A01=Rachel Havrelock
Author_Rachel Havrelock
baptism
belonging
bible
book of joshua
borders
cartography
Category=JBGB
Category=NHTP
Category=QRJ
Category=QRM
Category=QRVC
christianity
conflict
diaspora
dispossession
divinity
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eq_history
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eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
folklore
gaza strip
geography
history
holy sites
homeland
israel
jewish state
judaism
mapmaking
maps
middle east
miracles
moab
nationalism
nonfiction
palestine
peace park
pilgrimage
political science
politics
possession
promised land
prophecy
religion
river jordan
sacred
scripture
violence
war
Product details
- ISBN 9780226319575
- Weight: 595g
- Dimensions: 16 x 23mm
- Publication Date: 01 Dec 2011
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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As the site of several miracles in the Jewish and Christian traditions, the Jordan is one of the world's holiest rivers. It is also the major political and symbolic border contested by Israelis and Palestinians. Combining biblical and folkloric studies with historical geography, Rachel Havrelock explores how the complex religious and mythological representations of the river have shaped the current conflict in the Middle East. Havrelock contends that the intractability of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stems from the nationalist myths of the Hebrew Bible, where the Jordan is defined as a border of the Promised Land. Both Israelis and Palestinians claim the Jordan as a necessary boundary of an indivisible homeland. Examining the Hebrew Bible alongside ancient and modern maps of the Jordan, Havrelock chronicles the evolution of Israel's borders based on nationalist myths while uncovering additional myths that envision Israel as a bi-national state. These other myths, she proposes, provide roadmaps for future political configurations of the nation.
Ambitious and masterly in its scope, River Jordan brings a fresh, provocative perspective to the ongoing struggle in this violence-riddled region.
Rachel Havrelock is assistant professor in the Jewish Studies Program and the Department of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is coauthor of Women on the Biblical Road: Ruth, Naomi, and the Female Journey.
