Dossier 2013/09/27/01 Ilan Pappe versus Benny Morris

Indice
An interview of Ilan Pappe by Baudouin Loos Brussels, 29 November 1999
Politics by Other Means by Benny Morris, The New Republic, 22 marzo 2004Benny Morris's ies
!bout My Boo" by #lan Pappe,$lectronic #nti%a&a, '0 marzo 2004
#(M)#talia, ottobre 20*'
www+ism)italia+or,
in%o-ism)italia+or,
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AN INTE!IE" #$ ILAN PAPPE By Baudouin Loos Brussels, 29 November 1999
Ilan Pappe in not an ordinary Israeli %iti&en' (I am t)e most )ated Israeli in Israel(, )e says of
)imself wit)out any pride' Pappe, wit) several ot)ers, leads t)e (new )istorians* s%)ool( w)i%) too+
off in t)e ei,)ties as a result of t)e new availability of state ar%)ives %on%ernin, t)e (Independen%e
"ar(' T)e new )istorians )ave done a lot to dismantle t)e Israeli myt)s of t)e foundation of t)e
%ountry' Now t)ey are wor+in, on ot)er issues- no Israeli sa%red %ows will )ave t)e opportunity to
es%ape.
/nli+e ot)er new )istorians, Pappe ma+es no se%ret of )is politi%al, or ideolo,i%al a,enda' ("e are
all politi%al(, )e ar,ues' (T)ere is no )istorian in t)e world w)o is ob0e%tive' I am not as interested
in w)at )appened as in )ow people see w)at*s )appened('
Pappe*s most +nown boo+ is (T)e 1a+in, of t)e Arab2Israeli 3onfli%t 194521961( I'B' Tauris,
London 7 New 8or+, publis)ed in 1992'
TE9T -
:- "it) people li+e Benny 1orris, Avi ;)laim, Tom ;e,ev, ;im)a $lappan and ot)ers, you are a
prominent <and t)e most %ontroversial= member of t)e s%)ool of (new )istorians( in Israel' 3ould
you summeri&e t)e ma0or trends of t)e %ontribution of t)e new Israeli )istorians to t)e Israeli
narrative>
A- It is an intelle%tual movement t)at started ten years a,o, not only of )istorians, but also of people
w)o deal wit) %ulture, a%ademi%ians, 0ournalists, artists, novelists, et%, w)o loo+ed %riti%ally at
Israel*s past' I would say t)ey adopted ma0or %)apters in t)e Palestinian interpretation, narrivative,
of t)e past' T)e parti%ular aspe%t of t)e )istorians* wor+ is t)at t)ey did it wit) t)e )elp of ar%)ives
and wit) t)eir professional e?pertise, and t)at added a %ertain validity in t)e eyes of t)e publi% to
t)ese interpretations' Be%ause, in t)e past, you %ould )ave )eard t)e same ar,uments made by
Palestinians or by very e?treme Israeli leftists, but t)is time t)e very same t)in,s were substantiated
by )istori% resear%) wor+s'
T)ere are several topi%s t)at t)ose new a%ademi%s, intelle%tuals, resear%)ers dealt wit)' T)e ma0or
%)apter in 194@' It*s w)at t)ey are +nown for' T)ey undermined some of t)e ma0or foundation*s
myt)s of Israel'
$irst, t)ey didnt* a%%ept t)at t)ere was a war between a Aewis) Bavid and an Arab Coliat)' (T)e few
a,ainst t)e many(' T)ey %laimed t)ere was a parity on t)e battlefields and even, as t)e war
pro,ressed, t)ere was an advanta,e to t)e Aewis) and t)en Israeli for%es' Additionally, t)ey found
out t)at t)e most effi%ient Arab army 22 t)e Aordanian Army 22 )ad a se%ret a,reement wit) t)e
AewsDIsraelis prior to t)e war' (3ollusion a%ross t)e Aordan(, as Avi ;)laim put it <t)e title of )is
famous boo+=' T)at understandin, 22 a division of Palestine between t)e Aordanians and t)e Aews,
instead of between t)e Aews and t)e Palestinians 22 to a lar,e e?tent determined t)e fate of t)e war'
T)en t)ey undermined t)e myt) of t)e Arabs volunterally fli,)t' T)ey %laimed wit) various de,rees
of %onvi%tion t)at t)e Arabs were e?pelled, t)at mass e?pulsions too+ pla%e in 194@, and t)en Israel
did eveyt)in, to prevent t)e return of t)e refu,ees'
And, lastly, t)ey undermined t)e myt) of (Israel t)e pea%esee+er(' T)ey said t)at t)ere was a
%)an%e to pea%e after 194@ but t)at was missed be%ause of Israel*s intrensi,en%e and infle?ibility,
rat)er t)an be%ause of t)e Arab infle?ibility' <T)at was my ma0or %ontribution'=
E
T)e new )istory, now in Israel, doesn*t only deal wit) 4@' It analyses &ionism as a %olonialist
p)enomenon from t)e late 19t) %entury' It ,oes on to revisit t)e fifties- t)ey are very %riti%al on bot)
domesti% and forei,n se%urity poli%y of Israel in t)ose years' T)e myt) till 19F5 was t)at Israel was
a small isolated %ountry surrounded by )ostile ennemies' It was also undermined- t)ey %laimed t)at
Israel was Guiet a,,ressive, %apable of leadin, powerfull poli%ies' And, domesti%ally, Israel
dis%riminated its Arab %iti&ens as it did, on similar ,round, dis%riminate a,ainst t)e Aews it absorbed
from Arab %ountries' ;o far, t)e last topi% is t)e attitude of t)e Aewis) %ommunity in Palestine
durin, t)e mandatory years toward t)e Holo%aust' It*s a very tou%)y sub0e%t' T)e &ionist leaders)ip
%ame out as very pra,mati% and it put t)e interest of t)e Aewis) %ommunity in Palestine above t)at
of t)e Aewis) %ommunity in Europe even in t)e time of absolute dan,er as )appened durin, ""II'
:- How do you see t)e answer ,iven to t)e new )istorians by t)e (old( )istorians li+e ;)abtai
Tevet, Anita ;)apira, Efraim Iars) or Itamar abinovi%)>
A- T)e first rea%tion was rat)er dero,atory, %laimin, t)at t)is wor+ is not professional, s)oudn*t be
ta+en noti%e of' T)en t)e se%ond wave of rea%tions said t)at t)e wor+ is indeed important but it
re0e%ted its findin,s' I %an understand t)ese )istorians, not so mu%) Ep)raim Iars) w)o was t)e
most vi%ious of all in )is atta%+s' In my %ase, for e?emple, t)ey dispute everyt)in,. T)ey seem to
a%%ept Benny 1orris more easily t)an me' I am not surprised- Benny 1orris* %on%lusion is more
relievin,' $or e?emple, w)en )e says about t)e fate of Palestinians in 4@ (J la ,uerre %omme J la
,uerre(, I %laim t)at it was more li+e an et)ni% %leansin,'
:- It is pre%isely be%ause of t)at very %on%lusion t)at you appear to be so %ontroversial in your
%ountry, isn*t it> Be%ause you say (T)ere was a unwritten Kionist plan to e?pel t)e Arabs of
Palestine in 4@('''
A- Absolutely' T)ey were %autious enou,) not to write it alt)ou,) t)ere was t)is (plan B( <Balet=,
t)at reveals enou,) of t)e systemati% e?pulsion' T)e idea was prepared by t)e Aewis) military
for%es in 1ar%) 194@' In t)at plan, t)ey defined very a important prin%iple- any Arab villa,e or
nei,)bour)ood t)at would not surrender to t)e Aewis) for%es, t)at would not raise t)e w)ite fla,,
would be uprooted, destroyed and t)e people e?pelled' I t)in+ t)ey +new well t)at t)ere was very
little %)an%es for more t)an five or si? villa,es to surrender' ")y s)ould t)ey surrender, espe%ially
after <t)e massa%re of= Beir 8assin in April and t)e bi, fri,)t in t)e Arab %ommunity> In fa%t, only
four villa,es rose t)e w)ite fla,' All t)e rest were potentially an ob0e%t of e?pulsion' I must add t)at
a few ot)er nei,)bour)oods rose t)e w)ite fla, but it didn*t )elp t)em''' All t)is is very %lear' "e
)ave to remember t)at t)e /N partition plan of November 1945 would )ave left an eGual number of
Aews and Arabs in t)e Aewis) state' T)is %ontradi%ted t)e idea of a Aewis) state' ;o t)ey )ad to ma+e
sure t)at as few Arabs as possible were still t)ere' And t)at*s w)at )appened'
Ba%+ to t)e old )istorians, I would say t)ey are more suspi%ious of my ideolo,i%al trappin,s t)an
t)at of Benny 1orris, also be%ause I am more relativist' I admit t)at my ideolo,y influen%es my
)istori%al writin,s, but so w)at> I mean it is t)e %ase for everybody'
:- Bot) 1orris and you wor+ed on t)e same issues, establis)ed t)e same fa%ts and yet you failed to
draw t)e same %on%lusions <1orris +eeps on %laimin, t)at even t)ou,) t)ere was e?pulsion of
t)ousands Arabs, one %annot say t)at t)ere was ever a masterplan of mass e?pulsion='''
A- 1orris is more positivist- if it is only impli%it, not written, )e doesn*t want to raise it in )is
boo+s' I t)in+ )istorians s)ould ,o furt)er t)an t)at' T)e nature of t)e dis%ussion is t)at- 1orris
says t)at even if someone says )e wants to e?pulse you from your )ouse and you run away be%ause
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you +now t)at it is w)at )e wants to do, t)is is not %alled e?pulsion' I re,ard it as e?pulsion' I re,ard
t)e transfer of people from one nei,)bour)ood in Haifa to anot)er as transfer, not as dislo%ation- it
is an e?perien%e of refu,ee)ood w)i%) is more diffi%ult sometimes t)an leavin, your town
alto,et)er for you see daily t)e people w)o too+ you )ouse'
;o t)ese are t)e +inds of disa,reement' I %laim t)at t)ey also stem from ideolo,i%al positions, not
0ust from fa%ts' I am more anti2Kionist if you want, and 1orris still re,ards )imself as &ionist, may
be t)is is w)ere t)e differen%e lies'
:- 8ou said somew)ere t)at you were (non2Kionist('''
A- No, I meant (post2Kionist(' Be%ause, to be really anti2Kionist would mean leavin, Israel
alto,et)er- if you want to serve t)e Palestinians, you )ave to leave' If you )elp t)em from inside
Israel, t)en you do allow Aews to fulfill t)eir dream on a )omeland' T)is is an important messa,e to
t)e Palestinians as well- t)ere are five millions Aews t)ere, you %annot return t)e %lo%+ ba%+wards,
you must ta+e t)em into a%%ount' ")et)er t)ey %ame t)ere as a result of an a%t of in0usti%e or not,
t)ey are part of t)e reality'
:- 1ost of t)e Palestinians seem now ready to a%%ept t)e two state solution'''
A- 8es' But it is more diffi%ult for Israel be%ause 2L M of t)e Israelis are Palestinian, so it*s a
binational state' #n t)e ot)er )and one will )ave anot)er binational state, Palestine, be%ause I don*t
see any Israeli ,overnement ever evi%tin, t)e settlers, a lar,e and very )ostile Aewis) population' In
t)e lon, run, it will affe%t t)e two state solution, and we will )ave to )ave only one state'
:- But t)is is still very unpopular in Israel'''
A- #f %ourse. T)ey )ave a vision of a pea%e plan t)at doesn*t in%lude a ,enuine soverei,n
Palestinian state, but bantustans w)ile no sin,le settlement would be dismantled, t)e w)ole of
Aerusalem for t)emselve, no dealin, of t)e refu,ees problem- in t)at %ase, w)y s)ould t)ey oppose
t)e idea of partition> But tell t)em t)at t)e partition means full soverei,n Palestinian state wit) an
army and so on, evi%tion of t)e settlements, partitionin, Aerusalem, some ri,)t of return for t)e
refu,ees, and you will see w)at t)ey t)in+ of t)e partition.
