The Land of Hope and Fear

A correspondent who has spent thirty years in Israel presents a rich, wide-ranging portrait of the Israeli people today at a critical juncture in their country's history.

Despite Israel's determined staying power in a hostile environment, its military might, and the innovation it fosters in businesses globally, the country is more divided than ever. The old guard - socialist secular elites and idealists - are a dying breed, and the state's democratic foundations are being challenged. A dynamic and exuberant country of nine million, Israel now largely comprises native-born Hebrew speakers, and yet any permanent sense of security and normalcy is elusive.

In The Land of Hope and Fear, we meet Israelis - Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, Eastern and Western, liberals and zealots - plagued by perennial conflict and existential threats. Its citizens remain deeply polarised politically, socially, and ideologically, even as they undergo generational change and redefine what it is to be an Israeli. Who are these people, and to what do they aspire?

In moving narratives and with on-the-ground reporting, Isabel Kershner reveals the core of what holds Israel together and the forces that threaten its future.

'Isabel Kershner's comprehensive mapping of the challenges facing the Zionist Dream creates a bold and compelling portrait of modern-day Israel - its complexities and polarising passions and commitments - and does it with great empathy and deep concern.' - Dorit Rabinyan, author of All the Rivers

'For all those looking for a book that provides an understanding of what Israel has become as it approaches its 75th year, this is it! The Land of Hope and Fear is a rich and wondrous tale told through the agonising and uplifting stories of Israel's many tribes ... Isabel Kershner brings a keen eye and a vivid style to her unique portrait of the Sabra nation.' - Martin Indyk, author of Master of the Game, and former US ambassador to Israel

'One might not think that another book about Israel needed to be written. And yet Isabel Kershner has written one that needs to be read. For anyone trying to understand the reality of Israel today, its remarkable dynamism and its political, social, religious, and 'tribal' differences, The Land of Hope and Fear provides extraordinary insight.' - Dennis Ross, former US envoy to the Middle East and the author of Doomed to Succeed