Moshe Sharett

This book revises some of the most widely-accepted views on Israeli history and politics. Through the political biography of Israel's second prime minister, Moshe Sharett, it traces the roots of the Israeli polity, international and domestic orientations, and the making of its policies. It focuses on the role of a moderate leader and his struggles against the legendary Ben-Gurion and his activist supporters, shedding new light on the forces that shaped Israeli politics for decades.

This book looks at the development of Israeli-Arab relations during the formative years 1949 to 1956, focusing on Arab infiltration into Israel and Israeli retaliation. Palestinian refugee raiding and cross-border attacks by Egyptian-controlled irregulars and commandos were a core phenomenon during this period and one of the chief causes of Israel's invasion of Sinai and the Gaza strip in 1956. Benny Morris probes the types of Arab infiltration and the attitude of Arab governments towards the phenomenon, and traces the evolution of Israel's defensive and offensive responses. He analyzes Israeli decision-making processes, including the emergence and ultimate failure of Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett's dissident policy of moderation, and describes in detail the history of the Arab infiltration, including the terrorist-guerrilla raids by state-organized Fedayeen in 1955-6, and of the IDF raids of Qibya, Nahhalin, Kinneret, and the Sabha. This was a precedent-setting period in the making of Israeli defense policy, and this pattern of raiding and counter-raiding served to define Israeli-Arab relations during the subsequent four decades. In this pioneering study Morris deepens our understanding of the current tuation in the Middle East and of the prospects for a lasting peace there.

"Bar-Joseph offers a well-conceived and well-written analysis of intelligence agencies and their relationships with political authority.... His work is excellent in every respect. He creates a sound theoretical framework from which to judge his case studies and provides a convincing analysis in these case studies themselves". -- Choice

This is the first book to deal with the most crucial case of war and peace in the Middle East. Moshe Ma'oz examines the history of relations between Israel and Syria throughout the Middle Eastern conflict. Drawing upon a variety of original sources, the author discusses still little-known episodes in relations between the countries such as Syrian peace offers to Israel in the early 1950s and the mid-1970s; American and Soviet involvement; the role of Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and the PLO; Israel's contribution to the aggravation of the conflict with Syria, and the new Syrian diplomatic strategy since 1988 and the peacemaking process after the Madrid conference (from late 1991). The book demonstrates the crucial importance of Syrian-Israeli relations for the strategic posture of both countries, for the fate of the Palestinian problem, and for the prospects of an overall Middle East Settlement.

A comprehensive analysis of the development of Israel's foreign policy during the critical years of the 1950s, particularly relations between the Jewish state and three Western powers--the United States, Great Britain, and France. Drawing extensively on recently declassified archival materials, Zach Levey challenges traditional accounts of the nature and success of Israel's policy goals.

In this reissue of the abridged paperback edition of his critically acclaimed Collusion Across the Jordan, Professor Shlaim chronicles King Abdullah's relationship with the Zionist movement from his appointment as Emir of Transjordan in 1921 to his assassination in 1951. With a new Introduction, placing the book in the wider context of the on-going debate about 1948, this masterly and authoritative study is essential reading for all those interested in the politics of the Middle East.

From Karl Marx to the Marx brothers, the Routledge Who's Who in Jewish History presents a complete reference guide to over a thousand prominent men and women who have shaped Jewish culture. Covering twenty centuries of Jewish history it provides:* detailed biographical information on each leading figure* analysis of their role and significance both in Jewish life and the wider culture* a comprehensive chronological table displaying the history of the Jewish race* a useful glossary giving precise definitions of Jewish words.