In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

acknowledgments For sowing in me the seeds of academic interest in the encounter between Jews and Christians I am indebted to my former teachers, then colleagues, Professor David Vital and Professor Amnon Linder. I am grateful to the Israeli Academy of Science for its generous research grant and moral support, which made the study possible. The Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations, the Shein Institute for Israeli Society at the Hebrew University, and the Institute for the Heritage of Ben-Gurion provided valuable financial help during its final stages. I am deeply grateful to Professor Avraham Ben Zvi, Professor Gabi Sheffer,and ProfessorYaacov Bar SimanTov for their thoughtful and perceptive comments on early drafts of the book and to Elad Van Gelder for his tireless research assistance. Haya Galai, who skillfully translated the text from Hebrew, functioned at the same time as a shrewd critic and helped make it better.For her careful copyediting ,I would like to thank Elaine Durham Otto of Indiana University Press. My daughters, Hili, Galia, Maya, and Yael, my sons-in-law,Yigal and David, and my grandsons, Guy and Tal, all followed with loving support my obsessive preoccupation with history.But it is my spouse,Rachel,a true companion,partner , and friend for almost forty years, to whom I owe the deepest gratitude. This book is dedicated to her with love. Bialer, Cross on the Star 6/9/05 8:43 AM Page vii Bialer, Cross on the Star 6/9/05 8:43 AM Page viii ...

Share