:- Let*s ,o ba%+ to 194@' 1r Bavid Bar2Ilan re%ently wrote, as many %onservatives t)in+, t)at t)e
responsability of w)at )appened must be put on t)e Palestinian s)oulders be%ause t)ey refused t)e
/N partition plan'''
A- T)is is an ama&in, a%%usation' Be%ause, in 1945, t)e /N proposed a solution w)i%) was
a%%epted only by one side, t)e Aewis) one' And, in t)e )istory of t)e /nited Nations, usually, if you
don*t )ave an a,reement of bot) sides, you don*t implement t)at solution' T)ere, t)e story be,an to
turn bad' T)e fa%t is t)at you for%e t)e solution on a ma0ority of t)e people livin, in Palestine w)o
oppose t)at solution, t)en you s)ouldn*t be surprised t)at t)ey opposed even by for%e' T)is )as
not)in, to do wit) t)e e?pulsion of t)e Palestinians, w)i%) was not t)e result of t)e re0e%tion of t)e
partition plan but t)e result of t)e Aewis) leaders)ip e?ploitin, t)at situation to implement an
ideolo,y of transfer' It was %lear to t)e Kionist leaders)ip t)at wit)out t)e uprootin, of t)e lo%al
population it would be impossible to implement t)e dream of a Aewis) nation state' T)e poli%y
toward t)e partition plan )as very little to do wit) poli%y of t)e e?pulsion- one did not lead to t)e
ot)er' ")at )appened is t)at t)e Aewis) %ommunity waited for t)e ri,)t moment and e?ploited t)e
ri,)t moment to t)e full'
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:- T)e Israeli ar,ument ,oes on by sayin, t)at t)e Palestinian leaders)ip missed a )istori%
opportunity w)en it re0e%ted t)e partition plan'''
A- 1ay be t)ey did' But even if it is a viable ar,ument 22 and I don*t t)in+ so 22 you don*t e?pel an
entire population be%ause it )as a stupid leaders)ip' But we don*t even )ave t)e ri,)t to say t)ey
were wron, to refuse t)e partition' T)ey viewed Kionism as a %olonialist movement' And t)ere are
very little reasons not to understand t)at point of view' Aust ima,ine t)e Al,erian national
movement a,reein, in t)e fifties to divide Al,eria into two states, between t)em and t)e w)ite
settlers <(les pieds2noirs(=. ")o would )ave said to t)e Al,erian leaders)ip (Bon*t miss t)e )istori%
%)an%e.(> #f %ourse, t)e Palestinians )ad ot)er problems, t)ey )ad patriar%al, feudal stru%tures,
familial loyalties above national ones' But it )as very little to do wit) Israel w)i%) deliberately
e?pelled t)e lo%al population' And, if you want a solution today, Israel )as to ta+e into a%%ount t)at
a%t, in terms of %ompensation and in terms of return' "it)out t)at, t)ere will be no 0ust solution for
t)e Palestine problem' T)is is a very simple truism w)i%) Israelis refuse to a%%ept'
:- Israelis in ,eneral or mostly t)e leaders)ip>
A- Israelis in ,eneral be%ause of t)e leaders)ip' But I t)in+ it will %)an,e' T)e ot)er day, a
prominent member of t)e Labor party, 1os)e Iat&, leadin, t)e Palestinian %ommittee of t)e Labor
party, raised t)e idea of t)e return of 1LL LLL Palestinians' "as it a trial balloon of <Prime minister=
Bara+> I )ope it was, but I doubt it <Iat& initiative was rapidly and stron,ly rebu+ed by )is party,
B'L'=' Bara+ says it is only a )umanitarian problem to w)i%) Israel )as not)in, to %ontribute' Iat&*
proposal )as somet)in, to do wit) t)e new +ind of post2&ionist ta+in, w)i%) ta+es pla%e also in t)e
Labor party' It*s a ,ood si,n'
:- T)ree new te?tboo+s were re%ently introdu%ed in t)e Israeli s%)ools' ;ome people are very
an,ry, sayin, t)at t)ose boo+s would (undermine t)e feelin, of 0usti%e of t)e Kionist pro0e%t, ,oin,
to t)e point t)at t)ey Guestion t)e Aewis) ri,)t to t)e Land of Israel( <novelist A)aron 1e,,ed said
t)is is (a moral sui%ide leavin, our %)ildren wit)out all w)at made us proud of Israel(='''
A- I read t)e boo+s' T)ey indi%ate a willin,ness amon, edu%ators in t)e ministry of Edu%ation in
Israel to rewrite t)e past' It is also a ,ood si,n, t)at would )ave been unt)in+able ten years a,o' It
still remains to be seen )ow t)e tea%)ers will use t)e boo+s in %lassrooms, we don*t +now yet' T)e
move is part of t)e dissemination of t)e views of t)e new )istorians and ot)er se%tions of t)e
so%iety' Anot)er e?emple is t)e (T*+uma( T! do%umentary pro,ram <199@=' #f %ourse I would )ave
written it differently but still you %an see t)e impa%t of our wor+' And t)e new te?tboo+s are very
different from t)e te?tboo+s t)at I ,rew on. It also arose Guiet a row in t)e Israeli publi% opinion'
:- 8ou re%ently wrote in (Haaret&( t)at wit)out an Israeli re%o,nition of a%ts of past in0usti%e, t)ere
will be no permanent solution wit) t)e Palestinians' Bo you t)in+ Israel is ,oin, in t)at dire%tion>
A- Not yet be%ause t)e politi%al system )as not absorbed t)is solution' And unfortunately I t)in+
w)at we are ,oin, into now is a period in w)i%) everybody would tal+ about pea%e but on t)e
,round t)is pea%e would be a substitution of one form of o%%upation by anot)er' And it will ta+e
several years 22 I don*t +now )ow many 22 for people in t)e Palestinian side to reali&e t)at t)ey were
ta+en for a ride, and Cod +nows )ow t)ey will rea%t'
:- T)e pea%e pro%ess is supposed to end wit)in less t)an a year'''
A- It is not a pea%e pro%ess' It is one of t)e reasons I am in Brussels- t)e Bara+ *s ,overnement ,ot
an international re%o,nition as a pea%e2,overnement' #n t)e ,round, it does not perform a pea%e
F
poli%y' If people li+e me su%%eed in %onvin%in, t)at t)ere is a problem wit) t)e pea%e pro%ess, t)at
all t)e issues s)ould be reopened for ne,o%iation, may be we %ould prevent t)e ne?t %atastrop)y' If
we don*t, it will ta+e time but people will find out t)at de%larin, a permanent solution for t)e
Palestine Guestion in w)i%) only FL M of t)e "est Ban+ and of t)e Ca&a strip are in Palestinian
)ands, in w)i%) all Aerusalem remains in Aewis) )ands, wit) no evi%tion of one Aewis) settlement,
wit) Israeli %ontrol of borders, water and e%onomy in Palestine, and no solution for t)e refu,ee
problem, all t)is %annot be %alled pea%e' I t)in+ t)ere is a publi% illusion in t)e "est t)at you )ave
two openin, positions )ere- t)e Israeli openin, position, t)at I 0ust des%ribed, and t)e Palestinian
one, full independent and soverei,n state in t)e "est Ban+ and Ca&a, but t)is is not true' T)ere is no
Palestinian pea%e plan' T)e Ameri%ans, unfortunately t)e +ey )ere, understand t)e final sta,e of t)e
pea%e pro%ess is )ow to %onvin%e t)e Palestinians to a%%ept t)e Israeli di%tate' T)is is w)at we %all
now (pea%e(' And at t)e same time, Aewis) settlements ,o on, silent transfer of Palestinians of
Aerusalem ,oes on, t)e Palestinians are offered natural reserves instead of populated areas in t)e
interim sta,es, Israel )as 0ust %ompleted t)e plan today to build a rin, road in East Aerusalem to
%omplete Creater Aerusalem w)i%) is 1L M of t)e "est Ban+' And t)ey would ,ive Arafat anot)er
medal, so )ad t)e +in,s of bantustans in ;out) Afri%a'
:- Arafat*s +ind of leaders)ip is disputed but )is rea%tion is to put t)e %riti%s in 0ail as )e did on t)e
25t) of November to nine people w)o )ad si,ned a )ars) petition a,ainst )im'''
A- 8es t)ere is a problem' T)e Palestinian Aut)ority, under pressure, does two bad t)in,s' #ne is to
totally ne,le%t t)e demo%rati&ation and t)e buildin, of a %ivi% so%iety, usin, t)e ne,o%iation wit)
Israel as an e?%use' ;e%ondly, and probably more important, be%ause it is frustrated by t)e balan%e
of power, it plays a double ,ame w)i%) is not wor+in, too well' #n t)e one )and t)ey try,
%oura,eously in a way, to put forwards some %ounterproposals to Israeli proposals, but on t)e ot)er
)and t)ey play a%%ordin, to t)e Ameri%ans* tune be%ause t)ey *ve no one else*s to play' It ,ives a
very ambivalent pi%ture of t)eir ability to rule' T)ey use more often power t)an persuasion to deal
wit) opposition and t)ey may infli%t a lastin, dama,e on t)e Palestinian politi%al life in t)e future
t)at will not be easy to reverse'
:- In ;eptember, 1r Bara+ e?pressed re,ret in t)e name of t)e Israeli ,overnement for t)e sufferin,
of t)e Palestinian people but at t)e same time )e denied any sense of ,uilt or responsability' T)at
prompted Cideon Levy to answer in (Haaret&(- (Are we not responsible for e?pulsin, people,
torturin, people, erasin, )undreds of villa,es, arrestin, ten of t)ousands wit)out trial>'''(
A- Cideon Levy was very ri,)t' But Bara+ didn*t (re,ret(, )e only said (sorry( for t)em' He
disso%iated t)e sufferin, from t)e Israeli poli%y' But we are not only tal+in, about poli%y in t)e past,
we are tal+in, about poli%y in t)e present' Israelis %ontinue to infli%t sufferin, on t)e Palestinians.
