The Holy Land in Transit Colonialism and the Quest for Canaan by Steven Salaita (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2006. 234 pages.)

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 ...