Cross Roads to Israel: Palestine from Balfour to Bevin / On November 2, 1917, Arthur Balfour declared in London: "His Majesty's Government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion announced in Tel Aviv the founding of the Jewish state of Israel. The intervening years -three decades of bitter struggle-form the subject of this definitive account of Israel's road to statehood. Against the background of world events, Christopher Sykes charts the tortuous course of British policy in Palestine, caught between the Balfour commitment and vital alliances with oil-rich Arab powers. Crossroads to Israel is a story of ever-quickening conflict; it is the story of Jews and Arabs moving toward final confrontation -both on the battlefield and in the court of world opinion. The author treats with singular clarity the shifting pattern of Zionist strategy: its increasing militancy, its dilemma during World War Il when Palestine was forced to side with England against the Nazi menace, its often violent inner schisms. He examines in de- tail the rise of terrorism on both sides and the complex, tragic role played by refugees from Europe. Here is the true story of the Acre jail- break and the Exodus, which the author counts "among the most immense propaganda successes that pre-Israel Zionism achieved." Considered as well are the influences of the United States and the United Nations in the decisive years before independence. Christopher Sykes states it has been his purpose to write "a propaganda- free book." That he has done so is abundantly clear. But he has done something more: he has captured the drama of world politics and brought history to life. With superb objectivity, he has clarified events still clouded by partisan emotion. A work of great impact, Crossroads to Israel is essential reading for every student of Israeli history.