T)ey do it in Lebanon, in t)e "est Ban+, in t)e Ca&a ;trip' T)e only pla%e w)ere t)ey almost stop
doin, it is in Israel itself, w)ere t)e minority of Palestinian Israelis are now e?perien%in, mu%)
better %onditions t)an t)ey did before'
:- It seems t)at, alt)ou,) t)ey are ,enerally well edu%ated, Aewis) Israelis don*t really reali&e <or
don*t want to reali&e= w)at t)ey did and still do to t)e Palestinian people' How do you e?plain t)at>
A- It is t)e fruits of a very lon, pro%ess of indo%trination startin, in t)e +inder,arten, a%%ompanyin,
all Aewis) boys and ,irls t)rou,)out t)eir life' 8ou don*t uproot easily su%) an attitude w)i%) was
planted t)ere by very powefull indo%trination ma%)ine, ,ivin, a ra%ist per%eption of t)e ot)er, w)o
is des%ribed as primitive, almost non2e?istin,, )ostile 22 )e is )ostile, but t)e e?planation ,iven is
t)at )e was born primitive, Islami%, anti2;emite, not t)at someone )as ta+en )is land' Add to t)is t)e
e?perien%e of t)e youn, soldiers in t)e "est Ban+ and Ca&a, w)ere t)ey )ave learnt to treat, li+e
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t)e first Kionist settlers, t)e Palestinians as part of t)e s%enery, not as )uman bein,s' Palestinians are
li+e desert, mosGuitos- t)in,s you )ave to %onGuer by vision, ener,y, improvisation' T)e attitude to
t)e Palestinians is t)e ot)er %oin of t)e Kionist su%%ess' "e were so su%%essfull li+e t)ose in t)e
wild "est'
#t)erwise, you would )ave )ad moral problems t)rou,)out t)e story. 8ou %an*t )ave it' 8ou solve
t)at moral problem by sayin, t)ese are not eGual )uman bein,s w)o were uprooted, 0ust sava,es
part of t)e native population w)i%) we %onGuered as we %onGuered poverty, as we %onGuered )ostile
mosGuitos' T)is is t)e main reason' T)e se%ond reason is t)at mu%) of t)e politi%al %apital of t)e
Aewis) state is based on moral superiority w)i%) is demanded by t)e name of t)e Holo%aust' I am
)ated in Israel more t)an everyone else be%ause I %laim t)at I )ave a universal and not a Kionist
lesson from t)e Holo%aust' In t)e name of t)e Holo%aust, I %laim t)at Israel s)ould be as)amed' If
you lived in Israel, you would understand t)at it is really doin, too mu%) and may be I s)ould be
more %autious w)en I do it be%ause t)is may be a /2turn for too many people' But t)is is e?a%tly t)e
problem' Alt)ou,) many t)in,s )ad been done to t)e Palestinians before t)e Holo%aust, t)e
Holo%aust 0ustifies everyt)in,, w)at )as been done before or after it' Even someone ,reat
intelle%tual li+e 1artin Buber %ould )ave said t)e most stupid senten%e of all- ("e )ad to do a small
in0usti%e in order to re%tify a bi, in0usti%e(' How %ould you say t)is. ")y s)ould t)e one be
%onne%ted to t)e ot)er>
:- Bid you first be%ome %ommunist or (new )istorian(>
A- I )ave to %orre%t somet)in,- I li+e life too mu%) to be %ommunist. I am so%ialist' True I am
member of Hadas) w)i%) is a front w)ere you find t)e %ommunist party to w)i%) I don*t belon,'
8ou also find t)e non2Kionist Arab2Aewis) ,roup to w)i%) I belon,' I t)in+ bot) my politi%al
%ommitment and )istorian +nown position developped simultaneously' And one supported t)e ot)er'
Be%ause of my ideolo,y I understood do%uments I saw in t)e ar%)ives t)e way I understood t)em,
and be%ause of t)e do%uments in t)e ar%)ives I be%ame more %onvin%ed in t)e ideolo,i%al way I
too+' A %ompli%ated pro%ess. ;ome %ollea,ue told me I ruined our %ause by admittin, my
ideolo,i%al platform' ")y> Everbody in Israel and Palestine )as an ideolo,i%al platform' Indeed t)e
stru,,le is about ideolo,y, not about fa%ts' ")o +nows w)at fa%ts are> "e try to %onvin%e as many
people as we %an t)at our interpretation of t)e fa%ts is t)e %orre%t one, and we do it be%ause of
ideolo,i%al reasons, not be%ause we are trut)see+ers'
:- I suppose you would a,ree wit) many Arabs w)o say a Aewis) state %annot be a demo%rati%
state>
A- It %an*t' If t)e identity of people is %onne%ted to reli,ion or et)ni% ,roup and not to %iti&ens)ip, it
means t)at any %iti&en w)o does not belon, to t)at nationalism, reli,ion or et)ni%ity is a se%ond rate
%iti&en' If you de%lare t)at t)e state belon,s to one nation in a binational state, you immediately
%reate a dis%riminative state w)i%) %annot be demo%rati%' It is li+e in Bel,ium- if you de%lare t)e
Bel,ian state e?%lusively $lemis) or e?%lusively "alloon, it would not be de%lared a demo%rati%
state'
:- Israel would answer t)at many Arab states de%lare t)emselve (Islami% states('''
A- I %riti%i&e t)em as well'''
:- 8ou admit t)at most of Aewis) Israelis don*t s)are your views' Bo you see t)in,s evolve soon>
A- In absolute term, you are ri,)t- we are a small ,roup of people, but in relative numbers it )as
@
,rown immensely' Two e?emples- w)en we started our wor+ as new )istorians, t)ere were only
t)ree of us' 1orris, myself and ;)laim w)o was not even livin, in Israel' #ne day we were all t)ree
in my %ar drivin, to Aerusalem and I said- if we )ave now a let)al a%%ident, t)is is t)e end of new
)istory in Israel. Now, t)ere is a proliferation of a%ademi%ians and so one s)arin, t)ose views' It is
not a Guantitive impressive fa%t but it is a Gualitative one be%ause people at t)e )eart of %ultural
produ%tion in Israel )ave been %onvin%ed by our views' ;)ow me someone w)o wor+s on T! or in
a t)eater or in t)e film industry and even amon, t)e leadin, 0ournalists <true, not everyone= w)o
does not a%%ept our point of view' ;e%ond e?emple- t)e vote for Hadas)' A,ain, it is ridi%ulous, but
you )ave to understand t)at in 1992, only 2'LLL Aews voted for Hadas), in 199F, F'LLL and in 1999,
16'LLL. 8es it*s a lon, way' I used to say to my %ollea,ues t)at if t)ey are loo+in, for Gui%+ results
t)ey are wron,' It may ta+e twenty years, but Israel will %)an,e li+e ;out) Afri%a' If apart)eid %ould
)ave been toppled down, t)en t)e ne,ative aspe%ts of t)e IsraelDPalestine %onfli%t %ould be
eventually be removed' 1y fear is t)at, in %ase of %risis, t)e Israeli people in t)e middle would
rat)er %)oose to 0oin t)e nationalist %amp' ;urveys prove t)at it is t)e trend' People are as+ed- If you
)ave only two %)oi%es, a t)eo%rati% non demo%rati% Aewis) state or a demo%rati% non Aewis) state,
w)i%) one would you prefer> And a ma0ority of t)e Aews 22 about FL M 22 answer t)e non
demo%rati% Aewis) state' "e )ave to wor+ )ard on t)is middle ,round, people of t)e silent ma0ority,
people w)o don*t )ave beliefs and are more worried about t)e daily %on%erns'
9
Politics by Other Means by Benny Morris, The New Republic, 22 marzo 2004
! .istory o% Mo&ern Palestine/ One an&, Two Peoples By #lan Pappe
01ambri&,e 2ni3ersity Press, ''' pp+, 4225
#lan Pappe an& # wal"e& a stretch to,ether in uneasy companionship, but we ha3e now parte&
ways+ #n the late *670s an& early *660s we belon,e& to a ,roup &ubbe& the 8New .istorians8
o% #srael, which also inclu&e& !3i (hlaim an& Tom (e,e3+ This ,roup, contrary to the
conspiratorial ima,e pro9ecte& by our critics, was ne3er a close)"nit or monolithic school o%
intellectuals who plotte& to,ether aroun& the table at :ri&ay)ni,ht meals+ (ome o% us barely
"new one another+ $ach, in &i%%erent institutions an& &i%%erent cities an& &i%%erent countries
0in&ee&, only Pappe was on the %aculty o% an #sraeli uni3ersity5, ha& plie& his cra%t alone an&
reache& his conclusions on his own+ But we ha& all written histories %ocusin, on #srael an&
Palestine in the *640s, an& they ha& all appeare&, mostly in $n,lish, in the late *670s, an&
ta"en to,ether they ha& sha"en the ;ionist historio,raphic establishment an& permanently
un&ermine& the tra&itional ;ionist narrati3e o% the #sraeli)!rab con%lict+
#n some measure, our histories also un&ermine& the tra&itional !rab narrati3es o% the con%lict
0as in my boo" The Birth o% the Palestinian Re%u,ee Problem, *64<)*646, which ar,ue& that
there ha& been no ;ionist master plan o% e=pulsion an& that no systematic policy o% e=pulsion
was implemente& in *6475+ But the thrust o% the 8New .istorio,raphy8 was that the century)
ol& con%lict was not a strai,ht%orwar& clash between ,oo& an& e3il, that it coul& not be properly
un&erstoo& in blac")an&)white terms+ Both si&es, it was implie& i% not ar,ue& e=plicitly, ha&
stron, claims, an& both si&es ha& 9ust ,rie3ances+ The &ocumentation release& in !merican,
British, 2+N+, an& 0principally5 #sraeli archi3es in the *670s showe& that the ;ionist si&e was
not blameless in the con%lict, an& ha& sometimes ma&e wron, &ecisions an& in&ul,e& in
policies an& practices that were morally &ubious i% not &ownri,ht unethical+
But that was the limit o% our consensus+ Propa,an&istic or o%%icial historians usually soun& the
same happy note, an& %or the same reasons> but &issentin, historians usually are polyphonic,
an& the relationships amon, them are o%ten trouble&, i% not %latly unhappy+ #n the case o%
Pappe an& mysel%, there was always metho&olo,ical &iscor&+ ?e both "new that o%%icial ;ionist
historio,raphy was &eeply %lawe& an& nee&e& to be reassesse& an& rewritten on the basis o%
the e3i&ence that ha& become a3ailable> but we approache& history, an& the writin, o% history,
%rom antithetical stan&points+ Pappe re,ar&e& history throu,h the prism o% contemporary
politics an& consciously wrote history with an eye to ser3in, political en&s+ My own 3iew was
that while historians, as citizens, ha& political 3iews an& aims, their scholarly tas" was to try to
arri3e at the truth about a historical e3ent or process, to illuminate the past as ob9ecti3ely an&
accurately as possible+ # belie3e&, an& still belie3e, that there is such a thin, as historical
truth> that it e=ists in&epen&ently o%, an& can be &etache& %rom, the sub9ecti3ities o% scholars>
that it is the historian@s &uty to try to reach it by usin, as many an& as 3arie& sources as he
can+ ?hen writin, history, the historian shoul& i,nore contemporary politics an& stru,,le
a,ainst his political inclinations as he tries to penetrate the mur" o% the past+ PappeAan&,
implicitly, my ;ionist critics such as !nita (hapira an& (habtai Te3ethAha3e ar,ue& that no
one is capable o% aban&onin, his e&ucational, i&eolo,ical, an& political ba,,a,e, an& that #,
too, ha3e been moti3ate&, consciously or subconsciously, by my politics an& ha3e re%lecte&
0accor&in, to Pappe5 my soli& ;ionist con3ictions or 0accor&in, to the establishment ;ionists5
my soli& anti);ionist con3ictions+
