Jerusalem in the Twentieth Century

A recurrent theme of this wonderfully vivid political, social and military history of 20th-century Jerusalem is that Arab intransigence in the face of repeated Jewish offers of peace, negotiation and reconciliation led to the protracted Israeli-Arab conflict. Gilbert contends that the Arab uprisings of 1921, 1929 and 1936 led to the separation of Jerusalem into Arab and Jewish neighborhoods. He also charges that Palestinian Arabs were, for decades, betrayed by their leaders, who rejected any form of Jewish sovereignty. And he notes that thousands of moderate Palestinians, who supported some form of compromise with the British or with the Jews, have been murdered by their fellow Arabs. He credits Teddy Kollek, mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, with making major efforts to draw Arabs into the municipality as equals and active city administrators. Marshaling primary sources and weaving in the accounts of journalists, politicians, settlers and visitors to Jerusalem, Gilbert makes a compelling--if debatable--case. Photos. Author tour. (Oct.)