Crossing the Jordan River

Jacob Rosen writes in this fascinating and illuminating book about his experiences in both Cairo, Egypt and Amman, Jordan as an Israeli Diplomat. He has learned a great deal about Egyptian and Jordanian societies and also more about the Israeli character. Time and again, Mr. Rosen witnessed how Arabs and Western Cultures simply do not understand each other. The vignettes assembled in this book are based on real events. Mr. Rosen makes each of these stories stand on its own merit. The approach is anthropological, rather than political, and maybe through sharing these stories, this book can explain why and how the Arabs and the Israelis (and perhaps the West) fail to understand one another. They also show that after all is said and done, we are human beings who share the same concerns and inspirations.

Jacob Rosen: Jacob Rosen, Ambassador (Jerusalem, Israel) Born in Poland in 1948. His family immigrated to Israel in 1957. Served in the Israeli Defense Forces from 1966 to 1969. Attended the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and received a B.A. degree in Middle Eastern Studies in 1972.
Joined the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1973. Served since in The Hague, London, New York, Cairo and New Delhi. In December 1994 opened the Israeli Embassy in Amman, Jordan and served there as charge d'affaires until the arrival of the Ambassador and continued his post in Amman as Deputy Chief of Mission until July 2000 when he was appointed Consul General of Israel in Atlanta, Georgia.
In November 2002, he took up the post of Political Advisor for International Affairs to the Mayor of Jerusalem. Jacob is married to Annette. They are parents of two sons and a daughter. Is fluent in Polish, Dutch, English, Arabic and Hebrew and understands Russian,French, German and Yiddish. He is an avid collector of books on "Lawrence of Arabia."