:ROM T.$ :#R(T P!PP$ allowe& his politics to hol& sway o3er his history+ #nitially he was
rather restraine&+ .is %irst boo", Britain an& the !rab)#sraeli 1on%lict, *647)B*, publishe& in
*677, was blan& an& %lat in tone+ Perhaps this was &ue to its ori,ins as a &octoral &issertation>
perhaps there were other reasons+ #n any e3ent, the boo" a3oi&e& blunt iconoclasm, an& its
inno3ations are e=tremely hesitant 0unli"e !3i (hlaim in his 1ollusion !cross the Cor&an,
publishe& the same year, where it was trenchantly ar,ue& that the Dishu3Athe Cewish
community in PalestineAan& the .ashemite rulers o% Cor&an ha& collu&e& to limit their war in
*647 an& to nip in the bu& the emer,ence o% a Palestinian state in the ?est Ban", as en&orse&
by the 2+N+ partition resolution o% No3ember *64<5+ #n his secon& boo", The Ma"in, o% the
!rab)#sraeli 1on%lict, *64<)*6B*, which appeare& in *662, Pappe allowe& his politics more
leeway, an& they are apparent in his &escriptions an& in his interpretations> but here, too,
there is an e%%ort towar& ob9ecti3ity an& accuracy+
1L
#n both boo"s Pappe in e%%ect tells his rea&ers/ 8This is what happene&+8 This is stran,e,
because it &irectly con%licts with a secon& ma9or element in his historio,raphical outloo"+ Pappe
is a prou& postmo&ernist+ .e belie3es that there is no such thin, as historical truth, only a
collection o% narrati3es as numerous as the participants in any ,i3en e3ent or process> an&
each narrati3e, each perspecti3e, is as 3ali& an& le,itimate, as true, as the ne=t+ Moreo3er,
e3ery narrati3e is inherently political an&, consciously or not, ser3es political en&s+ $ach
historian is 9usti%ie& in shapin, his narrati3e to promote particular political purposes+ (hlomo
!ronson, an #sraeli political scientist, years a,o con%ronte& Pappe with the ultimate problem
re,ar&in, historical relati3ism/ i% all narrati3es are eEually le,itimate an& there is no historical
truth, then the narrati3e o% .olocaust &eniers is as 3ali& as that o% .olocaust a%%irmers+ Pappe
&i& not o%%er a persuasi3e answer, beyon& assertin, lamely that there e=ists a lar,e bo&y o%
in&isputable oral testimony a%%irmin, that the .olocaust too" place+
This broaches the thir& element in Pappe@s historio,raphical approach/ his %aith that oral
testimony is 3aluable an& 3ali&, an& that historians shoul& base their narrati3es also on the
testimony an& the memory o% witnesses, e3en &eca&es a%ter the e3ent+ But in his new boo", as
in his pre3ious boo"s, Pappe ma"es no use at allAor almost no useAo% oral testimony, basin,
his wor" on primary an& secon&ary written sources+ Perhaps he &oes not really belie3e in the
3alue o% oral history> or perhaps he %oun& the wor" in3ol3e& too stress%ul an& time)consumin,+
#n any e3ent, ! .istory o% Mo&ern Palestine ma"es no use o% oral sources+
My own 3iew is that the historian must base his wor" on primary written sources, that is, on
contemporaneous &ocuments, an& must be e=cee&in,ly wary o% oral history, especially when
the e3ents that are bein, remembere& are morally sensiti3e an& politically char,e&, an&
occurre& many years a,o+ #n the absence o% contemporary &ocuments, the historian may
occasionally &raw upon oral testimony %or 8color8 or a sense o% atmosphere, but ne3er to
reconstruct what actually happene&+
(ince so much o% the &ebate about the New .istorians is political, # shoul& a&& that Pappe an&
# &i%%er not only in our metho&s but also in our politics+ ?e are both men o% the le%t> but
whereas since the late *6F0s # ha3e consistently 3ote& abor or Meretz 0a ;ionist party to the
le%t o% abor5, Pappe, so %ar as # "now, has always 3ote& the #srael 1ommunist Party tic"et
0un&er its &i%%erent names5 an& has %i,ure& repeate&ly in the party@s list o% Gnesset can&i&ates+
Hurin, the past %ew years Pappe has 3eere& e3en %urther le%twar&+ !lthou,h his party still
a&3ocates a two)state solution, Pappe, li"e his mentor $&war& (ai&, belie3es that the only
solution to the !rab)#sraeli con%lict is a sin,le bi)national state in all o% Palestine+ 0# shall return
to this theme+5
(O, !( # (!D, P!PP$ !NH # !?!D( were uncom%ortable companions in our historical tra3els+
The outbrea", at the en& o% (eptember 2000, o% the current inti%a&a, which # re,ar& as a
Palestinian rebellion a,ainst the occupation in the ?est Ban" an& Iaza (trip an& as a political)
terroristic assault on #srael@s e=istence 0an& also as an o%%shoot o% %un&amentalist #slam@s
on,oin, assault on the ?est, in which #srael, un%ortunately, %i,ures as a %ront)line outpost5,
has, li"e a ,iant centri%u,e, sent the New .istorians spinnin, towar& opposite corners o% the
political uni3erse+ #t has separate& the anti);ionist ,oats %rom the ;ionist sheep, an& has
accentuate& their ,oatish an& sheepish natures+ By now it woul& not be incorrect to call Pappe,
as well as (hlaim, an anti);ionist+
(hlaim@s The #ron ?all/ #srael an& the !rab ?orl&, which was publishe& %i3e years a,o, is
hi,hly critical o% the ;ionist mo3ement an& #srael+ (ince the start o% the current inti%a&a, he
has mo3e& stea&ily to the le%tAor is it, really, to the ri,htJ !%ter all, he shares his anti)#sraeli
analysis with $uropean neo)%ascists an& the #slamic 9iha&ists, who openly a&3ocate #srael@s
&estruction in the name o% me&ie3al reli,ious 3alues+ #n an op)e& in the #nternational .eral&
Tribune, (hlaim recently i&enti%ie& with the anti)(emitic British o%%icial Cames Troutbec", who in
Cune, *647 &escribe& the emer,ent state o% #sraelAthe one that ha& 9ust been assaulte& by a
be3y o% !rab states, in &e%iance o% the 2nite& Nations Partition Resolution o% No3ember, *64<A
as a ,an,ster state hea&e& by 8an utterly unscrupulous set o% lea&ers+8 8To&ay,8 (hlaim
continue&, 8a similar sense o% moral outra,e is %elt towar& the ri,htist ,o3ernment o% !riel
(haron by people throu,hout the worl&+8
11
!s %or Pappe, the outbrea" o% the Palestinian re3olt has thrust him into aca&emic an& political
prominence as one o% the most outspo"en #sraeli a&3ocates o% a ?estern boycott o% #srael@s
uni3ersities+ Hurin, the past three years, many pro)Palestinian aca&emics in the ?est ha3e
campai,ne& 0not 3ery success%ully5 to persua&e their uni3ersities to cut o%% contact with their
#sraeli counterparts an& to bloc" research an& in3estment %un&s %rom reachin, #srael@s
uni3ersities> aca&emic 9ournals ha3e re%use& to consi&er or to publish papers by #sraelis> a
han&%ul o% aca&emics ha3e re%use& to super3ise #sraeli post,ra&uate stu&ents> an& scholars,
such as $u,ene Ro,an, hea& o% the Mi&&le $ast 1entre at O=%or&@s (t+ !ntony@s 1olle,e, ha3e
re%use& to ,i3e lectures in a country ,o3erne& by !riel (haron 0presumably they woul& ,i3e
lectures in countries run by the li"es o% Bashar al)!ssa& an& the !yatollah Ghamenei5+ Pappe
has been at the %ore%ront o% this e%%ort+ #t is worth notin, that he has not &ecline& to recei3e
wa,es %rom a uni3ersity subsi&ize& by the ,o3ernment whose policies he %in&s so repulsi3e+ #t
is also worth notin,Ahere Pappe@s lo,ic becomes as %lawe& as his ethicsAthat #srael@s
aca&emic community, the one that has been boycotte& by 8pro,ressi3es8 in the ?est, has been
in the 3an,uar& o% the stru,,le within #srael to reco,nize the Palestinians an& to reach a
political compromise+ #srael@s uni3ersities, as Prime Minister (haron an& $&ucation Minister
imor i3nat re,ularly reco,nize, are a mainstay o% the #sraeli le%tAan& none more so than
.ai%a 2ni3ersity, Pappe@s own institution, which has the hi,hest proportion o% !rab sta%% an&
stu&ents 0the latter about 20 percent5 in #srael+
T.#( .!( B$$N P!PP$'( PO#T#1! e3olution+ ! .istory o% Mo&ern Palestine is a milestone in
his e3olution as an historian+ .e sets out to tell the story o% Palestine, which he %ar less
%reEuently also re%ers to as the an& o% #srael, &urin, the nineteenth an& twentieth centuries,
startin, with Napoleon@s in3asion in *<66+ #t is mainly the story o% two peoplesA!rabs an&
CewsAan& the interaction between them+ Nee&less to say, a ,reat many pa,es are &e3ote& to
the &e3elopment o% the Palestinian)#sraeli con%lict> but Pappe is at pains, as he tells us in his
%orewor&, not to con%ine himsel% to the usual tale o% hi,h politics an& military historyAto the
thou,hts, the wor&s, an& the actions o% lea&ers an& ,enerals+ #n "eepin, with the politically
correct norms o% the pro%ession in the contemporary ?est, he %ocuses, rather, on 8the 3ictims8
o% 8the in3asions, occupations, e=pulsions, &iscrimination an& racism8 to which Palestine has
been sub9ect+ .is 8heroes,8 he says, are the 8women, chil&ren, peasants, wor"ers, or&inary
city &wellers, peaceni"s, human ri,hts acti3ists8Aan& his 8K3illains@ +++ the arro,ant ,enerals,
the ,ree&y politicians, the cynical statesmen an& the miso,ynist men+8
#t ,oes almost without sayin, that Pappe@s 83ictims8 are primarily Palestine@s !rabs> an& all, or
almost all, o% the 8,ree&y8 an& the 8cynical8 are #sraelis+ #n %airness # shoul& a&& that he &oes
&ish up some 8miso,ynist8 Palestinians, which is not surprisin,, ,i3en the %act that in !rab an&
#slamic societies women are by tra&ition, an& o%ten by law, thir&)class members, who o%ten
lac" basic ri,hts 0in some countries they ha3e no 3ote, in others they cannot &ri3e cars, an& so
on5+ #n this respect, Palestinian society is similar to (yrian or Cor&anian or $,yptian society, but
Pappe papers this o3er by repeate&ly pointin, to the continuously 8impro3in,8 nature o%
Palestinian women@s status at certain points in timeA%or e=ample, &urin, the two Palestinian
inti%a&as or rebellions a,ainst #srael+
2n%ortunately, much o% what Pappe tries to sell his rea&ers is complete %abrication+ #n tryin, to
&emonstrate women@s ,rowin, political in3ol3ement 0an&, inci&entally, #sraeli beastliness5, he
tells us at one point that 8one thir& o% the o3erall LPalestinianM casualties Lin the inti%a&a o%
*67<)*66*M were women,8 an& that 8rural women8 too" 8a central role, bol&ly con%rontin, the
army+8 !mon, urban women, the proportion o% participants in the inti%a&a was e3en hi,her, he
says+ !ll o% this is pure in3ention+ #n %act, women constitute& about B percent o% the Palestinian
casualties in the %irst inti%a&a+ !ccor&in, to B@Tselem, the #sraeli human ri,hts ,roup, ele3en
hun&re& Palestinians &ie& at the han&s o% #sraeli army an& security personnel &urin, that
uprisin,, an& o% these, %i%ty)si= were women+ $3en a cursory ,lance at %ilm %oota,e o% the
