Founded in 1929, the Jewish Agency played a central role in the founding and development of the State of Israel. Throughout the 1920s, 30s and 40s, the JA wanted to influence opinion in the region and many secret meetings took place between them and Arab leaders and elites. The dominant narrative claims that Syrian leaders and elites were not involved in any such meetings. However, this book reveals for the first time that in fact a multitude of secret meetings and negotiations took place including with the Syrian National Block - the official Syrian leadership at the time - and the Shahbandari opposition and leaders of Jebel al-Druze. Based mainly on primary sources from Israeli archives, including documentation of discussions, reports and decisions taken by the JA leadership, the book tells a new story of a critical period of history, the Arab Revolt of 1936-1939. Grounded in sources and the historical context of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Mahmoud Muhareb argues that the JA was interested in weakening the Palestinian National Movement and wanted to isolate it from the Arab states. He also sheds new light on how the JA felt about the national rights of the Palestinian people and the ways in which they used disputes and conflicts in Arab societies to achieve their objectives. The book challenges Syrian and Israeli official narratives and supports Israeli new historians' arguments on why peace between Israel and the Arabs was never achieved. The book includes Arabic and Hebrew sources translated into English for readers.

Book Information
ISBN 9780755647637
Author Mahmoud Muhareb
Format Hardback
Page Count 224
Imprint I.B. Tauris
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 156g