Given their high-level access to key municipal and Israeli decision-makers, the authors succeed in exposing the horrific lengths to which the Israeli government went to prevent the re-division of Jerusalem and preserve its status as the united and external capital of Israel...Separate and Unequal does provide a healthy dose of realism from which to assess the latest round of Arab-Israeli peace negotiations, the so-called final-status talks and the 'Jerusalem question' in particular.

With access to all the papers of the former mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek, the authors--Amir Cheshin and Avi Melamed, two former aides to Kollek, together with Bill Hutman, a journalist for the English-language Jerusalem Post--tell a heart-breaking story of squandered opportunities.

One of the most important books on the Israeli rule in the territories in general and in Jerusalem in particular.

Amir Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed argue that Israel has suffered from 'failure after failure, missed opportunity after missed opportunity' in governing Jerusalem. If only the Arab population had been fairly treated, given limited autonomy under a system of neighborhood councils or simply conceived of as a permanent partner, then, they argue, Israel would have control of a peaceful, united city.

Cheshin and Melamed, onetime aides to former Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek, and Hutman, formerly of the Jerusalem Post, offer a scathing expose of persistent Israeli discriminatory practices against Jerusalem Arabs...The point is well made that Israel could do more for at least those East Jerusalem Arabs who don't openly oppose the state, and there is much here that informs the debate on Israel's ground zero.

[Cheshin, Hutman, and Melamed] present an unusually frank and courageous account of relations between Jews and Palestinian Arab citizens in Israel's capital. As the title states, the two communities are separated, and their treatment is decidedly unequal in nearly all aspects of communal affairs--housing, education, health and sanitation facilities, availability of water and electricity. The authors conclude that 'Israel has treated the Palestinians of Jerusalem terribly...forced many of them from their homes and stripped them of their land...while lying to them and deceiving them and the world about its honorable intentions.'

A well and very fluently written text, armed with some subtle irony from the authors. It is an accurate description of the social and political 'realities' of the Jewish-Arab relations in this troubled city, a good description of the Israeli policies and practices, and a convincing coverage of the Arab/Palestinian responses and 'resistance' to the Israeli policies and presence. It is a personal account, a good and a sharp 'story' told by talented participant observers. [An] important book.

A very disturbing first hand account of why the Jewish administration of Jerusalem under mayors Kollek and Olmert constitutes an insult to 'Jerusalem,' the symbol of the highest Jewish values and humanity's hopes.

The authors are clearly familiar with their subject… They bring a refreshingly different perspective to the issue of Jerusalem… Separate and Unequal makes an original and important contribution to our knowledge of how things actually worked in Jerusalem. It is a gold mine of detailed information, full of revealing anecdotes, based on the authors’ own knowledge on the archives and documents to which they have had access… They are to be commended for the depth and empathy they bring to the description of events. In particular, they have filled out and corrected the portrait of Teddy Kollek, the long-time mayor of Jerusalem, by exposing the degree to which Kollek, for all his good intentions and impressive personality, lacked the power or the will to do what he thought should be done. It is also to their credit that they have written in a clear and readable style.

A knowledgeable and sometimes riveting behind-the-scenes account that should be read by all who care about Jerusalem, and about Israeli–Palestinian affairs more generally. This sad chronicle of Israel’s treatment of Jerusalem’s Arab inhabitants, presented by analysts with deep personal involvement in the events they describe, stands in stark contrast to the glowing picture that Israeli spokesmen often present to naive Western audiences. Cheshin, Hutman, and Melamed tell a story that is consistently unblinking, frequently fascinating, most often depressing, but always important.

In Separate and Unequal, Amir S. Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed wisely eschew the mystical, eschatological and ethereal realms to which many writers on the holy city ascend. They stick to mundane municipal detail: rubbish collection, sewage, potholes, parks and planning permissions. The authors are admirably qualified for the task...All three know the city intimately and have made exceptional efforts to bridge the schism that divides its Arab from its Jewish inhabitants. Their book is an indictment of Israeli misrule in east Jerusalem. It is all the more powerful because its authors come from within the Israeli establishment and write from a Zionist standpoint.

Their insights are primarily those of individuals who possess unique "insider" information about the Teddy Kollek administration (1966-93), and the book provides often intriguing material drawn from their experiences and sources. Well-written and engaging, Separate and Unequal is generally quite critical in its depiction of the Jewish state's rule over the territory it conquered in 1967.