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Jerusalem 1913: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict | 
 enlarge | Author: Amy Dockser Marcus
Publisher: Viking Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 388079
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 240
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.2 x 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.04
ASIN: B0013VXX5E
Publication Date: April 19, 2007
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Product Description
A Pulitzer Prize winning reporter examines the true history of the discord between Israel and Palestine with surprising results
Though the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict have traditionally been traced to the British Mandate (1920 1948) that ended with the creation of the Israeli state, a new generation of scholars has taken the investigation further back, to the Ottoman period. The first popular account of this key era, Jerusalem 1913 shows us a cosmopolitan city whose religious tolerance crumbled before the onset of Z ionism and its corresponding nationalism on both sides a conflict that could have been resolved were it not for the onset of World War I. With extraordinary skill, Amy Dockser Marcus rewrites the story of one of the world s most indelible divides.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 An interesting new narrative May 8, 2007
Seth J. Frantzman (Jerusalem, Israel)
22 out of 27 found this review helpful
This book examines a number of scenes and characters from the era 1898-1914 in Jerusalem and presents the argument that the roots of the present Israeli-Arab conflict or Jewish-Palestinian conflict is encapsulated in missed opportunities and rising nationalism that coalesced in 1913. It was this year when a number of interesting characters were in Jerusalem, including Albert Ente, Theodore Herzl, Arthur Ruppin and Ruhi Khalidi. The thesis of the book claims the Zionist congress in Vienna which debated the question of Jewish demographic changes and land purchases led to Arab nationalism and Khalidi's interest in Zionism educated the Arabs to awake to the rising danger. This is an interesting argument but also problematic.
The Jewish population of Palestine was tiny, comparable to the Muslim population of Sweden in 2006, or smaller. That Khalidi was far-sighted may be true, it might also be true that he was alarmist and intolerant of new immigrants and thus helped fan the flames of nationalism. It is a circle, more nationalism and riots by Arabs caused more Jewish self-awareness that a peaceful pact might not be found.
The strength in this book therefore is not the argument, but the well written descriptions of the characters and their backgrounds and the very fair and interesting examination of how Jerusalem felt in this period. Free from propaganda and arrogant high-falutent accusations, this book is a wonderful and quick read, enjoyable and informative.
Seth J. Frantzman
 Tries too hard to be even handed - July 1, 2007
G. Weinstein (USA)
14 out of 17 found this review helpful
This book reads like a missed opportunity. I started it with great anticipation but was very soon disappointed. If this is a history book, how come there are no footnotes or endnotes? There is an extensive bibliography but no references for individual claims throughout the text. In particular, there are some dubious claims for which a reference is badly needed.
Here is one blatant example. Immediately after writing about the Balfour Declaration, the author writes that the "British had made promises not only to the Jews regarding Palestine. Letters had also been exchanged in 1915-1916... the Arabs had understood these overtures to mean that Palestine... would be theirs..." Who wrote these letter? To whom were they addressed? What were their content? Where from did the author get this information? How come the Arabs understood that Palestine would be theirs? Clearly, the placement of this paragraph indicates it is intended as an attempt at balance. However, without more detail and a footnote, it is difficult to accept these statements at face value. In other passages, Ms. Marcus relates the thoughts and intentions of various personages. This is apparently intended to make the prose more engaging. However, from reading the introduction, it does not seem the book purports to be historical fiction. Without some footnote, one comes to question how the author can gauge the thoughts of these historical figures.
Finally, there are several inaccuracies, which in view of the above put the whole work in question. Here is one small but significant detail early on. While describing the arrival of Herzl and his party to Jerusalem in 1898, Ms. Marcus adds the following: "Because Wolffsohn refused to ride in a carriage to the hotel - The Sabbath had already started, and observant Jews do not ride..." However earlier on the page, the author relates that Herzl reached Jerusalem by train "on a Saturday night after a four-hour ride from Jaffa". Even non-observant Jews, certainly ones who like Ms. Markus have spent some time in Israel, ought to know that the Sabbath starts on Friday night and *ends* on Saturday night. While reading this passage, questions flashed in my mind: Where did this detail come from? From Herzl's diary, and did Herzl not know which day he arrived in Jerusalem? From a secondary source which is totally inaccurate? Who edited the book? Was the editor knowledgeable in the subject? One can see from here, that with all the unsupported claims later on, doubts would inevitably spread.
