Love and Desire in the Promised Land Hardcover by Salomé Parent-Rachdi

Product Details

• Publisher: Fantagraphics (2026-06-09)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 160 pages
• ISBN-13: 9798875001697
• Item Weight: 567.0 grams
• Dimensions: 0.0 x 0.0 x 0.0 cm

This journalistic portrait of the intimate lives of ordinary Israelis and Palestinians frames the Israeli Palestinian conflict through a humanizing new perspective.

Love and Desire in the Promised Land gives voice to a dozen real-life citizens of Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank who navigate messy boundaries in their homes and bedrooms against a background of geopolitical violence.

Collecting interviews conducted before the October 7 attack unleashed a new wave of bloody conflict, the book introduces fascinating individuals and couples who speak frankly about the transgressions that define their experiences with intimacy. The portrayals represent a diverse population, including an interfaith celebrity power couple, an Orthodox gynecologist, a young gay Muslim, a Palestinian American feminist, a Ukrainian Israeli artist, and a Palestinian lesbian in a relationship with an Israeli soldier.

Through these candid conversations, recorded by Parent-Rachdi and illustrated with a warm touch by Deloupy, the authors illuminate a culture and a people whose humanity has been shrouded by the fever pitch of politics and the tragedy of genocide. In a strict society, where norms are enforced by tradition, religion, and the threat of violence, these ordinary citizens follow their heart and risk it all in the name of love and desire.

About the Author

Salomé Parent-Rachdi is a freelance journalist based in Paris. She was a correspondent in Israel and the Palestinian Territories from 2017 to 2020. She works for the written press and produces podcasts and TV documentaries.

Deloupy is a graduate of the Beaux-Arts d’Angoulême, having studied the graphic novel. He works as a freelance illustrator for advertising and has been publishing for children since 2002. He took part in Marjane Satrapi’s collective work Femme, vie, liberté (L’Iconoclaste 2023).

Jenna Allen is a freelance translator based in Colorado.