I see, but...

Submitted by Kepha Hor (United States), Jul 12, 2011 at 21:11

I understand that King Abdallah of Jordan was initially willing to cut a deal with Israel in 1948, and his being tempted by a peace deal with Israel was one of the things prompting an exiled Falastin Arab to assassinate him.

Then again, a people doesn't spread itself form the Hijaz and Najd to every point between Khuzestan and the Atlantic by being quiet and peaceful.

Still, I accept your point about the early Zionists being more than a little bit romantic about the Arabs. Goldziher and Weill did them quite a disservice, especially Goldziher, who masqueraded as a convert to Islam, and contrasted the way the Arabs (thinking him a convert) received him with the social anti-Semitism of the 19th century academy in German-speaking Europe. he set himself and his readers up for some rather unpleasant surprises further down the line.

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