In 2008, writer and Professor at the University of Tel Aviv, Shlomo Sand, published the book The Invention of The Jewish People. Here, he takes a closer look at the historical foundation for the Jewish-Israeli identity, claiming that the foundation for the Jewish-Israeli nation is constructed, like many national identities before it.

In this lecture, written for these Saladin Days, Sand asks what the role of difference is in our own identity: why are we so concerned with what separates us from others? And why is ethnic and religious hatred such a prominent feature of our close history and current time?