Feeling at home in the occupied territories: Emotion work of the religious settler movement

•Social movements are engaged in emotion work understood as active practices to regulate emotions.•Emotions are elicited and regulated in the political process in order to make and to defend territorial claims.•Emotion work is directed at the broader public to generate support and at followers to strengthen commitment and motivation.•The sacralization of the land involves a specific affective and spatial dynamic.

Religious settlers exhibit a strong desire to settle the entire Land of Israel despite resistance among the local Palestinian population and among opposition within Israel. The return to the Promised Land and the establishment of settlements elicit strong emotions that are connected to the socio-spatial identities of the settlers. Introducing the concept of emotion work the article focuses on the collective construction of emotions inside the movement and on active practices directed at the Israeli audience at large. Emotions are elicited and regulated in the political process in order to make and defend territorial claims. After discussing the concepts of emotional geographies, emotion regulation, and emotion work, the article analyzes the multi-layered passions of the settlers and strategies of creating an emotional attachment to the conquered territories in the Israeli public. Finally, the Second Intifada revealed tensions between the desire for the land and a contracting geography of fear. The article discusses how the settlers dealt with violence, threats, and experiences of conjoint emotions.