Palestine Betrayed Hardcover – 15 March 2010
by
Efraim Karsh
(Author)
A searing account of the UN resolution to partition Palestine, and its bloody aftermath
“[A] tour de force. . . . With his customary in-depth archival research . . . clear presentation, and meticulous historical sensibility, Karsh argues . . . that Palestinians decided their own destiny and bear near-total responsibility for becoming refugees.”―Daniel Pipes, National Review
The 1947 UN resolution to partition Palestine irrevocably changed the political landscape of the Middle East, giving rise to six full-fledged wars between Arabs and Jews, countless armed clashes, blockades, and terrorism, as well as a profound shattering of Palestinian Arab society. Its origins, and that of the wider Arab-Israeli conflict, are deeply rooted in Jewish-Arab confrontation and appropriation in Palestine. But the isolated occasions of violence during the British Mandate era (1920–48) suggest that the majority of Palestinian Arabs yearned to live and thrive under peaceful coexistence with the evolving Jewish national enterprise. So what was the real cause of the breakdown in relations between the two communities?
In this brave and groundbreaking book, Efraim Karsh tells the story from both the Arab and Jewish perspectives. He argues that from the early 1920s onward, a corrupt and extremist leadership worked toward eliminating the Jewish national revival and protecting its own interests. Karsh has mined many of the Western, Soviet, UN, and Israeli documents declassified over the past decade, as well as unfamiliar Arab sources, to reveal what happened behind the scenes on both Palestinian and Jewish sides. It is an arresting story of delicate political and diplomatic maneuvering by leading figures―Ben Gurion, Hajj Amin Husseini, Abdel Rahman Azzam, King Abdullah, Bevin, and Truman ―over the years leading up to partition, through the slide to war and its enduring consequences. Palestine Betrayed is vital reading for understanding the origin of disputes that remain crucial today.
“[A] tour de force. . . . With his customary in-depth archival research . . . clear presentation, and meticulous historical sensibility, Karsh argues . . . that Palestinians decided their own destiny and bear near-total responsibility for becoming refugees.”―Daniel Pipes, National Review
The 1947 UN resolution to partition Palestine irrevocably changed the political landscape of the Middle East, giving rise to six full-fledged wars between Arabs and Jews, countless armed clashes, blockades, and terrorism, as well as a profound shattering of Palestinian Arab society. Its origins, and that of the wider Arab-Israeli conflict, are deeply rooted in Jewish-Arab confrontation and appropriation in Palestine. But the isolated occasions of violence during the British Mandate era (1920–48) suggest that the majority of Palestinian Arabs yearned to live and thrive under peaceful coexistence with the evolving Jewish national enterprise. So what was the real cause of the breakdown in relations between the two communities?
In this brave and groundbreaking book, Efraim Karsh tells the story from both the Arab and Jewish perspectives. He argues that from the early 1920s onward, a corrupt and extremist leadership worked toward eliminating the Jewish national revival and protecting its own interests. Karsh has mined many of the Western, Soviet, UN, and Israeli documents declassified over the past decade, as well as unfamiliar Arab sources, to reveal what happened behind the scenes on both Palestinian and Jewish sides. It is an arresting story of delicate political and diplomatic maneuvering by leading figures―Ben Gurion, Hajj Amin Husseini, Abdel Rahman Azzam, King Abdullah, Bevin, and Truman ―over the years leading up to partition, through the slide to war and its enduring consequences. Palestine Betrayed is vital reading for understanding the origin of disputes that remain crucial today.
- Print length336 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication date15 March 2010
- ISBN-109780300127270
- ISBN-13978-0300127270
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Review
“Tightly argued.”―Neil Caplan, Times Literary Supplement
“Ephraim Karsh’s Palestine Betrayed tells in rich detail the story of the fall of the British Mandate and the rise of Israel, going a long way towards doing justice to the history at hand.”―Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post
“A brave and exceedingly important piece of work.”―David Vital, author of A People Apart
“With Isaiah Friedman, Efraim Karsh is the preeminent scholar-spokesman of the Revisionist (politically-rightist) Movement in Zionism. I consider this latest of Karsh’s books, Palestine Betrayed, a work of meticulous, even exhaustive scholarship which must be taken with the greatest seriousness and respect by historians of diverse points of view. Indeed, any student of modern Israel will ignore at their peril its sheer cornucopia of factual revelations.”―Howard Sachar
“This is the story of the triple betarayal of Palestine by Britsh colonial masters, Arab despots and Palestinian demagogues. A must read for anyone interested in the Middle East’s longest-running conflict.”―Amir Taheri
“Ephraim Karsh’s Palestine Betrayed tells in rich detail the story of the fall of the British Mandate and the rise of Israel, going a long way towards doing justice to the history at hand.”―Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post
“A brave and exceedingly important piece of work.”―David Vital, author of A People Apart
“With Isaiah Friedman, Efraim Karsh is the preeminent scholar-spokesman of the Revisionist (politically-rightist) Movement in Zionism. I consider this latest of Karsh’s books, Palestine Betrayed, a work of meticulous, even exhaustive scholarship which must be taken with the greatest seriousness and respect by historians of diverse points of view. Indeed, any student of modern Israel will ignore at their peril its sheer cornucopia of factual revelations.”―Howard Sachar
“This is the story of the triple betarayal of Palestine by Britsh colonial masters, Arab despots and Palestinian demagogues. A must read for anyone interested in the Middle East’s longest-running conflict.”―Amir Taheri
About the Author
Efraim Karsh is founding director and professor emeritus of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies, King’s College London. His books include Islamic Imperialism: A History; The Arab-Israeli Conflict: The Palestine War, 1948; Saddam Hussein: A Political Biography; and Empires of the Sand: The Struggle for Mastery in the Middle East, 1789–1923.
