The Faithful City: The Siege of Jerusalem, 1948 (Second Printing)

New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960. Hardcover. Very Good/Good. Hardcover. The fighting for control of Jerusalem in 1948 was part of the 1947-1949 Palestine war. Under the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, Jerusalem was to be a separate entity administered by an international body, but this was not accepted by local Jews or Arabs. Arab militias blockaded the corridor from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, preventing supplies from reaching the Jews in Jerusalem. Jewish militias broke the blockade and attempted to take over the whole of Jerusalem. Jordanian troops intervened and retained control of East Jerusalem. The division of control of Jerusalem was made permanent by a ceasefire later in the year. Dov Joseph [Yosef] (1899-1980) was the Israeli provisional government's military governor of Jerusalem during this conflict. He had been born in Canada, founded the Canadian Young Judaea Zionist youth movement in 1917, and immigrated to Palestine in 1918. His publication of this memoir was controversial because he blamed the commander of Jerusalem for providing faulty information that led the fall of Old Jerusalem. Octavo. Brown paper-covered boards with black cloth-covered spine. Title in gilt to front cover and spine. Blue photograph-covered dust jacket with title in white and orange to front and spine panels. Jacket is price-clipped and has a number of worn and stained spots, with minor bumping to edges. Pages are slightly yellowed, but generally bright and clean. Previous owner's name on front inside endpaper. 356 pages, including index. MIDEAST7/2282.