Baksheesh diplomacy : secret negotiations between American Jewish leaders and Arab officials on the eve of World War II / Rafael Medoff.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Medoff, Rafael, 1959-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jews--United States--Politics and government--20th century.

Jews.

Jews--Charitable contributions.

United States.

Politics and government.

Zionism--United States.

Zionism.

Jewish-Arab relations--History--1917-1948.

Jewish-Arab relations.

History.

Physical Description:

viii, 190 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Md. : Lexington Books, [2001]

Summary:

Could the Arab-Israeli conflict have been avoided? Was it possible to achieve peace between Jews and Arabs in Palestine in the 1930s? Rafael Medoff's intriguing study reveals, for the first time, the story of the Fifth Avenune multimillionaires who believed they could bring peace to the Middle East through secret diplomacy and a generous dose of Baksheesh the Arabic word for bribery. In documents unearthed from archives on three continents, Medoff has discovered an extraordinary and previously unknown chapter in the history of Middle East diplomacy. Here he brings the story to life. A work of history that reads like a thriller, this book takes the reader from the elite Jewish social dubs of interwar Manhattan to the bustling bazaars of Baghdad, as it sheds fresh light on the Arab-Jewish conflict, the relationship between American Jewry and the Holy Land, and the divisions within the Jewish community over the Palestinian Arab issue.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [179]-184) and index.

ISBN:

0739102036

0739102044

OCLC:

44775145