The Fight For Jerusalem

Newly updated and revised with the most current information about the events in the Middle East, Pastor John Hagee explains how the Israeli and Palestinian conflict will affect global politics, America's energy supply, and the world economy. The Battle for Jerusalem explores the heart of Israel's current struggle, the history behind the antagonism between Arabs and Jews, and the powerful significance of the Temple Mount, a thirty-five acre parcel that is the most fiercely contested real estate on the planet. Hagee explains how this conflict is not merely political or economic, but is also spiritual, with the repercussions of their actions continuing to echo across the world. Most importantly, Hagee illustrates how all the players in this tortuous conflict fit into God's plan for the ages. Previous editions: 0-7852-6788-3, 0-7852-6588-0, and 0-7852-6542-2

A former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations argues against a redivision of Jerusalem, stating that it will only enflame radical Islamists and maintains that an awareness of biblical history can protect the city for worshippers of all faiths.

Providing an unforgettable account of the events surrounding the critical Battle for Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War, this fast-paced narrative by Israeli chief of staff and field commander Gur brings alive all the tension, terror, uncertainty, hope and desperation of the conflict.

*Includes pictures *Includes contemporary accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading When Israel captured East Jerusalem during the Six Day War in 1967, it established Jewish control over the city for the first time in nearly 2,000 years, and in many ways it brought a story full circle, as Jerusalem has witnessed some of history's most important battles over the past 3,000 years. Over 2,500 years before the Six Day War, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II oversaw the expansion of the Neo-Babylonian Empire during the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, which placed him in conflict with Egypt and the ancient kingdom of Judah. His ruthless conquest of Judah resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the entire kingdom, and it ultimately earned him notoriety in the Old Testament, where he is mentioned in the books of Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. The Assyrians also exiled the Jews The Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE is arguably the most important event in Jewish history. First, it was the central battle in the First Jewish-Roman war. Second, the failure of the siege on the Jewish side resulted in the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, a disaster that would eventually prove both permanent and catastrophic, since it was never rebuilt. Third, it permanently altered the diaspora of Judaism in the Ancient World. Fourth, because it was indecisive in breaking the power of the Jewish revolt permanently, it was also inconclusive and led to further, inevitable revolts that broke Judean identity completely. Of the many campaigns during the Middle Ages, few are as remarkable or seemingly impossible to win at the start as the First Crusade (1095-99), and the true crowning achievement of that crusade, which resulted in two centuries of Western European Christian states in the Middle East and the permanent firing of the European imagination, was the conquest of Jerusalem on July 15, 1099 after three weeks of siege. That victorious siege came four years after the call for a crusade first went out, and had the Crusaders not taken Jerusalem, the First Crusade would not likely have been followed by any more and the campaign might have been no more than an historical footnote of what could have been. As it turned out, the siege of Jerusalem and the crusade as a whole says much about the first major clash of Western and Eastern military tactics after the fall of the Roman Empire, as well as the power of faith and even fanaticism to motivate people beyond ordinary human endurance. For better and worse, the siege and fall of Jerusalem to the Crusaders has become a fundamental piece in the current view of the West in that part of the world. Indeed, to this day, the First Crusade remains a polarizing event, even among modern historians. For some, the Crusaders were heroes and saints, and for others they were devils who disrupted the peaceful local sects of Muslims, Jews, and Christians, establishing an alien colony that heralded modern European imperialism. In fact, the First Crusade is a good example of why it is unwise to choose sides in history, because neither side was correct and the situation was highly complex. In the wake of the Crusades, Jerusalem's status would change fairly frequently until the establishment of the Ottoman Empire, but that would make the region a flashpoint during World War I. When the Ottoman Empire dissolved following the Great War, Jerusalem became one of the 20th century's most important political issues, and it would witness more fighting in 1948 and 1967. Fighting for Jerusalem: The History of the Most Important Battles and Sieges for Control of the World's Holiest City chronicles the most influential conflicts for control of the city. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the fighting for Jerusalem like never before, in no time at all.