inti%a&a@s riots shows that there were ,enerally no %emale participants+ ?omen &i& ma"e an
appearance, in small numbers, when plea&in, with sol&iers not to ta"e away arreste& men %or
Euestionin, or when mournin, male casualties lyin, bloo&ie& in the streets> but the women
remaine& remar"ably absent %rom the %ront lines o% the inti%a&aAas they remaine&, an& still
remain, absent %rom the %ront lines o% the current inti%a&a an& %rom the co%%ee shops o% the
?est Ban" an& Iaza an& other 3enues where serious matters in the !rab Mi&&le $ast are
12
&iscusse&, an& sometimes &eci&e&+ #n&ee&, the recent sur,e in #slamic %un&amentalism in
Palestinian society has restricte& women e3en more %irmly to hearth an& home than was the
case be%ore the *6<0s+ !ra%at, with his ,oo& sense %or public relations, in&ucte& two womenA
.anan !shrawi an& 2mm Ciha&Ainto the political elite, an& !ra%at@s :atah has &ispatche& a
han&%ul o% %emale suici&e bombers into #srael@s cities, but these are to"en representations o% a
,en&er that is essentially &isempowere& in Palestinian society+
Pappe@s perio&ic insertion o% women into the un%ol&in, history is arti%icial, o%ten absur&, an&
occasionally without %oun&ation in the sources+ .e tells usAwithout o%%erin, any source or
concrete e=ampleAthat, %ollowin, the Doun, Tur"s@ re%ormist re3olution in #stanbul in *607,
8women Lin PalestineM tooAbut the elite onlyAbe,an attemptin, to chan,e their li3es++++ They
or,anize& on a ,en&er basis %or the %irst time+8 Or,anize& whatJ .e &oesn@t tell us+ !n& then
he a&&s/ 8True, only amon, the ;ionist immi,rants &i& women actually wor"Abut e3en here
rhetoric was more abun&ant than %un&amental chan,e in ,en&er relations+8 #n other wor&s,
a%ter completely in3entin, a small %eminist re3olution amon, Palestinian women, Pappe,
implicitly a&mittin, that nothin, o% the sort occurre&, ,oes on to assail the ;ionists %or bein,
no better+ The comparison is ri&iculous+ ?hile women were certainly &iscriminate& a,ainst in
the wor"place an& in wa,es, they ha3e always been %ull citizens in the ;ionist community/ they
wor"e& in the %iel&s an& %actories, an& they 3ote& %or can&i&ates in the ;ionist institutions, an&
they were electe& to o%%ice+ There was nothin, comparable in pre)*647 Palestinian !rab
society+
(ince contemporary historio,raphy apparently reEuires it, Pappe also in9ects chil&ren into
Palestinian social history+ 1hil&ren were always there, o% course, but 3ery %ew sources &iscuss
them, an& their impact on the &e3elopment o% Palestine, at least until the inti%a&as, was
probably insubstantial+ Det a politically correct historian worth his spurs cannot e=clu&e them,
an& so Pappe writes/ 8#t is also possible to say that *607 mar"e& a new be,innin, %or chil&ren
in Palestine+8 ?hat he means by this assertion, or on what he bases it, is ne3er eluci&ate&+ Hi&
chil&ren su&&enly ,et the 3oteJ Hi& they ,et more can&yJ Hi& they cry lessJ Pappe &oes not
say+ ?hat he &oes say is that in the Palestinian !rab school system corporal punishment
continue& to be the norm throu,h the %irst hal% o% the twentieth century+ .e also assumes that,
since the Doun, Tur"s re3olution o% *607 le& to an increase in e&ucation throu,hout the
Ottoman $mpire, there must ha3e been more or better schoolin, in Palestine too, hence the
impro3ement in the lot o% Palestinian chil&ren+ 0But i% chil&ren were bein, routinely %lo,,e& in
the schools, perhaps an increase in schoolin,Ai% this in %act occurre&Awoul& not necessarily
ha3e been a ,oo& thin,+5
Geepin, up with historio,raphical %ashion lea&s to con%usion+ Nations an& nation)states are
retro,ra&e an& nasty, almost by &e%inition+ !t the outset o% his boo" Pappe in%orms his rea&ers
that he inten&s to 8&e)nationalize8 the history o% mo&ern Palestine/ a worthy postcolonial or at
least postmo&ern ,oal+ But how &oes one 8&e)nationalize8 what is essentially a history o% a
con%lict between two nations or peoplesJ One strate,y, seemin,lyAit is the one Pappe a&optsA
woul& be to %ocus on the economic an& social &e3elopments in Palestine rather than on the
country@s politics+ But alas, here, too, the historian imme&iately comes up a,ainst the
8national8 problem, inasmuch as Palestine@s two national or ethnic communities essentially
&e3elope& an& ,rew separately, on national lines+ #n&ee&, by the *620s they ha& e3en
spawne& two separate 8national8 economies+
Pappe reco,nizes the trap almost as soon as the wor& 8&e)nationalize8 escapes his lips, an& in
mi&)para,raph he &e=terously switches ,ears, tellin, his rea&ers that, at the least, he inten&s
to 8bi)nationalize8 his history/ unli"e many o% his pre&ecessors %rom the ;ionist an& !rab
camps, he will tell Palestine@s history %rom both the Palestinian !rab an& #sraeli Cewish
perspecti3es+ !n& as the boo" un%ol&s, Pappe &escribes the separate socio)economic an&
political &e3elopment o% each people at each sta,e o% the country@s history be%ore re3iewin,
their interactions+
#T ! (O2NH( N$RD R$!(ON!B$ an& 3ery tolerant, but in %act Mo&ern Palestine is really the
story o% one people, the Palestinians, who, accor&in, to Pappe, uneEui3ocally 8turn towar&s +++
nationalism8 in *6*2 0most historians woul& place this 8turn8 a bit later, in the *620s an&
*6'0s5+ They are put upon an& in3a&e& an& sub9u,ate& an& in part e=ile& by another people,
1E
an in3a&in, people, the ;ionist Cews+ Pappe barely mentions the Cewish habitation o%, an& rule
o3er, #srael &urin, the thousan& years between Coshua@s in3asion an& the crushin, o% the Bar)
Gochba Re3olt a,ainst Rome in *'B 1+$+ !n& while he mentions the causes that &urin, the late
nineteenth an& twentieth centuries propelle& a %raction o% the Cewish people to hea& %or the
lan& in the e3antAanti)(emitic &iscrimination an& 3iolence in the 1hristian, an& later the
Muslim, worl&APappe@s heart is clearly not in it+ .e sees the 8in3asion8 an& the ine3itable clash
solely %rom the !rabs@ perspecti3e+
#n Pappe@s account, there is no %aultin, the Palestinians %or re,ularly assaultin, the ;ionist
enterpriseAin *620, *62*, *626, *6'F)'6, *64<)47, the late *6F0s an& early *6<0s, *67<,
an& 2000Aas there can be no criticizin, them %or re9ectin, the 3arious compromises o%%ere& by
the British, the !mericans, the Cews, an& the worl& community in *6'<, *64<, *6<<) *6<7,
an& 2000+ The Palestinians are %ore3er 3ictims, the ;ionists are %ore3er 8brutal colonizers+8 To
his cre&it, Pappe wears his heart on his slee3e+ There is no &issemblin, here+ .e e3en tells us
in his ac"nowle&,mentsAas i% he cannot wait to in%orm his rea&ers o% his loyaltiesA that while
his 8nati3e ton,ue is .ebrew,8 8to&ay LheM con3erses more an& more in !rabic,8 an& his 8lo3e
o% the country LPalestineM8 is matche& only by his 8&isli"e o% the state L#sraelM+8
TOND C2HT ON1$ H$(1R#B$H in these pa,es an encounter with stu&ents in a ,ra&uate
seminar in mo&ern $uropean history in an !merican uni3ersity/
!%ter some probin, +++ LtheM stu&ents woul& start to con%ess that they were actually in a state
o% panic+ To be sure, they coul& e=patiate at len,th on theories o% nationalism+ They ha&
mastere& the &isputes surroun&in, the nature o% %ascism or the ,en&ere& impact o%
in&ustrialization+ They "new how to 8e=plain8 history++++ But they ha& not the %o,,iest notion
what happene&, when it happene&, who &i& it, or why+
They simply &i& not "now history+ Cu&t coul& almost ha3e been &escribin, #lan Pappe, his
collea,ue in the 8one)state solution+8 Pappe, too, is mortally i,norant o% the basic %acts o% the
#sraeli)!rab con%lict+ This boo" is awash with errors o% a Euantity an& a Euality that are not
%oun& in serious historio,raphy+ !n&, in Pappe@s case, it is not 9ust a matter o% sloppiness or
in&olence in chec"in, %acts> the problem ,oes &eeper+ #t can almost be calle& a &eliberate
system o% error+
The multiplicity o% mista"es on each pa,e is a pro&uct o% both Pappe@s historical metho&olo,y
an& his political procli3ities+ .e seems to a&mit as much when he writes early on that
my Lpro)PalestinianM bias is apparent &espite the &esire o% my peers that # stic" to %acts an&
the Ktruth@ when reconstructin, past realities+ # 3iew any such construction as 3ain an&
presumptuous+ This boo" is written by one who a&mits compassion %or the colonize& not the
colonizer> who sympathizes with the occupie& not the occupiers> an& si&es with the wor"ers
not the bosses+ .e %eels %or women in &istress, an& has little a&miration %or men in
comman&++++ Mine is a sub9ecti3e approach++++
:or those enamore& with sub9ecti3ity an& in thrall to historical relati3ism, a %act is not a %act
an& accuracy is unattainable+ ?hy ,rope %or the truthJ Narrati3ity is all+ (o no rea&er shoul&
be surprise& to &isco3er that, accor&in, to Pappe, the (tern Ian, an& the Palmach e=iste&
8be%ore the re3olt8 o% *6'F 0they were establishe& in *640)*64*5> that the Palmach 8between
*64F an& *6478 %ou,ht a,ainst the British 0in *64<)*647 it &i& not5> that Ben)Iurion in *626
was chairman o% the Cewish !,ency $=ecuti3e 0he was chairman %rom *6'B to *6475> that the
!rab .i,her 1ommittee was establishe& 8by *6'48 0it was set up in *6'F5> that the !rab
e,ion &i& not with&raw %rom Palestine, alon, with the British, in May, *647 0most o% its units
&i&5> that the 2nite& Nations@ partition proposal o% No3ember 26, *64< ha& 8an eEual number
o% supporters an& &etractors8 0the 3ote was thirty)three %or, thirteen a,ainst, an& ten
abstentions5> that the 8Cewish %orces LwereM better eEuippe&8 than the in3a&in, !rab armies in
May, *647 0they were not, by any stretch o% the ima,ination5> that the %irst truce was 8si,ne&8
on Cune *0, *647 0it was ne3er 8si,ne&,8 an& it be,an on Cune **5> that in !u,ust, *647 8the
success%ul #sraeli campai,ns continue&, lea&in, to their complete control o% Palestine, apart
%rom the ?est Ban" an& the Iaza (trip8 0the (econ& Truce pre3aile& &urin, !u,ust an&
(eptember, an& war%are was resume& only in mi&)October5> that the Iran& Mu%ti %le& Palestine
14
in *6'7 0he le%t in October, *6'<5> that the .ebrew 2ni3ersity o% Cerusalem was 8built +++ in
*6208 0it was %oun&e& in *62B an& constructe& &urin, the %ollowin, &eca&es5> that Tel !3i3
was 8%oun&e& +++ on a (atur&ay mornin, in Culy *60<8 0it was in *6065> that the late
nineteenth)century ;ionist pioneers "nown as the Biluim establishe& 8the %irst ;ionist
settlements in Palestine8 0they &i& not5, an& that they 8were le&8 by Moshe ilienblum an&
