Excuse Me Is This Yours

Who does this land belong to? The answers depend on whom you ask. It begins with a pizza in Jerusalem. Eight months later, bestselling author and gonzo journalist Tuvia Tenenbom has celebrated Passover with the Samaritans on Mount Gerizim, wandered through Biblical landscapes, shared meals with settlers and Palestinians, debated politicians, interviewed shepherds, soldiers, rabbis, farmers, comedians, and families, and discovered that almost everyone is convinced they alone possess the truth. In Excuse Me, Is This Yours?, Tenenbom embarks on an unforgettable journey through the region known by many names: the West Bank, Judea and Samaria, the Occupied Territories—or simply, "that place." From Hebron and Jericho to the Jordan Valley and Megiddo, he travels through cities, settlements, villages, refugee camps, and remote hilltops, speaking with the people who call this ancient land home. With his trademark blend of humor, curiosity, and fearless reporting, Tenenbom refuses easy answers. Instead, he listens, questions, challenges assumptions, and uncovers stories that rarely fit neatly into familiar political narratives. Equal parts travel narrative, literary journalism, history, and comedy, Excuse Me, Is This Yours? explores a land where Biblical history and modern life collide, where every encounter is surprising, every certainty is questioned, and every chapter reveals another layer of one of the world's oldest—and least understood—places. Sharp, provocative, hilarious, and deeply human, this is Tenenbom at his finest: inviting readers to look beyond headlines and discover the people, cultures, and contradictions that make Biblical Israel unlike anywhere else on earth.