Including a chapter on post-war Jerusalem "Prose that is as graphic as it is lucid. The Battle for Jerusalem is deservedly acclaimed as a classic of its genre." Prof. Howard M. Sachar, author of A History of Israel. "Extraordinarily dramatic". Prof. Edward N. Luttwak, author of Stategy: The Logic of War and Peace Abraham Rabinovich arrived in Jerusalem five days before the Six Day War as a reporter for an American newspaper. He covered the battle for the city and was on the Temple Mount a few hours after its capture. To understand the momentous events he had witnessed, he subsequently interviewed 300 soldiers, officials and civilians. The conquest of the Old City, a major event in modern Middle East history, was something that Israel's leaders had not planned and that some of them did not want. The book was written soon after the war, when memories were fresh. The current revised edition expands the context, political and military, and offers new perspective from both sides of the battlefield. With the outbreak of war with Egypt, Israel sought to avoid a second front. Hours after Jordan opened artillery fire, Israel refrained from substantive retaliation as it sought a cease-fire. Only after Jordanian troops penetrated the Jewish city did Israel respond on the ground, and even then in measured stages. The Israeli cabinet was divided over capture of the Old City. It was, surprisingly, the religious ministers who argued against it most vigorously. They feared that Israel could not stand up to international pressure if it annexed an entity that was not just the cradle of Jewish history but also sacred to Christianity and Islam. However, events created a vacuum on the West Bank into which Israel was inexorably pulled, step by step. We witness the heated debate in Jordanian military headquarters where King Hussein had handed over command of his army to an Egyptian general. The latter's strategy was designed to meet Egypt's needs, not Jordan's. It would cost Jordan the West Bank. The book begins with a description of Jerusalem as a divided city, split between Israel and Jordan since Israel's War of Independence. With the onset of the crisis in 1967, anxiety grips Israeli Jerusalem which had been besieged for months in the earlier war and elaborate emergency measures are set into motion. On the Arab side of the city, by contrast, there is euphoria and anticipation of an easy victory. Virtually nothing is done to prepare the civilian sector. The Israeli general staff pushes for a pre-emptive air strike against Egypt but the government resists. Tensions reach a point where at least one general, Ariel Sharon, considers the possibility of a putsch. The appointment of Moshe Dayan as defense minister opens the way to war. Defense of Israeli Jerusalem is entrusted to the Jerusalem Brigade, made up of local reservists. The greatest concern is Mount Scopus, an Israeli enclave behind Jordanian lines. An Israeli armored brigade is dispatched from the coastal plain with orders to reach Scopus by flanking the Jordanian line. It would have to breach thick minefields and scale difficult terrain as it races a brigade of Jordanian tanks coming up from Jericho. With time pressing, a paratroop brigade is ordered to relieve Scopus by driving through the center of the Jordanian defenses. The reader follows the grueling battles in the trenches of Ammunition Hill and the streets of east Jerusalem through the eyes of the men who fought there. We see the growing isolation of the Jordanian garrison in the Old City, their last bastion. In a room lit only by distant flares, the Jordanian commander informs the local governor that he is pulling his troops out. A number of soldiers choose to remain and engage the Israeli troops from the alleys and ramparts of the walled city. A classic tale.

JERUSALEM AT WAR presents the story of the war in Jerusalem in 1967, a dramatic episode in a battle spanning thousands of years over a city that is considered holy by Jews, Christians and Muslims. The book is the product of research based on primary sources, some uncovered for the first time, as well as 230 in-depth interviews, including some conducted in Jordan. It tells the story of a war that changed the face of Israel and the Middle East. The book is rich in new military and diplomatic revelations - such as the secret relations between Jordan and Israel, the reason why Jordan joined the war, and how Israel achieved its brilliant and rapid victory. In a penetrating, bold and unbiased approach, the author challenges entrenched narratives and shatters a number of myths. The book recounts the history of Jerusalem and Israeli-Jordanian relations following the 1948 war - through the years when the city was divided, and during the fighting in Jerusalem and its surroundings in the Six-Day War. It follows every stage of the war, describes conflicts in the political and military echelons on the eve of the war and during the fighting, examines the overt and covert aspirations of Israel's leaders - Eshkol, Dayan, Rabin and others - and portrays the residents of Jerusalem and those who fought there in 1967. The book sweeps the reader into the fighters' war experience in the communication trenches, tank turrets, cockpits minefields and the alleyways of Jerusalem's Old City. It examines the interplay of glory and horror, of pride and trauma.