eon Pins"er 0they were not5> that 8the #sraeli :orei,n O%%ice +++ translate& L2+N+ (ecurity
1ouncil Resolution 242M into .ebrew in a way that implie& that it &i& not ha3e to with&raw
%rom all the territories it ha& occupie& Lin the (i= Hay ?arM8 0the resolution, in the
authoritati3e $n,lish ori,inal, spea"s o% with&rawal 8%rom Loccupie&M territories,8 not 8the
territories8 or 8all the territories85> that in *6<6 there were 8*+7 million LPalestinianM re%u,ees8
in ebanon, an& in *672 8well beyon& two million8 0on both &ates the number was aroun& two
hun&re& thousan&5> that Blac" (eptember, the Cor&anian crac"&own a,ainst the PO, too"
place in *6F6 0it was in *6<05> that the %irst settlements in the ?est Ban" were establishe& in
*6F7 0they were establishe& in *6F<5> that there was an anti).ashemite 8uprisin,8 in Cor&an
in *6BF 0there were anti).ashemite or anti)Ba,h&a& Pact riots in Cor&an in *6BB, but not an
uprisin,5> that 8the ne,otiations on Palestine@s %uture pro&uce& L&urin, ?orl& ?ar #M three
&ocuments/ the .usayn)McMahon correspon&ence, the (y"es)Picot !,reement an& the Bal%our
Heclaration8 0only the last %ocuse& on Palestine@s %uture5> that 8in (eptember *6*7 the north o%
Palestine was ta"en Euietly Lby the British armyM8 0it was ta"en in battle, the Battle o%
!rma,,e&on or Me,,i&o5> that 8'00 Cews8 an& a similar number o% !rabs were "ille& in the
!rab riotin, o% *626 09ust o3er one hun&re& Cews an& a similar number o% !rabs &ie&5> an& so
on an& on an& on+
!I!#N, P!PP$'( $RROR'( are not merely a matter o% sloppiness born o% a contempt %or that
lea3en o% &ullar&s, 8the %acts+8 The boo" is also awash with errors resultin, %rom the writer@s
i&eolo,ical pre%erences, his interest in blac"enin, the ;ionists an& whitenin, the Palestinians+
.is &escription o% the e3ents o% *620 0in which Pappe pro3es the &ictum that necessityAin this
case, an i&eolo,ical imperati3eAis the mother o% in3ention5 is surely a classic o% the ,enre/
#n !pril *620, a Nabi Musa rally La Muslim celebration commemoratin, the prophet MosesM
clashe& with the most a,,ressi3e o% the ;ionist or,anizations, Beitar, whose members marche&
pro3ocati3ely in the streets o% !rab Cerusalem at the time o% the %east, an& a &ay o% 3iolence
en&e& with &eaths on both si&es++++ ! LBritishM commission o% inEuiry, the Palin 1ommission,
conclu&e& the ob3ious/ that there was ,rowin, &issatis%action amon, the Palestinian elite with
the British pro);ionist +++ policy+
#n %act, Pappe@s e3enhan&e&ness, while morally commen&able, is out o% place+ There was no
8pro3ocati3e8 Cewish march throu,h !rab Cerusalem> there was no march at all+ ?hat occurre&
was an unpro3o"e& assault on Cewish passersby an& shops by a politically an& reli,iously
in%lame& Muslim mob+ The subseEuent British in3esti,ation, embo&ie& in the Palin Report,
%oun& that a Muslim !rab reli,ious procession, incite& by, amon, others, .a9 !min al .usseini
an& !ri% al)!ri% 0a Palestinian 9ournalist5, ha& attac"e& Cews alon, Ca%%a Roa& in Cewish 0?est5
Cerusalem an& then insi&e the Ol& 1ity+ Beitar, the youth mo3ement o% the ri,ht)win,
Re3isionist Mo3ement, was %oun&e& in *62', so clearly it coul& not ha3e ha& a han& in the
e3ents o% *620+ 0$3en a postmo&ernist can see thatO5 The Palin Report, ac"nowle&,in, the
po,rom %or what it was, state& that 8all the e3i&ence ,oes to show that these L!rabM attac"s
were o% a cowar&ly an& treacherous &escription, mostly a,ainst ol& men, women an& chil&ren
A%reEuently in the bac"8 0thou,h, to roun& out the picture, Palin &i& attribute the risin, ti&e o%
!rab an,er to Britain@s pro);ionist policy5+
Brazen inaccuracy similarly mar"s Pappe@s treatment o% the !rab Re3olt o% *6'F)*6'6+ Pappe
writes that the !rab .i,her 1ommittee ha& trie& to 8ne,otiate a principle& settlement with the
Cewish !,ency8 0it &i& not5> that in 8October *6'F8 the !.1 8&eclare& a ,eneral stri"e8 0it was
&eclare& in May, *6'F an& en&e& in October5> that 8in !u,ust L*6'<M8 Palestinians
assassinate& 8Ma9or !n&rew,8 the British actin, Ialilee &istrict commissioner 0his name was
ewis !n&rews, he was a ci3ilian, an& he was assassinate& in (eptember5> an& that 8Euite a
%ew8 o% the Palestinian &ea& in the *6'F)*6'6 rebellion were women 0there are no accurate
%i,ures, but there can be no &oubt that only a han&%ul o% the three thousan& to si= thousan&
Palestinian &ea& were women, who ,enerally too" no part in the riotin, an& the %i,htin,5+
16
Pappe writes that 8in the *6F6 election, the mo&erate $sh"ol coul& not pre3ail a,ainst the
more in%le=ible Iol&a Meir8 0$sh"ol simply &ie& in o%%ice, an& his party, Mapai, selecte& Meir as
his successor, an& later, in the ,eneral elections o% *6F6, the incumbent prime minister Meir,
hea&in, the Mapai list, ran a,ainst, an& beat, a collection o% ri,ht)win,, reli,ious, an& le%t)win,
parties5> that there were one million Palestinians li3in, outsi&e Palestine by the en& o% the
*647 war 0the number was no more than three hun&re& thousan&5> that 8the %i&a@iyyun
Lliterally, sel%)sacri%icers or ,uerrillasM +++ acti3ities initially consiste& o% attempts to retrie3e lost
property8 0this was probably true o% in%iltratin, Palestinian re%u,ees, but the %i&a@iyyun, set up
by $,ypt only in *6B4)*6BB, %rom the %irst were en,a,e& in intelli,ence an& terrorist acti3ities,
not in property retrie3al5> that 8ebanon was &estroye& in L#sraeliM carpet bombin, %rom the air
an& shellin, %rom the ,roun&8 in *672 0ebanon was not &estroye&, thou,h se3eral
nei,hborhoo&s in a number o% cities were ba&ly &ama,e&, an& there was no 8carpet
bombin,85+ !,ain, the list is en&less+
?here Pappe@s i&eolo,ical bent is not responsible %or outri,ht in3entions an& errors, it lea&s
instea& to narrati3e lopsi&e&ness+ .e &e3otes a %ull se3en pa,es to instances o% ;ionist)!rab
cooperation an& co)e=istence 0which he calls 8cohabitation85 &urin, the !rab re3olt o% *6'F)
*6'6, but only two pa,es to the actual re3olt an& its conseEuences+ (urely the re3olt itsel% was
%ar more important than the han&%ul o% concurrent inconseEuential !rab)Cewish contacts aimin,
at coe=istence+ !n& Pappe &e3otes a mere si=teen pa,es to the re3olutionary uphea3al o% the
*647 warAsurely the central e3ent in Palestine@s mo&ern historyAan& two o% those pa,es are
maps+ (till, *647 &oes relati3ely well in this re,ar&/ the *6<' warAwhich Pappe &escribes as a
8&e3astatin, #sraeli &e%eat,8 echoin, !rab propa,an&a, an& the 8bloo&iest !rab)#sraeli
con%rontation8 0in %act, the war o% *64<)*646 was bloo&ier5A,ets about hal% a pa,e+ # shoul&
a&& also that .a%ez !ssa& o% (yria &i& not embar" on the *6<' war in or&er to resume the
peace process with #srael> he simply wante& to re)conEuer the Iolan .ei,hts 0an& perhaps
thus to a3oi& enterin, a peace process5+
P!PP$ H$H#1!T$( .#( BOOG TO 8#&o an& Donatan, my two lo3ely boys+ May they li3e not only
in a mo&ern Palestine, but also in a peace%ul one+8 .is choice o% the term 8Palestine8 rather
than 8#srael8 woul& seem to in&icate that Pappe is loo"in, %orwar& to a polity that will emer,e
a%ter #srael@s &isestablishment or &emise+ .e ob3iously supports a sin,le bi)national state in all
o% Palestine+ !n& he is no %ool+ .e must "now what such a state will loo" li"e+ ! bi)national
state, i% establishe& tomorrow, woul& contain rou,hly %i3e million Cews an& %our an& a hal%
million !rabs 0*+' million #sraeli !rabs, inclu&in, the !rabs o% $ast Cerusalem> two million ?est
Ban" !rabs> an& close to one an& a hal% million !rabs o% the Iaza (trip5+ There woul& be
instant chaos, as !rab an& Cewish communities woul& 3ie %or &ominance an& try to settle ol&
scores, an& as the two to three million re%u,ees %rom *647 an& their &escen&ants, now
resi&ent in the ?est Ban" an& Iaza, woul& ma"e trac"s %or, an& try to repossess, lost houses
an& lan&s in pre)*6F< #srael+
Moreo3er, were the 8ri,ht o% return8 to be a&opte&Aas woul& be &eman&e& by Palestine@s
!rabs an& the surroun&in, !rab worl&, perhaps with $uropean en&orsementAanother million
!rabs woul& pour into the country %rom the re%u,ee camps in Cor&an, ebanon, an& (yria,
instantly creatin, an !rab ma9ority in the 8bi)national8 state+ #% that state were &emocratic, the
ma9ority woul& &etermine its character, an& in %airly short or&er it woul& become an !rab state
with a ,ra&ually &ecreasin, Cewish minority+ ?ithout &oubt, the !rab ma9ority woul& pass
le,islation bloc"in, %urther Cewish immi,ration into the country> an&, eEually without &oubt,
Cews woul& be,in to lea3e+
But e3en without implementation o% an instant or ,ra&ual return o% re%u,ees %rom outsi&e
Palestine, Pappe@s binational state woul& Euic"ly become an !rab)ma9ority state, ,i3en relati3e
!rab an& Cewish birthrates+ Palestinian !rab %amilies ha3e an a3era,e o% %our or %i3e chil&ren
0an& this inclu&es #sraeli !rab househol&s5, while #sraeli Cewish %amilies ten& to ha3e two or
three chil&ren+ ?ithin a &eca&e or so o% its creation, the bi)national state woul& ha3e an !rab
ma9ority+ # %in& it &i%%icult to ima,ine what sort o% li%e Pappe really belie3es that he an& his
chil&ren an& ,ran&chil&ren can e=pect as members o% a Cewish minority in an !rab state+ !%ter
all, the Cewish minorities in the #slamic !rab worl& ha3e %are& poorly o3er the centuries, always
sub9ect to secon&)class citizenship an& o%ten to brutal oppression an& massacre> as late as the
*640s they su%%ere& %rom &iscriminatory laws an& po,roms 0in Ba,h&a&, Tripoli, !&en5> an& by
1F
the *6F0s they ha& all %le&, or been e=pelle& %rom, their nati3e lan&s+ #raE, with one hun&re&
thirty)%i3e thousan& Cews in *647, has to&ay about %i%ty Cews> $,ypt, once with se3enty)%i3e
thousan&, has about one hun&re&> Morocco, with two hun&re& si=ty)%i3e thousan& in *647, has
about si= thousan&+ :or all practical purposes, these countries ha3e been ethnically cleanse& o%
their Cews+ !lmost no Cews at all are le%t in Demen or !l,eria, an& none, as %ar as # "now, li3e
in (au&i !rabia, ibya, Oman, Guwait, or the 2nite& !rab $mirates+
! Muslim)&ominate& Palestine woul& be e3en less beni,n or hospitable towar& its Cewish
minority+ !%ter all, the Palestinians are not a particularly %or,i3in, people 0the cry %or re3en,e
seems to be on the lips o% e3ery suici&e bomber5, an& what they ha3e su%%ere& at Cewish han&s
since *64< will not easily be erase& %rom their collecti3e an& in&i3i&ual memories+ Moreo3er,
