The Palestinian National Revival: In the Shadow of the Leadership Crisis, 1937-1967

by Moshe Shemesh

Overview

Former Israeli intelligence officer Moshe Shemesh offers a fresh understanding of the complex history and politics of the Middle East in this new analysis of the Palestinian national movement. Shemesh looks at the formative years of the movement that emerged following the 1948 War and traces the leaders, their objectives, and their weaknesses, fragmentation, and conflicts with their neighbors. He follows the formation of the Sons of Nakba, the establishment of Fatah, the reframing of Jordan as analogous with the Palestinian cause, and the creation of the Palestine Liberation Organization and its new expression of nationalism until the 1967 War. With unprecedented access to Arabic sources, Shemesh provides new perspectives on inter-Arab politics and the history of the intractable Arab-Israeli conflict.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253036599
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	09/12/2018
Series:	Perspectives on Israel Studies
Pages:	340
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Moshe Shemesh is Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Senior Fellow at the Ben-Gurion Research Institute. He is author of Arab Politics, Palestinian Nationalism, and the Six Day War: The Crystallization of Arab Strategy and Nasir's Descent to War, 1957-1967.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Aims and Scope
Part I
The Leadership Crisis of the Palestinian National Movement, 1937–1963:
The Decline from Power of Mufti Haj Amin Al-Husayni

1. En Route to a Crisis of Leadership: The 1930s through World War II
2. Return of the Mufti and Increased Arab Involvement in the Filastin Issue
3. The All-Palestine Government, September 1948: Historical Failure of Leadership or Default Option?
4. The Palestinians in the Absence of Leadership, 1949–1963

Part II
National Revival:
The 1950s as the Formative Years of the New Palestinian National Movement

1. The Nakba Generation
2. The "Sons of the Nakba" Generation: Emergent Leadership of the New Palestinian National Movement
3. Manifestations of the Palestinian National Awakening: The Arab Nationalists Movement, Fatah, the Ba'th Party, and the General Union of Palestinian Students
4. The Palestinians of the Gaza Strip under the Egyptian Government

Part III
The West Bank Palestinians under Hashemite Rule:
The "Palestinization" Process in the Shadow of Egyptian Subversion and Influence

1. The Palestinians under the Hashemite Regime
2. First Crisis: Aftermath of the IDF Raid on Qibya
3. Second Crisis: In the Shadow of Egyptian Subversion – December 1955–April 1957
4. The Crisis of April 1963: West Bank Palestinians and the Revival of a Palestinian Entity
5. The Palestinians of Jordan, 1965–1966: Between Shuqayri, Husayn, and the Emergence of Fatah
6. The Crisis of November 1966: The Aftermath of the IDF Raid on Samu'

Part IV
Ahmad al-Shuqayri: Between the Arab Hammer and Palestinian Anvil, 1964–1967
A Predictable Failure of Leadership and the Peak of a Leadership Crisis

1. Ahmad al-Shuqayri's Path to PLO Leadership
2. The Struggle over Leadership of the PLO: Emergence of Fatah and Decline in Shuqayri's Status, 1965-1966
3. The Leadership Crisis Escalates: June 1966–May 1967
4. Shuqayri: The End of the Road – June–December 1967

Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

Donna Robinson Divine

"The web of relationships woven by Palestinians—leaders and ordinary subjects of regimes that felt embattled and weak---was extraordinarily complicated and often changed as swiftly as did the regimes. Moshe Shemesh unravels these complexities and all students of the Middle East, no matter their background, will benefit."

Avi Shlaim

"This impressive book reflects a lifetime of immersion in Palestinian history, and as a result, throws a great deal of new light on many aspects of Palestinian society and politics. Moshe Shemesh adds new facts and insights to virtually every major episode in the forty-year period he covers."

Editorial Reviews

"This impressive book reflects a lifetime of immersion in Palestinian history, and as a result, throws a great deal of new light on many aspects of Palestinian society and politics. Moshe Shemesh adds new facts and insights to virtually every major episode in the forty-year period he covers."—Avi Shlaim, author of The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World

"The web of relationships woven by Palestinians—leaders and ordinary subjects of regimes that felt embattled and weak—was extraordinarily complicated and often changed as swiftly as did the regimes. Moshe Shemesh unravels these complexities and all students of the Middle East, no matter their background, will benefit."—Donna Robinson Divine, author of Exiled in the Homeland: Zionism and the Return to Mandate Palestine

From the Publisher