Ben-Gurion and the Palestinian Arabs: From Peace to War

By Shabtai Teveth

Book Overview

Translated and condensed from an acclaimed Hebrew study, this is a major revisionist work by one of Israel's leading journalists and author of a multivolume biography of David Ben-Gurion. In the 42 years between 1921 and 1963--during which he served as labor leader, Zionist statesman, and Prime Minister of an independent Israel--Ben-Gurion's influence grew to have a decisive effect upon Jewish policy. Israel came to view the Arabs, to a great extent, through the eyes of David Ben-Gurion. From the outset, he was one of the few leaders of Labor Zionism who sought to anchor the Jewish right to Palestine in something other than historical argument and nationalist myth, Shabtai Teveth writes. But his views have been misinterpreted, derived almost exclusively from his public pronouncements. Teveth delves below the surface of Ben-Gurion's public and diplomatic stance, examining his diaries and letters and the minutes of closed meetings. On the basis of this new edvidence, Teveth gives us a fresh understanding of the man who has long been regarded as harsh and uncompromising, showing that Ben-Gurion was in fact the ultimate pragmatist, playing the roles of peacemaker and militant alternately and at times even simultaneously. About the Author Shabtai Teveth is a Research Fellow at the Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies and at the Weizmann Zionist Research Center at Tel-Aviv University. He is also the author of The Tanks of Tammuz, The Cursed Blessing, and Moshe Dayan: A Biography.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195035623
• ISBN13: 9780195035629
• Release Date: May 1985
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 234 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Great Work

Shabtai Teveth (Weizmann Institute, Tel-Aviv University) is one of the few official Ben-Gurion's biographers. Teveth made a great effort in researching the evolution of Ben-Gurion's mindset (based on declassified behind close door transcripts and personal dairy) regarding the "Arab question." The book focuses on Ben-Gurion's limited contacts with the Palestinian Arab leaders, and clearly paints a different picture than then one usually available for public consumption. Surprisingly, Ben-Gurion displayed a pragmatic understanding of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which publicly has been suppressed for propaganda purposes. From my point of view, this book is a must read book.