the #slamic !rab worl&, inclu&in, !ra%at@s Palestinian !uthority, has shown little penchant %or
&emocracy+ More ,enerally, tolerance o% the 8other8 is not a &eeply in,raine& tra&ition in the
Muslim !rab worl&, as the %ate o% the !rab worl&@s 1hristian communities in the nineteenth an&
twentieth centuries will attest+ 0oo" at (u&an+5 Nor woul& the social an& economic ,ap
between the Cews an& the !rabs o% Pappe@s bi)national state ma"e %or peace%ul co)e=istence+
(o # &oubt that #&o an& Donatan will en9oy li%e in their new Muslim !rab)&ominate&
en3ironment+ My pre&iction is that, whate3er their politics, they will Euic"ly repair to $urope or
!merica+ !n& i%, contrary to lo,ic, they stic" it out, they will en9oy an e=istence in%initely less
%ree, creati3e, an& pleasant than that currently en9oye& by #srael@s !rab minority citizens+ This
truly is an appallin, boo"+ !nyone intereste& in the real history o% PalestineP#srael an& the
Palestinian#sraeli con%lict woul& &o well to run 3i,orously in the opposite &irection+
Benny Morris teaches Mi&&le $ast history at Ben)Iurion 2ni3ersity+ .e is the author, most
recently, o% The Birth o% the Palestinian Re%u,ee Problem Re3isite& 01ambri&,e 2ni3ersity
Press5+ This article appeare& in the March 22, 2004 issue o% The New Republic+
15
Benny Morris's ies !bout My Boo" by #lan Pappe,$lectronic #nti%a&a, '0 marzo 2004
Mr+ Pappe is a senior lecturer in the political science &epartment at .ai%a 2ni3ersity+
#n March the New Republic publishe& Benny Morris's harsh re3iew o% #llan Pappe's new boo", !
.istory o% Mo&ern Palestine/ One an&, Two Peoples+ Mr+ Pappe wrote a response an& as"e&
TNR to publish it+ TNR &ecline&+ .is response appears below+
Benny Morris tells his rea&ers in the New Republic that he an& # wal"e& a stretch o% roa&
to,ether as 're3isionist historians+' This is how an article be,ins with a %actual mista"e> an
article which is meant to show that my wor"s are a %abrication+ This is a %alsi%ication o% history
as # coul& not be a partner to a person who ha& alrea&y in *677 hel& 3iews # %oun& morally
unacceptable+ # was pri3y to the 3iews he only aire& later on, alrea&y in our %irst meetin, bac"
in the late *670s+ # was %ully aware A as he seeme& to trust me A o% his abominable racist
3iews about the !rabs in ,eneral an& the Palestinians in particular+ 2nli"e others, # &i& not %eel
that his ,oo& Eualities as a chronolo,ist which came out in his most %amous boo", The Birth o%
the Palestinian Re%u,ee Problem 01ambri&,e *67<5 A he was ne3er a proper historian A an&
especially his in3aluable contribution in a,,re,atin, &ata %or us on the *647 ethnic cleansin, A
ma&e up %or his bi,otry an& narrowAmin&e&ness+
#n %act, there was, an& still is a &irect line between the "in& o% chronolo,y he pro3i&e& in the
*670s A which ha& 3ery little analysis an& there%ore hi& well his 9usti%ication %or ethnic
cleansin, A an& his recent o3ercon%i&ence that he can pro3i&e such analyses in his latest
wor"s instea& o% his con3entional collection o% %acts+ (uch an attempt was ma&e in his
Ri,hteous Nictims which came out in *666/ a boo" in which analysis was replace& by his ri,ht)
win, i&eolo,ies+ #t was much easier to accept him as a &ata collector A without much i&eolo,y
A than his new presumptuous posture o% a historian who shares with us his 3iews+ Now that
we "now all we want to "now about his 3iews, an& much more # suspect, we can only lon, %or
the ol& Morris+
The &ebate between us is on one le3el between historians who belie3e they are purely
ob9ecti3e reconstructers o% the past, li"e Morris, an& those who claim that they are sub9ecti3e
human bein,s stri3in, to tell their own 3ersion o% the past, li"e mysel%+ ?hen we write
histories, we built arches o3er a lon, perio& o% time an& we construct out o% the material in
%ront o% us a narrati3e+ ?e belie3e an& hope that this narrati3e is a loyal reconstruction o% what
happene& A althou,h as was &isco3ere& by historio,raphers Morris ha& ne3er bothere& to
rea& A we can not ri&e a train bac" in time to chec" it+
Narrati3es o% this "in&, when written by historians in3ol3e& &eeply in the sub9ect matter they
write about, such as in the case o% #sraeli historians who write about the Palestine con%lict, is
moti3ate& also A an& this is not a %ault but a blessin, A by a &eep in3ol3ement an& a wish to
ma"e a point+ This point is calle& i&eolo,y or politics+ ;ionist historians wante& to pro3e that
;ionism was 3ali&, moral an& ri,ht an& Palestinian historians wishe& to show that they were
3ictimize& an& wron,e&+ Morris wante& also to ma"e a point recently A that ethnic cleansin,
o% Palestinians by Cews was 9usti%ie& in the past an& woul& be acceptable in the %uture+ ately
he share& with us some other 3iews that e=plain his listin, o% what he calls the '%actual'
mista"es in my boo" A that o% 3iewin, all the !rabs an& all the Muslims as barbarians an&
primiti3e people+ This also applies to their &ocuments, sources an& histories+ !nyone who
ar,ues with him about these i&eas is '%actually' wron,+
# ha& a &i%%erent point to ma"e/ # con&emne& the uprootin, o% the Palestinians an& the
3iolence in%licte& on them, as well as the &e)!rabization o% Cews who came %rom !rab countries
to #srael, the imposition o% military rule on Palestinians in #srael be%ore *6F< an& the &e%acto
!parthei& policies put in place a%ter *6F<+ # also cry out a,ainst the callous #sraeli occupation
o% the ?est Ban" an& the Iaza (trip+ # &o it not only as human bein,, but also as Cew, who
%eels appalle& that such crimes can be committe& by Cews a%ter the .olocaust+ # stu&ie&
history to %in& out why it happene& an& ,a3e answers throu,h analyzin, ;ionist i&eolo,y, the
historical colonialist conte=t in which ;ionism emer,e& an& so on+
?hen somethin, is burnin, in your bones you mi,ht mista"e names an& &ates as &i& Morris in
1@
his re3iew in the New Republic when he smeare& my %rien& !3i (hlaim who %ell %rom ,race in
Morris's eyes because o% his ;ionism+ Morris accuses (hlaim %or i&enti%yin, with a British
&iplomat o% the *640s whom he calls Cames Troutbec" an& whom he sees as an anti)(emite+
There was ne3er such a person+ Morris probably means Cohn Troutbec" who was not an anti)
(emite as Morris writes, Euite the contrary+
Hoes this misspellin, o% the name, or that o% almost all the !rab an& Palestinian names he
mentions in his %irst boo" &isable us %rom un&erstan&in, the points he ma"es or miss the zeal
with which he &ri3es them homeJ Or &oes his manipulation o% the Ben)Iurion &iary's te=t, as
has been e=pose& un%ortunately by a ri3al o% both o% us, $phraim Garsh 0who re9ects the 'new
history' but none the less e=pose& a serious ,ap between Morris' te=t an& the ori,inal &iary o%
Ben)Iurion, the %irst prime minister o% #srael5 o% all people, un&ermine our respect %or his
wor"J Not in my boo"s at least+ # am worrie& about moral issues not the natural human %ollies
o% pro%essional historians+
But Morris wants to persua&e us that this is not the nature o% the historio,raphical &ebate+ .is
3iew as state& in the New Republic article is/ 8that while historians, as citizens, ha& political
3iews an& aims, their scholarly tas" was to arri3e at the truth about the historical e3ent or
process, to illuminate the past as ob9ecti3ely an& accurately+8 The 8noble &ream,8 an !merican
historian calle& it in the be,innin, o% the last century+ But this in Morris's case is not a noble
&ream A as he is not a &reamer li"e mysel% A this is pure cynicism+ !n #sraeli historian who
9usti%ies ethnic cleansin,, writes about it in The Birth o% the Palestinian Re%u,ee Problem 0an&
e3en recently republishe& an up&ate& 3ersion o% this boo"5 cannot claim to be a 8neutral8
historian+
?hy &i& he twice write the boo" on that episo&e in historyJ Cust by sheer acci&entJ Morris tells
us in the pre%ace to the up&ate& boo" on the *647 war that new material prompte& him to
re3ise the boo"+ But in %act this is not what &istin,uishes his two boo"s+ The %irst was written
at a time when it was bon ton to be a 'peaceni"' an& his 3ersion o% history was that the ethnic
cleansin, in Palestine 0the massi3e e=pulsion o% about <B0,000 Palestinians in *6475 was not
the result o% a master plan+ #t happene& throu,h a war an& there%ore there was no #sraeli
accountability or &irect responsibility A a narrati3e that %itte& the peace camp at the time+ But
with such 3iews a%ter Netanyahu's 3ictory in the *66F elections it was &i%%icult to ,et
pro%essorship in an #sraeli uni3ersity+ This is when the shi%t be,an+
!n& it was e3en easier to ,et tenure an& pro%essorship he ,la&ly %oun& out i% he woul& air the
set o% 3iews he belie3e& in any way+ (o when the secon& #nti%a&a bro"e out, our charlatan
%in&s out that the bon ton in #srael has shi%te& to the ri,ht+ #n his new boo" the ethnic
cleansin, becomes a master plan that is criticize& by Morris %or not bein, e%%icient enou,h as
too many Palestinians were le%t in their houses 0almost *0 percent o% those li3in, within the
Cewish (tate5+ Nonetheless, the ethnic cleansin, is now represente& as a wise %oresi,ht o% the
#sraeli lea&ership at time that shoul& be repeate& once more+ This is not base& on new
e3i&ence, but on an i&eolo,ical twist+
Thus the stron, con3iction Morris e=presses in the %ollowin, way that 8my own 3iew is that the
historian must base his wor" on the primary sources, that is, on contemporaneous &ocuments8
is not the basis %or his historical con3iction+ .is primary sources come almost e=clusi3ely %rom
the #H: archi3es+ ?ith the help o% these &ocuments he reconstructs *647 0he use& some
$n,lish sources in a lame an& insi,ni%icant bio,raphy he wrote on Ilubb, # belie3e, but this is
an e=ception not the rule5+
#sraeli o%%icers lie& in the past an& lie in the present A but they are the basis %or the true
history %or Morris+ #n %act, when his i&eolo,y chan,e& he ,uesse& they tol& only part o% the
truth about the ethnic cleansin, an& there%ore he was willin, to be a post)mo&ernist an& rea&
into, an& outsi&e, the te=ts+ But his picture o% the *647 war will ne3er be complete+ There are
plenty o% !rab an& Palestinian &ocuments, but Morris who cannot rea& !rabic, will not be able
to use them+
Morris %eels that his stron,est car& a,ainst me is my 8sloppiness8 which is structural an&
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there%ore he lists an en&less number o% mista"es+ .e %in&s them all in my recent boo", !
