Articles by Samir Kassir

Journeys from Paris to Jerusalem *France and the Arab-Israeli Conflict* (Volumes I & II)
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Original Title: Itinéraires de Paris à Jérusalem: la France et le conflit israélo-arabe (Tome 1: 1917-1958) Author: Samir Kassir, Farouk Mardam-Bey Publisher: Institute for Palestine Studies Publication Date: 1992 Language: French Pages: 294 Original Title: Itinéraires de Paris à Jérusalem : la France et le conflit israélo-arabe (Tome 2: 1958-1991) Author: Samir Kassir, Farouk Mardam-Bey Publisher: Institute for Palestine Studies Publication Date: 1993 Language: French Pages: 490 Book Synopsis Throughout the 20th century, France continued to be faced with the question of Palestine. Its role in the genesis of the Arab-Israeli conflict has been far from small given its imperial weight. And even when it became medium weight, it continued to play a role, many times a decisive one, in the evolution of this conflict. Journeys from Paris to Jerusalem describes the successive episodes of French policy from the First World War until the Gulf crisis. The book is written by two Arab historians, Samir Kassir and Farouk Mardam-Bey, who try to examine changes and depict consistencies in this policy. At every stage, they attempt to put issues back in their regional and international context without overlooking factors at the local French scene while highlighting the ideological motives of policymakers. All the players who have been directly or indirectly concerned with the question of Palestine are taken into consideration from the Quai d'Orsay to political parties, and from intellectual elites to Jewish institutions. The authors base their findings on massive documentation. They analyze the systematic thinking which determined the perception of Zionism in France and examine the French-Israeli alliance which shaped relations in the 1950s. They cite the example of the Suez Canal and show that France had taken upon itself the terrible deed of equipping Israel with nuclear weapons. The authors then explore in some detail and a lot of nuance General de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou's policies towards the Arab world by highlighting both their limits and their potentials. The book wraps up by a study of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and François Mitterand's policies with emphasis on the elements which dragged the latter into aligning himself with the United States in the Gulf War, with almost full support from the political class.

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