Jerusalem 1913: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict
In Ottoman Jerusalem, families of different religions picnicked  together at popular shrines and vouched for each other at the bank; Muslims and  Jews were business partners and neighbors; and Arab children dressed in  costumes for the Jewish holiday of Purim. How then did this city of ethnic  diversity become a crucible of sectarian conflict? Marcus (The View from Nebo), a Pulitzer-winning formerWall Street Journalcorrespondent, focuses  on the year 1913 as a turning point, when leaders at the Zionist Congress  argued for both cultural and demographic domination of Palestine, while at the  same time Jews and Arabs were negotiating a possible peace. Marcus also  highlights three men who helped shape the destiny of the future Israeli  capital. Albert Antebi was a non-Zionist Syrian Jew who advocated for Jewish  economic solvency and strong relationships with Muslims; ardent Zionist Arthur  Ruppin directed the establishment of Jewish settlements; and Ruhi Khalidi, a  prominent Muslim , although not an Arab nationalist, actively opposed Jewish  immigration and land purchases. Marcus masterfully brings a Jerusalem of almost  a century ago to pungent life, and her political dissection of the era is lucid  and well-meaning although she never explains the gulf between moderate Muslims  of 1913 and today's Islamist and radical movements.(Apr. 23)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.