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With Gaza destroyed and Jewish settlers rampaging the West Bank, and with the IDF occupying parts of southern Lebanon and Syria, talk of achieving "Greater Israel" is now commonplace among influential political and media figures in Israel, as well as the settlers who have their eyes set on annexing Palestinian territory. What does this Old Testament idea mean? And what current forces — religious, nationalist, and others — are driving it? Political scientist Ian Lustick is our guest.

Ian Lustick is a professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He's the author of many books, including For the Land and the Lord: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel.

His next book, Israel's Lobby: America in the Grip of a Foreign Power, will be released in August, co-authored with Eli Clifton.

Further listening:

What is Zionism? w/ Ian Lustick