The Road to Jerusalem: Glubb Pasha, Palestine and the Jews (Library of Middle East History) [Paperback]

Benny Morris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2003 | ISBN-10: 1860649890 | ISBN-13: 978-1860649899

General Sir John Glubb was the last British pro-Consul of the region and commander of the
Arab Legion during the crucial years between 1936 and 1956. He was witness to the collapse of Palestine and the final foundation and establishment of the State of Israel. Now in paperback, this book looks at Glubb's personal vision of the Middle East and its peoples. Morris examines his reactions to the Arab Revolt in Palestine and the periodic plans to partition Palestine and establish a Jewish state. This masterful account offers the first in-depth look at Glubb's of his thinking, aims and actions during 1948, as he led his small army into Palestine and war against Israel.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Morris is one of the leading figures of the "post-Zionist" school of history, challenging what he sees as untenable myths regarding Israel's nature and founding. He is best known for asserting, in The Birth of Palestinian Refugee Problem 1947-1949, that systematic dispossession of Palestine Arabs was, at the time of Israel's founding, a conscious Israeli policy. The second intifada has seemingly altered his views on Israeli culpability in the current political situation, as a recent series of colloquies between Morris and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, published in the New York Review of Books, makes clear, but this book continues his revisionist historical work. John Bagot Glubb, better known as Glubb Pasha, was a British officer who commanded Jordan's Arab Legion, the best Muslim fighting force in the Middle East, between 1936 and 1956. He has a corresponding reputation, fuelled by his post-retirement writings and speeches, as pro-Arab and anti-Israel, to the point of being seen as anti-Semitic. Morris makes sophisticated use of primary sources to present a more nuanced evaluation of Glubb as someone simultaneously loyal to the British government and the state of Jordan. He finds that Glubb accepted on pragmatic grounds the agreement King Abdullah made in principle with Israel's Golda Meir for the partitioning of Palestine. According to Morris, however, when Glubb and Abdullah entered the 1948 war, they did not seek the annihilation of Israel. Instead they waged limited war for limited objectives previously conceded by the Yishuv. Morris contends that Arab policy as a whole during the war followed on this action: it was designed to hurt the Jews, score domestic political points and compensate for Jordan's projected gains, but not to destroy Israel as a state.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Gen. Sir John Glubb was a highly significant figure in the Middle East during the 20th century. As the British proconsul in the region and commander of the Arab Legion between 1936 and 1956, General Glubb became a controversial soldier-politician as commander of a small Arab army against Israel during the 1948 war that led to the establishment of the Jewish state. In this highly original book, Morris, a prominent revisionist Israeli historian at Ben-Gurion University whose numerous publications have challenged many of the basic Israeli assumptions about the Arab-Israeli conflict and the birth of the Palestinian refugee problem, gives a thorough account of Glubb's ambiguous political agenda and his involvement in the early years of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Relying on British, Arab Legion, and Israeli Defense Forces intelligence sources, the author offers students and scholars of the Middle East an evenhanded, meticulously researched analysis of some of the important developments in the early phases of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Highly recommended for large public and academic libraries.
Nader Entessar, Spring Hill Coll., Mobile, AL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris (October 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1860649890
• ISBN-13: 978-1860649899
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,056,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine scholarly study of vital period in Israeli history, September 8, 2002

By 

William Podmore (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Road to Jerusalem: Glubb Pasha, Palestine and the Jews (Hardcover)

This excellent book studies the career of John Glubb Pasha, the most influential of the British `orientalist' corps of officers and officials serving in the Middle East until 1956. He commanded the Transjordan Arab Legion from 1939 to 1956 and played an important part in setting up modern Jordan by helping King Abdullah to establish his rule. In 1948 he led the Legion to a limited victory in the first Arab-Israeli war.

Benny Morris, a leading Israeli historian, has based his book on extensive study in the archives of David Ben Gurion, the Israel Defence Forces, the Israeli State, the UN, the Haganah and St Anthony's College Middle East Centre, including the Glubb Papers, and in the Public Record Office.

Glubb retained the typical imperial contempt for both Jews and Arabs, especially for educated or urban people. But his opposition to Zionism was not based on his anti-Semitism, any more than his support for Arab aspirations was based on his anti-Arabism. He believed that opposing Zionism and supporting Jordan were policies that would strengthen Britain's hold in the Middle East. He was always a loyal servant of the British Empire, acting in what he saw as its best interests.

Morris supports the contention, made most notably by Avi Shlaim in his 1988 book, Collusion across the Jordan, that Israel and Jordan collaborated during the 1948 war. He shows how Israel and Jordan came to a secret understanding in November 1947 to partition Palestine and not to attack each other. Since the Transjordan Legion was much the best Arab force opposing Israel, the agreement showed that this war did not really threaten Israel with annihilation.

Jordanian forces invaded Palestine not to attack Israel but to annex its Arab-populated eastern regions. The Legion did not attack any area that the UN had planned for Israel. Israel broke the agreement by attacking the Legion in May, July and October 1948. The Legion took over the West Bank and East Jerusalem, saving them from Israeli conquest. King Abdullah had done what the British government wanted, strengthening Jordan at the Palestinians' expense.

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding the culture and world view of Middle East citizens, June 27, 2011

By 

mintyone (down south) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Road to Jerusalem: Glubb Pasha, Palestine and the Jews (Library of Middle East History) (Paperback)

Politicians need to become students of a culture, both as an historian as well as an anthropologist. Military Leaders must learn FROM history, not just learn about history of the Middle East. It is a grand book to read and re-read carefully and prayerfully