ABSTRACT
One of the interesting leitmotifs surrounding the formation of Israel was the secret political alliance between the Yishuv and King Abdullah of Transjordan. This alliance undercuts the common assumption that the Arab nations provided a united front against the establishment of the Jewish state and explains how the mutual interests shared by Transjordan’s Hashemite leadership and the Zionists came to dictate the destiny of the Palestinians. The clandestine dealings between the two seemingly unlikely partners resulted in the abandonment of a Palestinian state and the subsequent division of the British mandate between Israel and Transjordan. The annexation of the West Bank by King Abdullah and the continuing friendly relations between the Hashemite dynasty and the Zionists enraged other Arab leaders who vehemently condemned the King’s actions and launched a campaign to subvert any effort to create a ‘Greater Syria’ under his crown. Despite their tactics, the Arab world was unable to collaborate and proved incapable of halting the perceived traitorous activities of the Hashemites. When the extent of Abdullah’s perfidy became widely known, he was assassinated (in 1951), but his death did not end the courtship between Jordan and Israel. After a one-year hiatus under Talal, Hussein ascended the Hashemite throne and essentially continued the alliance until his death in 1999. This relationship cost Jordan dearly in the Arab world, but endeared Hussein to the Israelis and their shared patrone, the United States.
