Separate and Unequal: The Inside Story of Israeli Rule in East Jerusalem - Hardcover

Cheshin, Amir S.; Hutman, Bill; Melamed, Avi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674801369 ISBN 13: 9780674801363

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1999

Synopsis

This vivid behind-the-scenes account of Israeli rule in Jerusalem details for the first time the Jewish state's attempt to lay claim to all of Jerusalem, even when that meant implementing harsh policies toward the city's Arab population.

The authors, Jerusalemites from the spheres of politics, journalism, and the military, have themselves been players in the drama that has unfolded in east Jerusalem in recent years and appears now to be at a climax. They have also had access to a wide range of official documents that reveal the making and implementation of Israeli policy toward Jerusalem. Their book discloses the details of Israel's discriminatory policies toward Jerusalem Arabs and shows how Israeli leaders mishandled everything from security and housing to schools and sanitation services, to the detriment of not only the Palestinian residents but also Israel's own agenda. Separate and Unequal is a history of lost opportunities to unite the peoples of Jerusalem.

A central focus of the book is Teddy Kollek, the city's outspoken mayor for nearly three decades, whose failures have gone largely unreported until now. But Kollek is only one character in a cast that includes prime ministers, generals, terrorists, European and American leaders, Arab shopkeepers, Israeli policemen, and Palestinian schoolchildren. The story the authors tell is as dramatic and poignant as the mosaic of religious and ethnic groups that call Jerusalem home. And coming at a time of renewed crisis, it offers a startling perspective on past mistakes that can point the way toward more equitable treatment of all Jerusalemites.

About this title

About the Author

Amir S. Cheshin, a retired Israeli army colonel, was Senior Adviser on Arab Community Affairs and Assistant to former Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek.

Review

Given their high-level access to key municipal and Israeli decision-makers, the authors succeed in exposing the horrific lengths to which the Israeli government went to prevent the re-division of Jerusalem and preserve its status as the united and external capital of Israel...Separate and Unequal does provide a healthy dose of realism from which to assess the latest round of Arab-Israeli peace negotiations, the so-called final-status talks and the 'Jerusalem question' in particular. (Peter McKenna Washington Post Book World)

With access to all the papers of the former mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek, the authors--Amir Cheshin and Avi Melamed, to former aides to Kollek, together with Bill Hutman, a journalist for the English-language Jerusalem Post--tell a heart-breaking story of squandered opportunities. (Anne Applebaum Daily Telegraph)

One of the most important books on the Israeli rule in the territories in general and in Jerusalem in particular. (Tom Swgev Ha'aretz)

Amir Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed argue that Israel has suffered from 'failure after failure, missed opportunity after missed opportunity' in governing Jerusalem. If only the Arab population had been fairly treated, given limited autonomy under a system of neighborhood councils or simply conceived of as a permanent partner, then, they argue, Israel would have control of a peaceful, united city. (Publishers Weekly)

Cheshin and Melamed, onetime aides to former Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek, and Hutman, formerly of the Jerusalem Post, offer a scathing expose of persistent Israeli discriminatory practices against Jerusalem Arabs...The point is well made that Israel could do more for at least those East Jerusalem Arabs who don't openly oppose the state, and there is much here that informs the debate on Israel's ground zero. (Kirkus Reviews)

[Hutman and Melamed] present an unusually frank and courageous account of relations between Jews and Palestinian Arab citizens in Israel's capital. As the title states, the two communities are separated, and their treatment is decidedly unequal in nearly all aspects of communal affairs--housing, education, health and sanitation facilities, availability of water and electricity. The author's conclude that 'Israel has treated the Palestinians of Jerusalem terribly...forced many of them from their homes and stripped them of their land...while lying to them and deceiving them and the world about its honorable intentions.' (D. Peretz Choice)

[This] book is an indictment of Israeli misrule in east Jerusalem. It is all the more powerful because its authors come from within the Israeli establishment and write from a Zionist standpoint. [The authors] show that, more than three decades after its supposed unification in 1967, Jerusalem is more divided than ever. (Bernard Wasserstein Times Higher Education Supplement)

In Separate and Unequal, Amir S. Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed wisely eschew the mystical, eschatological and ethereal realms to which many writers on the holy city ascend. They stick to mundane municipal detail: rubbish collection, sewage, potholes, parks and planning permissions. The authors are admirably qualified for the task...All three know the city intimately and have made exceptional efforts to bridge the schism that divides its Arab from its Jewish inhabitants. Their book is an indictment of Israeli misrule in east Jerusalem. It is all the more powerful because its authors come from within the Israeli establishment and write from a Zionist standpoint. (Bernard Wasserstein Times Higher Education Supplement 2000-12-15)

Their insights are primarily those of individuals who possess unique "insider" information about the Teddy Kollek administration (1966-93), and the book provides often intriguing material drawn from their experiences and sources. Well-written and engaging, Separate and Unequal is generally quite critical in its depiction of the Jewish state's rule over the territory it conquered in 1967. (Thomas Abowd Journal of Palestine Studies)

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0674801369
• ISBN 13: 9780674801363
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288