Product details
- ASIN : 0300127278
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 336 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780300127270
- ISBN-13 : 978-0300127270
- Customer reviews:
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4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
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francomartelli
5.0 out of 5 stars
un libro di storia vera
Reviewed in Italy on 4 July 2021Verified Purchase
Il mercato editoriale è saturo di libri spazzatura che spacciano fantastiche ricostruzioni per storia vera. Si prenda ad esempio Pino Aprile e le sue fantasiose invenzioni sulla storia dell'unità d'Italia. Oppure, per rimanere in tema, Ilan Pappè. Cercate nei libri di Aprile le note a margine, le fonti, i documenti, le prove di quanto affermate e non troverete nulla, fate la stessa operazione con Pappè e non troverete nulla. Karsh si limita a citare documenti dell'epoca, inserisce nel libro circa 100 pagine di indiscutibili fonti storiche. In sintesi: perché gli arabi nel 1948 e 1949 fuggirono in massa da Israele? Per due sole ragioni: furono spinti a farlo oppure se ne andarono di loro spontanea volontà. Addirittura il municipio di Jaffa noleggio tre navi per consentire ai residenti di andarsene. La storia dell'esilio dei palestinesi è in definitiva la storia di un "popolo" tradito dalla sua classe dirigente.
Astute Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely detailed analysis of what happened in Palestine
Reviewed in Australia on 11 April 2022Verified Purchase
Ephraim Karsh provides an extremely detailed and accurate view of the events leading up to the creation of Israel and the collapse of Palestinian society in the years leading up to the end of the British Mandate. His work is extremely thoroughly researched and provides every open minded reader with a detailed and cited history.
Some of the key items he covers includes the actions of both the Jewish and Arab leadership in the years leading up to 1948 as well as a detailed account of what happening in that critical year. Readers will understand how the conscious decisions of the Palestinian leadership, and that of their Arab allies in the region, led to the events that many people call the Nakba.
Although it will be hard for many who prefer to approach this issue from a position of ideological fervour there is no arguing against the weight of evidence that professor Karsh provides.
A hugely important read for anyone who wants to gain an understanding of the roots of this conflict.
Some of the key items he covers includes the actions of both the Jewish and Arab leadership in the years leading up to 1948 as well as a detailed account of what happening in that critical year. Readers will understand how the conscious decisions of the Palestinian leadership, and that of their Arab allies in the region, led to the events that many people call the Nakba.
Although it will be hard for many who prefer to approach this issue from a position of ideological fervour there is no arguing against the weight of evidence that professor Karsh provides.
A hugely important read for anyone who wants to gain an understanding of the roots of this conflict.
Mike
4.0 out of 5 stars
Factual Background
Reviewed in Canada on 16 August 2012Verified Purchase
Author presents an academic review of third-party documents. In any other area on almost any other subject, the picture painted by the facts would be considered self-evident.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Whole Truth About The Arab-Israeli Conflict
Reviewed in the United States on 16 April 2010Verified Purchase
From reviewing his past work, I knew that this author is an exceptionally insightful Middle East analyst, but this latest book exceeded my expectations. The author even had the courage to note the role of the Islamic faith in the conflict. How he got that by his publisher in this age of appeasement toward Islam is beyond me, but it is fortunate because, until a majority of the World's leaders realize that there can be no true end to the Conflict or peace until Islam's pervasive, malevolent influence in the region is broken, there is no chance and no hope of anything beyond skilled crisis management of the Conflict. With so much deception printed about the Arab-Israeli Conflict, this is an extremely important work. It tells the truth and debunks the nonsense printed about the conflict. The author supports his work with hundreds of footnotes. This is now the best book about the Arab-Israeli Conflict ever written and I highly recommend it. It is not only authoritative and well supported, but it is an interesting story. My only complaint is that I believe the author should have more clearly explained that it was Islamic doctrine that drove the Mufti's conduct and which allowed him enough support to succeed. In addition, the Mufti could not have caused such large violent uprisings but for the fact that his Jew hatred fell on fertile ground due to the actual doctrines of Islam. Had he tried such tactics on a non-Muslim group, he would have not been successful in destroying any chances for peace.
