Simon Sebag Montefiore

He wrote in his diaries about it. And he didn't necessarily see it as a Jewish state, though he's always called a sort of proto-Zionist. He wasn't really. And this brings us actually to the essence of the history of the real history of Zionism, which wasn't about... You know, we're going to create a power. We're going to go there. We're going to take over this land.

He wrote in his diaries about it. And he didn't necessarily see it as a Jewish state, though he's always called a sort of proto-Zionist. He wasn't really. And this brings us actually to the essence of the history of the real history of Zionism, which wasn't about... You know, we're going to create a power. We're going to go there. We're going to take over this land.

He wrote in his diaries about it. And he didn't necessarily see it as a Jewish state, though he's always called a sort of proto-Zionist. He wasn't really. And this brings us actually to the essence of the history of the real history of Zionism, which wasn't about... You know, we're going to create a power. We're going to go there. We're going to take over this land.

We're going to create a state there. And we're going to throw everybody else out and exclude everybody. No, he immediately became best friends with the Ottomans, the Arabs. All the elites there became great friends with him. He went back there seven times. He bought land there. He started to buy land there.

We're going to create a state there. And we're going to throw everybody else out and exclude everybody. No, he immediately became best friends with the Ottomans, the Arabs. All the elites there became great friends with him. He went back there seven times. He bought land there. He started to buy land there.

We're going to create a state there. And we're going to throw everybody else out and exclude everybody. No, he immediately became best friends with the Ottomans, the Arabs. All the elites there became great friends with him. He went back there seven times. He bought land there. He started to buy land there.

And he had a vision that Jews could go there and live with the people that were there already, the Palestinian Arabs, Turks, and other communities, and that they could live under the Sultan or under the British Empire. And that was his vision.

And he had a vision that Jews could go there and live with the people that were there already, the Palestinian Arabs, Turks, and other communities, and that they could live under the Sultan or under the British Empire. And that was his vision.

And he had a vision that Jews could go there and live with the people that were there already, the Palestinian Arabs, Turks, and other communities, and that they could live under the Sultan or under the British Empire. And that was his vision.

Yeah, I mean, the creation of Israel is an extraordinary story. It's bizarre. You use the word miraculous. It's unlikely. And it is the result of a concatenation of different elements. I mean, first of all, there's the ancient Jewish connection, the ancient Jewish kingdoms that existed from about 1000 BC to about the birth of Christ when Herod the Great died, the one with the exploding genitals.

Yeah, I mean, the creation of Israel is an extraordinary story. It's bizarre. You use the word miraculous. It's unlikely. And it is the result of a concatenation of different elements. I mean, first of all, there's the ancient Jewish connection, the ancient Jewish kingdoms that existed from about 1000 BC to about the birth of Christ when Herod the Great died, the one with the exploding genitals.

Yeah, I mean, the creation of Israel is an extraordinary story. It's bizarre. You use the word miraculous. It's unlikely. And it is the result of a concatenation of different elements. I mean, first of all, there's the ancient Jewish connection, the ancient Jewish kingdoms that existed from about 1000 BC to about the birth of Christ when Herod the Great died, the one with the exploding genitals.

Feel free to expand on that if you want. Well, Herod the Great was such a fascinating character because he was a tyrant, but he was a Jewish tyrant. They would have used the word Judean, and that's an interesting discussion I've had of people like the historian Tom Holland, who writes a lot about this too. It's like, when do you go from Judean...

Feel free to expand on that if you want. Well, Herod the Great was such a fascinating character because he was a tyrant, but he was a Jewish tyrant. They would have used the word Judean, and that's an interesting discussion I've had of people like the historian Tom Holland, who writes a lot about this too. It's like, when do you go from Judean...

Feel free to expand on that if you want. Well, Herod the Great was such a fascinating character because he was a tyrant, but he was a Jewish tyrant. They would have used the word Judean, and that's an interesting discussion I've had of people like the historian Tom Holland, who writes a lot about this too. It's like, when do you go from Judean...

to jewish because the word jew comes from judean the place the place that comes from judea and the roman word judea which was their word which was originally echud or yechud which was judah which was its name before the romans but i generally only use the word jewish after the barkokba revolt which ended after the reign of hadrian but anyway this is a whole nother discussion a fascinating one just

to jewish because the word jew comes from judean the place the place that comes from judea and the roman word judea which was their word which was originally echud or yechud which was judah which was its name before the romans but i generally only use the word jewish after the barkokba revolt which ended after the reign of hadrian but anyway this is a whole nother discussion a fascinating one just

to jewish because the word jew comes from judean the place the place that comes from judea and the roman word judea which was their word which was originally echud or yechud which was judah which was its name before the romans but i generally only use the word jewish after the barkokba revolt which ended after the reign of hadrian but anyway this is a whole nother discussion a fascinating one just

How did it happen? Herod the Great. Herod the Great was one of the most amazing characters. He basically built the Jerusalem that we see today. He was an amazing builder. He was the second wealthiest person in the Roman Empire after Augustus. He was a brilliant player of Roman warlords. You know, his father played Caesar. He became almost a family member.

How did it happen? Herod the Great. Herod the Great was one of the most amazing characters. He basically built the Jerusalem that we see today. He was an amazing builder. He was the second wealthiest person in the Roman Empire after Augustus. He was a brilliant player of Roman warlords. You know, his father played Caesar. He became almost a family member.