Land. Milk. Honey: Animal Stories in Imagined Landscapes

This book explores the reciprocal relations between humans, animals, and the environment in modern Palestine-Israel, highlighting how colonialism, settlement, urbanization, infrastructure, and mechanized agriculture have reshaped the region and altered human-animal relationships. It showcases the predicaments that both the environment and its inhabitants are facing after over a century of modernist aspirations for plenitude, using the stories of five local animals as case studies.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 392 pages
Publication date: 12 July 2021
Publisher: Park Books

For millennia, the biblical metaphor of a "Land of Milk and Honey" has held a prophecy and promise of abundance. This book, published in conjunction with the Israeli Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, delves into the intricate reciprocal relationships between humans, animals, and the environment within the contemporary context of modern Palestine-Israel. It showcases how this promise has evolved into an action plan over the course of the twentieth century.

Through this lens, Land. Milk. Honey explores the profound impact of colonialism, settlement, urbanization, infrastructure, and mechanized agriculture on the environment of the disputed territory of Palestine-Israel. It uncovers how these changes have altered human-animal interactions and led to irreversible damage to the local fauna and flora, as well as the disruption of human communities and ways of life. Moreover, it sheds light on the predicaments that both the environment and its inhabitants face after the territory has served as a century-long test bed for modernist aspirations for abundance.

The book presents a captivating narrative by weaving together the stories of five local animals: the cow, goat, honey bee, water buffalo, and bat. These case studies, complemented by a zoo-centric analysis, unfold a spatial history of the place in five acts: Mechanization Territory, Cohabitation, Extinction, and the Post-Human. A rich collection of literary excerpts, historical documents, archival photos, and original vignettes enriches the story, providing a vivid portrayal of this remarkable transformation and redesign.

This book offers valuable insights into the complex interplay between humans, animals, and the environment in a region that continues to be shaped by historical, political, and social forces. It serves as a reminder of the profound consequences of our actions on the natural world and the importance of sustainable practices and conservation efforts. By examining the reciprocal relations between humans, animals, and the environment in Palestine-Israel, Land. Milk. Honey contributes to our understanding of the complexities of human-nature interactions and the urgent need for a harmonious coexistence in our shared world.

Weight: 324g
Dimension: 124 x 168 x 35 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783038602477