Jerusalem 1900: The Holy City in the Age of Possibilities, by Vincent Lemire (University of Chicago Press)

One of the most pronounced myths of Israeli occupation is that, under Israeli stewardship, Jerusalem has never been more open and respectful of all Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The propaganda is easily disproven, however, given Israel’s discriminatory practices toward Palestinian Christian and Muslim Jerusalemites (including their holy sites), and the fact that Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza seldom have access to the holy city. On the contrary, the introduction of Zionism in Palestine upended the erstwhile peaceful, and occasionally warm, interfaith order in Jerusalem. Vincent Lemire’s Jerusalem 1900 chronicles the history of the ancient city at the turn of the century and offers a compelling rebuke to this false Israeli claim that seeks to legitimize Israel’s occupation. The French-educated Albert Antebi, a prominent Jewish Jerusalemite who served as the director of the Alliance Israelite Universelle (AIU) in Jerusalem, foreshadowed in his writings the inevitable destruction of ecumenical bonds by Zionism’s tribal nationalism. Antebi’s record, which the author explores, sheds light on the Jewish community at the time. Antebi welcomed the social progress that American and European Zionist newcomers brought to the much poorer Eastern Jews, but was appalled by “their arrogance” and unapologetic anti-Arab stance. As a native Arabic speaker who was fully integrated into Palestinian culture, he was accused by Ashkenazi Jews of being too close to Jerusalem’s Muslims. In one illustrative anecdote, three Ashkenazi Zionists showed up at the AIU and demanded that Antebi kick out a Muslim teacher at the organization, which had Christian and Muslim students. “I am disgusted, discouraged,” Antebi wrote. The exclusionary vision of Zionism — expelling the Palestinians — was always at the heart of the project to colonize Palestine, along with a contemptuous arrogance toward the natives, including Jews deemed to be too “oriental.” Antebi knew this would separate the Jews from their neighbors with devastating consequences. This long-lost voice of Jerusalem, along with other assuming vignettes of a Jerusalem free of Zionism’s militarized segregation and brutality, deserves to be widely heard.