Shalom Goldman

Gandhi’s grandson says that Israel promotes a “culture of violence”: Shalom Goldman tells the little-known backstory.

Many Israelis and Jews took to Avatar with aplomb, likening it to Kabbalah and turning out in record numbers in Israel. But it remains to be seen how Jews and Israelis will respond to Palestinian protesters who, dressed as the film’s besieged protagonists, aim to position themselves in the hearts of observers as the sympathetic underdogs.

20th century Jewish aspirations for a revived national home were supported by three centuries of Christian enthusiasm—bolstered by biblical literalism—for the return of the Jews to “their land.” In this excerpt from the newly-released Zeal for Zion, Shalom Goldman traces the Christian roots of Zionism.