Bidspirit auction | ”A Jewish State and the

”A Jewish State and the Arab World” - The first publication in France on the Israeli-Arab conflict, issued shortly after the establishment of the State of Israel - État Juif et Monde Arabe - A Jewish State and the Arab World, by François Plessier. The first publication issued in France on the Israeli-Arab conflict shortly after the establishment of the State of Israel. Éditions Gaucher, Paris, 1949. ”There is no doubt that the press, radio, and cinema have kept the French public regularly informed, day by day, about the current and topical aspects of the Palestinian conflict. Yet the interest they display, however keen it may be, remains rather superficial, and it seems that those charged with explaining it are not always sufficiently concerned with clarifying the fundamental issues...” (from the introduction). An early in-depth analysis of the Jewish-Arab conflict at the dramatic turning point of 1948 - the book was published only a few months after the end of the intense fighting of the War of Independence and the signing of the Armistice Agreements. The book deals primarily with the birth of the Zionist movement, the return to the Land of Israel, British policy in the Middle East, the Grand Mufti and the Arab Executive Committee, the Peel Plan, the White Paper, the Zionist Congresses, the activities of the Jewish underground movements (which the author refers to as ”Jewish terrorism”), the upheavals in the Land of Israel during the Second World War, the Jewish State and the Arab world - can the two peoples live together, the intervention of the world's nations in the events taking place in the Land of Israel, and more. Plessier analyzes in the book the background that led to the United Nations decision to partition the Land of Israel on November 29, 1947, the course of the 1948 war, and the complex political and military interactions between the young Jewish State and the Arab countries surrounding it. The book was written in Paris in 1949, under the direct influence, on the one hand, of the Second World War and, on the other, of the collapse of the colonial empires (Britain and France) in the Middle East. The book levels harsh criticism at British policy during the final years of the Mandate, accusing it of cynicism, manipulation, and the deliberate creation of chaos intended to preserve its imperial interests in the region at the expense of both peoples. Plessier proceeds from a geopolitical and historical premise according to which the establishment of the State of Israel was not a passing local event, but rather a political and cultural revolution that would permanently transform the face of the Middle East. He does not view Zionism merely as a national movement, but as a modern, Western, and technological force entering an Arab sphere that, at that time, was experiencing a profound crisis in the transition from colonialism to independence. His point of departure is that this collision was inevitable and would compel both sides to redefine themselves. On the Jewish side: The book examines how the Jewish Yishuv succeeded in building a cohesive state and military infrastructure (the Haganah and the Israel Defense Forces) out of the ashes of the Holocaust, and analyzes its ability to wage war on several fronts simultaneously. On the Arab side, the book focuses on the ”Arab world” not as a single bloc, but as a mosaic of conflicting interests. It demonstrates how the Arab League suffered from severe internal rivalries (for example, between the Hashemite dynasty in Jordan and Iraq and Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Mufti), which seriously undermined the conduct of their military campaign in 1948. It also sharply criticizes the political feudalism and corruption of the Arab regimes of that period. The author argues that they misled their own publics with false promises and used the war against Israel primarily to divert attention from their internal problems, while abandoning the Palestinian refugees. Although his view of the young Jewish State is one of admiration for its organizational and military capabilities, he is critical of its long-term implications. In the book, Plessier warns that Israel's dramatic military victory in 1948 could condemn it to a permanent state of being an ”isolated island” in the heart of a hostile Arab sea, and he questions the possibility of achieving genuine peace so long as the young state is perceived in the Middle East as a bridgehead of an alien Western culture. The book was written from a French-European perspective during a period when the establishment of the State of Israel had shaken the Middle East and altered the global balance of power. On the book's title page appears the printed dedication: ”A la mémoire du comte Folke Bernadotte et des observateurs français de l'O.N.U. tombés pour la Paix en Palestine...” - ”To the memory of Count Folke Bernadotte and of the French United Nations observers who fell for peace in Palestine...”.