New Article: Ben-Dror & Ziedler, Israel, Jordan, and UN Resolutions to Internationalise Jerusalem

Ben-Dror, Elad, and Asaf Ziedler. “Israel, Jordan, and their Efforts to Frustrate the United Nations Resolutions to Internationalise Jerusalem.” Diplomacy & Statecraft 26.4 (2015): 636-58.

 

URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09592296.2015.1096685

 

Abstract

From 1948 to 1950, the United Nations (UN) endeavoured to promote the internationalisation of Jerusalem, which had been a key element of the 1947 Palestine “Partition Plan.” Even though the war that erupted in Palestine in 1948 put paid to partition, 2 UN resolutions re-affirmed the decision to place the city under international auspices. On the opposite side stood Israel and Jordan, both of which ruled the city and were interested in frustrating the attempt to remove it from their control. This identity of interests stirred them to try to reach agreement to divide Jerusalem and make internationalisation superfluous. Unlike other studies that examine the contacts between Israel and Jordan during this period, this analysis examines the Jerusalem question as an independent issue and focuses on the moves made by Israel and Jordan during their covert negotiations in light of the UN decision to internationalise the city.

 

 

 

New Book: Elad, Core Issues in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

אלעד, משה. סוגיות הליבה בסכסוך הישראלי-פלסטיני. חיפה: פרדס, 2014.

URL: www.pardes.co.il/book.asp?pID=1198

תכנית החלוקה בנובמבר 47′ סדקה את הסדקים המשמעותיים הראשונים בסכסוך שבין התנועה הלאומית הפלסטינית לבין התנועה הציונית ומדינת ישראל. בבסיסה של המחלוקת אז ניצבה אי נכונותם של הערבים להתפשר על חלוקתה של ארץ ישראל. מלחמת השחרור הישראלית בשנת 48′, והנכבה הפלסטינית שבאה בעקבותיה, בקעו בקיעים רחבים נוספים בעימות הזה כשבמרכזו ניצבו סוגיית הפליטים והרס התשתיות הערביות.
מלחמת ששת הימים 67′ והעשור הראשון של הממשל הישראלי בגדה המערבית ובמזרח ירושלים, פערו בין הצדדים תהום שכמעט איננה ניתנת לגישור. רבדיה של תהום זו פרושים על פני סוגית הפליטים לרבות אלו שנוספו בשנת 67′, סוגית מזרח–ירושלים, סוגית ההתנחלויות, וסוגית הגבולות וההסדרים.
ספר זה המבוסס על עבודת דוקטורט שעסקה בממשל הישראלי בעשור הראשון שאחרי מלחמת ששת הימים, 1976-1967, מתאר את לידתן של ארבע סוגיות הליבה תוך הארת היבטים עכשוויים ואקטואליים ותוך ציון ההשלכות המעשיות האפשריות שלהן.

ד”ר משה אלעד, מזרחן, מרצה וחוקר המתמחה בתחום המנהיגות והחברה הפלסטינית ויחסי הגומלין שלהם עם החברה הישראלית מאז העלייה הראשונה בשנת 1882. בוגר החוגים להיסטוריה של המזרח התיכון ולימודי ארץ ישראל באוניברסיטת חיפה, שם גם כתב דוקטורט על הממשל הישראלי בגדה המערבית ובמזרח ירושלים בשנים 1976-1967. כמו כן הוא בוגר תואר שני במנהל ציבורי בבית הספר ג’והן קנדי לממשל באוניברסיטת הרווארד בארצות הברית.
שימש כחוקר וכמתאם מחקרים במוסד שמואל נאמן למחקרי מדיניות לאומית בטכניון.
אלוף משנה בצה”ל, ששימש בתפקידים בכירים בגדה המערבית ובלבנון. בין יתר תפקידיו שימש כראש המנגנון לתיאום ביטחוני עם הרשות הפלסטינית במסגרת “הסכמי אוסלו” (1998-1995).

 

 

ToC: Israel Affairs 20,1 (2014)

Israel Affairs, Vol. 20, No. 1, 02 Jan 2014 is now available on Taylor & Francis Online. This new issue contains the following articles: Articles Alternative energy in Israel: opportunities and risks Gawdat Bahgat Pages: 1-18 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863078 The success of the Zionist strategy vis-à-vis UNSCOP Elad Ben-Dror Pages: 19-39 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863079 Israel: ‘occupier’ or ‘occupied’? The psycho-political projection of Christian and post-Christian supersessionism Kalman J. Kaplan & Paul Cantz Pages: 40-61 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863082 Misuse of power in Israeli intelligence Ephraim Kahana & Daphna Sharfman Pages: 62-74 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863081 The birth of the core issues: the West Bank and East Jerusalem under Israeli administration, 1967–76 (Part 2) Moshe Elad Pages: 75-86 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863080 One step forward or two steps back? Unilateralism and Israel’s Gaza disengagement in the eyes of the world Geoffrey Levin Pages: 87-103 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863084 Between private property rights and national preferences: the Bank of Israel’s early years Arie Krampf Pages: 104-124 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863083 Bandwagoning for profit and Turkey: alliance formations and volatility in the Middle East Spyridon N. Litsas Pages: 125-139 DOI: 10.1080/13537121.2013.863085

