The Holy Land in Transit

Abstract

In The Holy Land in Transit: Colonialism and the Quest for Canaan, Steven Salaita explores not just similar, but identical aspects of settler colonialism in the New World and the Holy Land. Indeed, on both continents ethnocentric colonial discourse forged the “noble savage” and “chosen people” dichotomy. On this basis, the author compellingly argues that the United States and Israel are not merely bound politically and strategically, but also historically and philosophically: both have transformed theological narratives into national histories. In this groundbreaking comparative analysis of the Holy Land pathos (labeled “pernicious mythology” and “messianic extremism”) across national boundaries, Salaita explicates theManifest Destiny process of “wresting Edenic land from savages in the name of prophesy and progress” (p. 119). Armed with Biblical narratives and garrison force, covenantal “chosen people” set out to cultivate a bountiful “promised land” presumed to be vacant in the New World and the Near East. Newcomers escaping persecution on a quest for Canaan justified their occupation of foreign territory by placing the subjugation of inferior indigenous “Canaanites” within a Biblical ...