From Izrastina with love

Reporter and Magnesia Litera Prize winner Jakub Szántó confesses his deep affection for Israel, Palestine and their inhabitants

In his second book, the seasoned reporter and Magnesia Litera Award winner professes his deep affection for Israel, Palestine and their inhabitants. Using powerful narratives, vivid descriptions of a quarter of a century of oriental experience and depictions of historical context, it seeks to shatter the often schematic perception of a troubled region.

A prominent television news personality refuses to see Israeli-Palestinian relations as exclusively conflictual. Instead, he offers the view that there is no need to choose sides, because the two nations are admirable yet doomed to live side by side.

At the same time, Jakub Szántó reveals for the first time his own deep connection to the Middle East and his feelings for this exotic yet close region, its people, history, culture and nature. His distinctive sarcastic and self-ironizing tone is not missing, nor is the rich appendix of images he has collected over the years of his life and work in the Orient.