow’s journey is not merely an exploration of a very beautiful and very troubled city; it is a major literary work, and an urgently important one. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Anna40
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I expected more of a travel rather than a political book but perhaps it is impossible to write about Israel without focusing on politics. It‘s shocking how current To Jerusalem and back is: left wing antisemitism was the same 50 years ago, so was the accusation that Israelis are colonialists, also Israel was and still is held to a higher moral standard than any other country and no other nation‘s right to exist is questioned. The book is outdated

Anna40 because times have changed. Many of the people Bellow met during his Israel visit are no longer alive, there have been more wars, Rabin was assassinated, more peace talks and October 7. It is ok even hip and cool today to say F..k Israel. Where are we headed from here? Peace is the only solution but will it stop the hate? People are concerned about dead children but taking hostages and killing civilians in their sleep is ok? Because those crimes 15h
Anna40 are committed by freedom fighters? I don‘t know what will happen. But I don‘t think the hate and antisemitism will ever end, it will only get worse. 15h
shortsarahrose Yes, the murder of 1200 people and hostage-taking of 250 more by Hamas is wrong, but I don‘t understand how that justifies broad attacks on Gaza that have killed 50k people, the displacement of 1.9 million people (over 90% of the population), and now an ongoing blockade creating an entirely manmade famine. 14h
Anna40 @shortsarahrose I never said the killing is justified. You‘re putting words in my mouth I never wrote. I said peace is the only solution. And I will add here that do not understand how anyone can see Hamas as freedom fighters. 14h
shortsarahrose Fair enough. Perhaps I misunderstood, but the wording made it sound like the two were equivalent. I‘m just saying that they‘re not. 14h
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