Cite: Ben-Dror, The United Nations Plan to Establish an Armed Jewish Force

Ben-Dror, Elad. “The United Nations Plan to Establish an Armed Jewish Force to Implement the Partition Plan (United Nations Resolution 181).” Diplomacy & Statecraft 24.4 (2013): 559-78.

 

URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/dip/2013/00000024/00000004/art00003

 

Abstract

On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into two independent states, Jewish and Arab, with Jerusalem as a corpus separatum under international control. The General Assembly then established the United Nations Palestine Commission to implement partition. Amongst other things, the Commission was to establish “armed militias” under UN supervision to help realise the plan. The analysis examines various aspects of the sequence of events related to this idea, from its conception in the General Assembly to its death in February 1948. It demonstrates that under the militia clause, the United Nations intended to rely on the Jews’ main military organisation – the Haganah – to establish the Jewish state and shows how and why this plan went awry despite the converging interests of the Jews and the United Nations.

Cite: Jacobson, Why did Arendt Reject the Partition of Palestine?

Jacobson, Eric. “Why did Hannah Arendt Reject the Partition of Palestine?” Journal for Cultural Research 17.4 (2013): 358-81.

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14797585.2013.768472

Abstract

The political philosopher Hannah Arendt actively engaged in the problem of a Jewish homeland and the politics of Zionism in the years 1941–1948. She advocated a Binational solution to Palestine – a single political commonwealth with two national identities, Jewish and Arab, integrated in a federation with other countries in the region. In the crucial period leading up to the establishment of the State of Israel, Arendt became increasingly disillusioned with the Jewish Agency and the Zionist movement for failing to organize a Jewish response to Nazism (a Jewish Army) and rejecting the Palestinian right to a homeland.

Reviews: Shlaim, Israel and Palestine

Avi Shlaim. Israel and Palestine: Reappraisals, Revisions, Refutations. London / Brooklyn, NY: Verso, 2009.

Reviews

• Robert Fisk, “Lessons in Justice and Fairness from a No-Nonsense Historian.” The Independent, July 25, 2009.
• Stephen Sizer, “Review.” Stephen Sizer (blog), July 2009.
• Michael Rubner, Middle East Policy 17,1 (2010): 157-160.
• Rafael Behr, “Review.” The Guardian, October 2, 2010.
• Hisham Khatib. “Review.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 38.2 (2011): 283-4.
• James L. Gelvin. “Review.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 45.1 (2013): 191-193.

New Publiction: Kraemer, History of Palestine

Gudrun Krämer

History of Palestine. From the Ottoman Conquest to the Founding of the State of Israel
Translated by Graham Harman & Gudrun Krämer

 

 

It is impossible to understand Palestine today without a careful reading of its distant and recent past. But until now there has been no single volume in English that tells the history of the events–from the Ottoman Empire to the mid-twentieth century–that shaped modern Palestine. The first book of its kind, A History of Palestine offers a richly detailed interpretation of this critical region’s evolution.

 

 

To read the entire book description or a sample chapter, please visit: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/8638.html

Cite: Ben-Gurion and the Soviet Union’s Involvement in the Jewish State

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Mintz, Matityahu. "Ben-Gurion and the Soviet Union’s Involvement in the Effort to Establish a Jewish State in Palestine." Journal of Israeli History 26,1 (2007): 67-78.

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Although the fourth volume of Shabtai Teveth’s biography of David Ben-Gurion presents a comprehensive and detailed description of his activities in the years 1942-46, it has omitted a fascinating aspect, which this article wishes to address: the contacts between Ben-Gurion and Soviet officials on the efforts to establish a Jewish state in Palestine. On the basis of documents in the Soviet and Israeli archives, the article challenges conventional explanations for Soviet support in 1947 for the partition of Palestine and subsequent recognition of the young state of Israel. It argues that the Soviets were less interested in imperialistic designs on the Middle East than in preventing the return of Jews to the USSR and its satellites after the war. Ben-Gurion knew as much but, for a variety of political considerations, kept silent.

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Keywords: Israel and USSR Relations, David Ben-Gurion, Zionism: State establishment, Zionism: Diplomacy, UN Resolution 181, 1947 Partition Plan, Matityahu Minz, מתתיהו מינץ

URL: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a773630827