Description: This comprehensive account examines the growing conflict between Arab and Jew in Palestine that first surfaced clearly in the pivotal years 1933-1939, and which proved to be an irreconcilable rift once the leadership of both peoples refused to accept minority status. A compelling narrative, lucidly written and rooted in extensive archival sources, explores the deadly clash of two rival nationalisms against the broader backdrop of rising antisemitism across Europe, the intervention of Arab states, and international réalpolitik. The various suggestions then advanced for resolving the Palestine dilemma, as well as the internal divisions which beset the two rivals for political independence, are also reviewed in these pages. The two volumes, one devoted to the years 1933-1936 and the second to the years 1937-1939, serve as a riveting prequel to Professor Penkower's Decision on Palestine Deferred: America, Britain and Wartime Diplomacy, 1939-1945.
Review Quotes: "A masterful examination of a key period in the history of mandatory Palestine by one of the foremost historians of the modern Jewish experience. A must read for anyone interested in understanding the origin of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and its stubborn resistance to a peaceful settlement."--Efraim Karsh, Professor of Middle East & Mediterranean Studies, King's College London, and author of "Palestine Betrayed"