The Imaginary Voyage: With Theodor Herzl in Israel

"The Imaginary Voyage" brings together Shimon Peres, Israel's Nobel Prize-winning statesman, and Theodor Herzl, the visionary founder of Zionism. Despite the decades that separate them, they are united with astounding literary and historical effect. Together they embark on a journey across the land they hold in common, comparing Herzl's century-old vision with today's reality. From the teeming streets of Tel Aviv, to the storied walls of Jerusalem; from Gueva Kibbutz to the Sea of Tiberius; from Masada to the Negev, their voyage illuminates all that has changed in this most remarkable land during the twentieth century, and all that has endured.

"Today, as yesterday and tomorrow, dreams are the well-spring of our national life. Israel is the only place in the world where the present constantly interacts with the past and the future, where reality can only be understood through the imaginary."-Shimon Peres

"Peres has closely read and keenly analyzed Herzl's writings, and he cites them to show how the Zionist leader both perceived and misperceived the Jewish state-to-be."-"The Washington Post Book World"

Shimon Peres was born in Poland and emigrated to Israel in 1934. He was prime minister from 1984 to 1986, and again from 1995 to 1996. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his part in crafting the Oslo peace accords. He is the author of "For the Future of Israel, Battling for Peace," and "The New Middle East," He lives in Tel Aviv.

Chapter 4: Generations

Everything about today's Israelis took Herzl by surprise, beginning with their name - "Israelis." Herzl was a visionary genius about some matters but extraordinarily cautious about others, and one was assigning aname to the future inhabitants of the Jewish state. In Old-New Land, he calls Israel the "New Society," a name everyone will agree is stunningly bland. I can just imagine today's customs officials examining a "New Society" passport and trying to figure out where on earth the bearer might be from.

David Ben-Gurion gave the new state being created the name "Israel" rather than "New Society." "Israel" reminded the world that this new country was not being formed ex nihilo; it symbolized the renai