Genesis
Subtitle: Truman, American Jews, and the origins of the Arab/Israeli conflict
By: John B. Judis
Edition: First edition.
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 2014
Language: eng
Number of pages: 432
ISBN-13: 9780374161095
Subjects: Politics and government; Moral and ethical aspects; Relations with Jews; Arab-Israeli conflict; Zionism; Causes; Foreign relations; History
Description: "A probing look at one of the most incendiary subjects of our time--the relationship between the United States and Israel There has been more than half a century of raging conflict between Jews and Arabs--a violent, costly struggle that has had catastrophic repercussions in a critical region of the world. In Genesis, John B. Judis argues that, while Israelis and Palestinians must shoulder much of the blame, the United States has been the principal power outside the region since the end of World War II and as such must account for its repeated failed efforts to resolve this enduring strife. The fatal flaw in American policy, Judis shows, can be traced back to the Truman years. What happened between 1945 and 1949 sealed the fate of the Middle East for the remainder of the century. As a result, understanding that period holds the key to explaining almost everything that follows--right down to George W. Bush's unsuccessful and ill-conceived effort to win peace through holding elections among the Palestinians, and Barack Obama's failed attempt to bring both parties to the negotiating table. A provocative narrative history animated by a strong analytical and moral perspective, and peopled by colorful and outsized personalities, Genesis offers a fresh look at these critical postwar years, arguing that if we can understand how this stalemate originated, we will be better positioned to help end it"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 375-409) and index.
Table of contents: title: Two peoples and one land. The origins of Zionism : Herzl, Ahad, Ha'am, and Gordon ; The origins of Palestinian nationalism ; Chaim Weizmann and the Balfour Declaration ; Herbert Samuel and the British Mandate ; The failure of the "double undertaking" ; The irrepressible conflict; title: The paradox of American Zionism. The origins of American Zionism ; Zionism and American liberalism : Brandeis and his circle ; Abba Hillel Silver and the Zionist lobby; title: Truman and Israel. Harry Truman and the $64 question ; The search for an Anglo-American consensus ; Nahum Goldmann and the road to partition ; Passing the buck ; Unmatched ineptness ; Triumph and catastrophe; title: Obama and the Truman precedent.