ISBN: 9780745320656

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Pluto Press, 2007
Product Dimensions: 22.7 x 15.3 x 1.8 cm

Following the first Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897 at which the idea of establishing a Jewish state was first mooted, the rabbis in Vienna dispatched two representatives to investigate the suitability of the country for such an enterprise. The men reported the result of their explorations in this cable to Vienna: The bride is beautiful, but she is married to another man.

By which they meant that, if a place was to be found for Israel in Palestine, where would the people of Palestine go? This is a dilemma that Israel has never been able to resolve. Leading write on the topic, Ghada Karmi explains in fascinating detail the difficulties Israel’s existence created for the Arab world and why the search for a solution has been so elusive.