36 people found this helpful
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Observateur du débat sur 1948
3.0 out of 5 stars
La mauvaise foi ne devrait pas faire partir du discours académique
Reviewed in France on 4 June 2012Verified Purchase
Par rapport aux publications des nouveaux historiens relatives aux événements de 1948, il est nécessaire que des historiens publient une nouvelle synthèse qui intègre l'ensemble des travaux actuels et anciens pour qu'on puisse se faire une nouvelle synthèse, plus objective, de ce qui s'est passé à l'époque.
Dans ce débat, il est dommage mais difficilement évitable que des avis personnels ou des "agendas cachés" ne fassent surface (Je pense à Ilan Pappé) mais il devrait toujours possible de faire la part des choses. A ce niveau, Efraim Karsh porte auprès de ceux qui s'intéressent au sujet le flambeau médiatique de ceux qui s'opposent avec virulence au récit des nouveaux historiens et son apport était important.
Le résultat est hélas très mauvais car plutôt que d'essayer d'aborder le problème avec les yeux de historiens et avec la neutralité qui s'impose, Efraim Karsh gomme certaines réalités (comme les expulsions forcées de Palestiniens à Jérusalem, Lydda/Lod, Ramle, en Galilée ou en Samarie ainsi que les très nombreux massacres qui les accompagnèrent) pour fournir un récit qui se veut simplement l'apologie du gouvernement israélien de l'époque et la condamnation des dirigeants et population arabes à qui il veut juste faire porter la responsabilité des faits. En définitive, il n'est que le pendant d'Ilan Pappé et de son ouvrage intitulé : ''le nettoyage ethnique de la Palestine''.
Il serait temps que des historiens professionnels et conscients que l'enjeu de leur métier n'est pas de déterminer qui serait coupable ou responsable d'un événement (et faut-il rappeler que tous les protagonistes de ces événements sont aujourd'hui morts ou grabataires ?) se penche sur le problème et synthétisent l'ensemble des travaux et recherches sur le sujet (passées et récentes) pour en faire une synthèse digne de ce nom.
Si la synthèse n'est pas réussie, l'ouvrage d'Efraim Karsh comporte des réponses et des éléments ponctuels qui sans remettre en cause grand chose par rapport aux apports des nouveaux historiens permettent cependant d'apporter des nuances sur certains points. A ce titre, il peut être intéressant.
Dans ce débat, il est dommage mais difficilement évitable que des avis personnels ou des "agendas cachés" ne fassent surface (Je pense à Ilan Pappé) mais il devrait toujours possible de faire la part des choses. A ce niveau, Efraim Karsh porte auprès de ceux qui s'intéressent au sujet le flambeau médiatique de ceux qui s'opposent avec virulence au récit des nouveaux historiens et son apport était important.
Le résultat est hélas très mauvais car plutôt que d'essayer d'aborder le problème avec les yeux de historiens et avec la neutralité qui s'impose, Efraim Karsh gomme certaines réalités (comme les expulsions forcées de Palestiniens à Jérusalem, Lydda/Lod, Ramle, en Galilée ou en Samarie ainsi que les très nombreux massacres qui les accompagnèrent) pour fournir un récit qui se veut simplement l'apologie du gouvernement israélien de l'époque et la condamnation des dirigeants et population arabes à qui il veut juste faire porter la responsabilité des faits. En définitive, il n'est que le pendant d'Ilan Pappé et de son ouvrage intitulé : ''le nettoyage ethnique de la Palestine''.
Il serait temps que des historiens professionnels et conscients que l'enjeu de leur métier n'est pas de déterminer qui serait coupable ou responsable d'un événement (et faut-il rappeler que tous les protagonistes de ces événements sont aujourd'hui morts ou grabataires ?) se penche sur le problème et synthétisent l'ensemble des travaux et recherches sur le sujet (passées et récentes) pour en faire une synthèse digne de ce nom.
Si la synthèse n'est pas réussie, l'ouvrage d'Efraim Karsh comporte des réponses et des éléments ponctuels qui sans remettre en cause grand chose par rapport aux apports des nouveaux historiens permettent cependant d'apporter des nuances sur certains points. A ce titre, il peut être intéressant.