Syria and the Palestinians : the clash of nationalisms

"A critically important addition to our knowledge of Syria and the Palestinians."-- William W. Haddad, California State University, Fullerton "A powerful and persuasive contribution to the discourse on Arab nationalism. It is based on original research never before seen in the English language."-- Jamal R. Nassar, Illinois State University This timely study of Arab and Palestinian nationalism offers a penetrating look at the soul of Syria, the loyalties of other Arabs, and issues related to the strategic control of neighboring lands since 1948. Syria's relationship to the Palestinians is an old one, prompting modern Syrians even today to refer to Palestine as Southern Syria. Genuine philosophic differences separate the two nationalisms, one defined in the post-Ottoman period, the other in the post-Israeli period. Ghada Talhami delineates the phases of this relationship following the ideological transformations of Palestinian leadership under Haj Amin al-Husseini, Shuqeiry, Habash, and Arafat. She examines Habash's Arab Nationalism Movement and its struggle to keep alive a radical and Arab form of nationalism, emphasizing the contributions of some noted Palestinians to pan-Arabism before and after Arafat. She also illustrates the pitfalls of the Syrian-Palestinian confrontation over Lebanon and the problematic nature of the PLO's strategic goals in that conflict. Using the National Archives of Syria, memoirs of the principal actors, and historical accounts in Arabic, Talhami has constructed a contemporary history of Syria and Palestine that reflects a new stage of scholarship on the Middle East. Ghada Hashem Talhami is D. K. Pearsons Professor of Politics at Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois. She is the author, most recently, of __Palestine and the Egyptian National Identity__ and __The Islamic Mobilization of Women in Egypt__ (UPF, 1996). Table of Contents 7 Preface vii 9 1. The Struggle for Geographic Coherence: Reclaiming Southern Syria 1 13 2. The Earthquake of the 1948 Palestine War 25 37 3. The Political Co-optation of the Palestinians 47 59 4. The Guerrilla Factor and Syria’s Vulnerability 78 90 5. When Brothers Collide: The Confrontation over Lebanon 112 124 6. The Clash of Nationalisms 154 166 7. Peace or Pax Americana? 195 207 8. The Search for a Unified Strategy 212 224 Notes 221 233 Bibliography 233 245 Index 241 253 This study of Arab and Palestinian nationalism offers a look at the soul of Syria, the loyalties of other Arabs, and issues related to the strategic control of neighbouring lands since 1948. It constructs a contemporary history of Syria and Palestine. Ghada Hashem Talhami. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.