The year it took a turn towards intractable conflict May 16, 2007
Shalom Freedman (Jerusalem,Israel)
13 out of 16 found this review helpful
This book is an effort to provide a fresh perspective on the origins of the conflict between Jews and Arabs in the Holy Land. Marcus sees the year 1913 as critical in the process. It was the year the Zionist Congress in Vienna adopted a program calling for increased settlement with the aim of becoming a majority in Palestine. It was also the year the Arab-Syrian Congress meeting in Paris determined to strongly oppose the Jewish settlement efforts. A year before the First World War , and the time when conversations between the two sides failed to bring any real agreement between them.
Marcus however is interested in more than just pinpointing the origins of the conflict. She attempts to give a picture of a time before the First World War when relations between Jews and Arabs were more openly friendly than they would be later. She does this in part by telling the respective stories of three different figures, Albert Antebi a Damascaus born Jew and educator who held strongly to his identity as citizen of the Ottoman Empire, Rui Khalidi scion of an established Arab family who studied Zionist texts and intentions in order to know how to oppose them, and Arthur Ruppin the German born Jew responsible for purchasing land and building the Jewish infrastructure. These three men who knew and respected if not especially liking each other are portrayed with sympathy.
She almost wonders aloud whether it all might not have worked out differently had the Young Turks not come to power in 1908 and cut off the option of a broader kind of Ottoman identity which Jews and Arabs each might have aspired to.
The work is written in a somewhat nostalgic affectionate and longing tone- perhaps out of the author's search for a model of being which might transform the bitter conflict into something more palatable for both sides.
I am not sure however ( I don't think she is either) that her hope of a more idyllic future era modeled on the past, makes much sense. For the Arab opposition and naysaying was there from the beginning. In this sense 1913 is not really a turning point but rather a continuation of the same with greater intensity. The subsequent years would again and again see the situation of the Jews offering peace and compromise, and the Arabs refusing this.
But the kind of claim I have just made is out of keeping with Marcus' book. She is not looking to blame, but rather to understand and provide hopeful directions for correction.
And there is something admirable in her searching for a time when Jews and Arabs were in friendly relations. And in her hoping that there will come a time when this friendliness will be restored, and even augmented.
important work May 13, 2007
writer (New York City)
12 out of 16 found this review helpful
In simple and deeply-felt language and details, this book, (unlike so many which purport to explore Arab/Jewish relations) asks us to go back and examine what happened in the context of history. It serves to fill a void left by so much polemics and political absoluteness concerning the crisis in Israel/Palestine and thereby transcends what have become mere cliches and easy answers to the current conflict. Accurately and full of her own personal passion for the embattled city of Jerusalem, Ms. Marcus documents early friendships between the early Jewish and Arab neighbors in old Palestine. She creates a longing for this vanished world and at the same time poses an important and largely forgotten truth: before politics divided this region, friendships, trade, and mutual respect were a natural part of Arab and Jewish life together, as neighbors, as sharers of land. Sadly, these truths are buried. Why not, in the interest of resolving and uncovering the real origins of the current conflicts, bring them back into luminous light? This beautiful book does just that, and more. It reveals the serendipitous nature of history itself, restores ambiguity and historical context to the debate.
-Leora Skolkin-Smith
Author, "Edges, O Israel,O Palestine"
An important contribution to understanding the Israel/Palestine conflict July 12, 2007
Caren Susan Vanslyke (Oak Park, Illinois)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Marcus makes a major contribution to understanding this conflict by going back -- before the founding of the state of Israel, before the British Mandate -- to the period when the Ottoman Empire was dissolving and both Zionism and Arab nationalism were taking root.
Her writing is not polemical --- but investigative --- trying to understand the context and motives of major players in these movements. Using a narrative format and focusing on several key players - Jewish, Palestinian, and Ottoman --- she rises above the usual two-dimensional portrayal of the origins of the conflict.
By acknowledging multiple narratives -- hopefully she will get readers to get out of their "boxes" so that they can understand that other viewpoints are based on their experiences and not just some vaguely defined hatred. As a matter of fact, her stories about both the positive and negative daily interactions between Jews, Christians, and Muslims were some of the most interesting parts of the book.
An important read for anyone interested in this topic.
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