.istory o% Mo&ern Palestine/ One an&, Two Peoples 01ambri&,e 2ni3ersity Press, 200'5+ This
boo" tells the history o% Palestine %rom the point o% 3iew o% its wor"ers, peasants, chil&ren,
women an& all the subaltern ,roups that ma"e the society an& not its political elite+ #t is also a
boo" that wishes to see Cews an& Palestinians li3in, one &ay in one state+
There are, accor&in, to Morris, to be,in with/ the ,ran& mista"es+ .ere they are+ The %irst,
that the Palestinians were the main 3ictims o% the con%lict 0in the last two hun&re& years5+ #
thin" e3en the ma9ority o% the rea&ers o% the New Republic are %amiliar with that %act+ But %or
someone who re,ar&s the !rabs as barbarians an& almost semi)human it is clear that their
su%%erin, is not eEual to that o% the ci3ilize& ;ionists+
(econ&ly, there was no Palestinian %eminism or women's participation in the national stru,,le>
nor were they or,anize&+ Morris &oes not only lac" !rabic, he &oes not as a rule rea& or Euote
any wor" o% Palestinian women A or %or that matter other women's wor" or Palestinian male
historians+ 8There are no ,oo& Palestinian historians8 he tol& a crow&e& hall sittin, ne=t to me
an& $&war& (ai& in *667+ My "nowle&,e an& rea&in,, an& in&ee& wor"in, with %eminist
historians, is a 8%actual8 mista"e+ Ta"e the Euestion o% women casualties A he uses only #sraeli
sources to show that he is ri,ht an& # am wron,+
Des, # use Palestinian sources %or the #nti%a&a/ they seem to me to be more reliable, # a&mit+ #n
his i,norance, an& as he has not been in the occupie& territories %or years, which # 3isit
re,ularly, he claims that, e3er since *677, that #slamic %un&amentalism restricte& women's
participation in the con%rontation with the occupyin, %orces+ Ten minutes %rom where he li3es
he coul& ha& witnesse& the %irst &emonstration o% the present #nti%a&a+ Only women A many o%
them 3eile& A participate& in it 0in the un%ul%ille& hope that the #sraeli army woul& not shoot
them5+ But e3en $ast Cerusalem, its history an&, yes, e3en its &ocuments are not 8le,itimate8
bric"s in the house o% history he buil&s+
Thir&ly, he claims # in3ent a history o% chil&ren> presumably they are not a sub9ect matter in
his rea&in, as they &o not appear in the political archi3es+ Ho the rea&ers o% the New Republic
really nee& remin&in, o% the ,reat wor"s &one on chil&ren's history here, in $urope an& the
Mi&&le $astJ But, Morris ne3er rea& one wor" on Ottoman history there%ore he claims no one
can write the history o% chil&ren in Palestine+ The #H: archi3es, his shrine o% truth, has not
written about them, unless they were 3ictims o% massacres+
.is %ourth point is that # ha3e not mentione& Bar)Goch3a A a Cewish hero who %ou,ht a,ainst
the Romans+ This alle,ation comes %rom someone who says in the be,innin, o% this article that
he is on the le%t+ Des we "now that in the name o% Bar)Goch3a an& other Cews who ha& roame&
Palestine two thousan&s years a,o, Palestinians were e=pelle& %rom their homes+ But #
thou,ht, as Morris says in the be,innin, o% the article, he came to &econstruct ;ionist
historio,raphy not to propa,ate it+
Then there are the smaller mista"es+ #n some cases he 9ust openly lies+ :or instance # write in
the boo" in pa,e *07/ 8The Palmach, the (tern Iroup an& Menachem Be,in's #r,un woul&
emer,e at the en& o% the man&ate+8 Morris writes in or&er to in%late the list o% 8%abrications8/
8accor&in, to Pappe, the (tern Ian, an& the Palmach e=iste& be%ore the Re3olt8 0without
,i3in, a pa,e number o% course5+
?hy &oes he lie openlyJ # hope this is out o% commitment to his new cause an& not malice+ On
pa,e 26' # write that Ben Iurion became the chairman o% the Cewish !,ency in *6'B+ Morris
writes/ 8accor&in, to Pappe, Ben)Iurion in *626 was the chairmen o% the Cewish !,ency+8 !n&
so on an& so %orth, e3ery %act, apart %rom two or three, is bein, brou,ht be%ore the rea&ers as
a sheer lie+ But o% course he nee&s this list so as to show that in what counts A minute &etails
A there is no en& to my mista"es+ ?ell, it seems to recap on $+ .+ 1arr's &ictum that to praise
the historian %or his %acts is li"e praisin, the architect %or the timber o% the woo&+ Morris's
timber is not o% best Euality, an& his architecture is monstrous+
Morris attributes my mista"es %or bein, almost a Palestinian+ The moment you are a Palestinian
2L
you can only be a ba& historian+ .e &etests, as he a&mits, my si&in, with the Palestinian
narrati3e o% &ispute& e3ents, such as the &ebate o3er the Euestion o% who pro3o"e& the *620
an& the *626 riots+ Morris relies on the British reports when they en&orse& the ;ionist claims
an& &isre,ar&s the British reports when they en&orse the Palestinian claims+ # probably &o the
opposite in many cases, # a&mit it> he &oes not+ .e is an 8ob9ecti3e8 historian+
(imilarly amazin, is the way Morris treats thin,s he &oes not "now+ Ta"e %or e=ample the
%ollowin, sentence/ 8Brazen inaccuracy similarly mar"s Pappe's treatment o% the !rab Re3olt o%
*6'F)*6'6+ Pappe writes that the !rab .i,her 1ommittee ha& trie& to 8ne,otiate a principle&
settlement with the Cewish !,ency 0it &i& not5+8 ?hy &i& it not A Morris says so+ ?ell the
historian Dizhar .erzo, mine& the belo3e& archi3es o% Morris A the ;ionist !rchi3es A an& has
,i3en us a &etaile& picture o% these ne,otiations+Q #n his haste Morris e3en contra&icts himsel%
when he &isa,rees with the %i,ure # ,a3e %or the number o% re%u,ees li3in, outsi&e Palestine in
the en& o% the *647 war, which is base&, amon, other thin,s on his own wor"+ #n other cases,
he echoes #sraeli propa,an&a when he claims no &ama,e was in%licte& on ebanon in the *672
war+
My boo" has in it mista"es o% the &ates, names an& numbers as &o his boo"s+ ?e shoul& all try
an& minimize them to note, # a,ree+ Nery %ew o% us succee& an& one can only hope to become
per%ect in the ne=t wor" A which has not as yet been written 0the ?ell Gept (ecret amon,
historians who ser3e& as rea&ers %or other historians5+ They shoul& not howe3er be pointe& out
as part o% an i&eolo,y or a basis %or a& hominem attac"+ ?orse, a re3iewer is not allowe& to lie
openly about them as Morris &oes+
:inally, Morris &eci&e& to in3ol3e my two boys, whom he "nows well, in his narrati3e+ They, he
e=plains to the rea&ers, woul& be the %irst ones to lea3e Palestine or to be "ille& there, i% my
political 3ision woul& become a reality+ My boys "now Morris/ they ha3e met him+ They also
ha3e met all my Palestinian %rien&s+ # lea3e to the rea&ers to &eci&e with whom amon, my
3isitors an& %rien&s they woul& wish to share the lan& o% Palestine+ They ha3e se3eral
a&3anta,es/ they are learnin, !rabic, they &o not &istin,uish between my %rien&s accor&in, to
nationality or reli,ion an& # hope they will ne3er ,row to be mature supporters o% massacres,
ethnic cleansin, an& bloo&she&+
2nli"e Morris, they &o not tell my Palestinian stu&ents that i% there were to be too many o%
them A as a result o% the ri,ht o% return or birth A it is the en& o% ci3ilization 0as the Nazis ha&
tol& the Cews5+ They are luc"y to be ,rowin, up in an atmosphere where maybe they ,ot !&ol%
.itler's birth&ate wron, by a year, but they will &o all they can to pre3ent the Nazi 3enom %rom
slippin, throu,h the 3eins o% its own an& ultimate 3ictims who came an& colonize& Palestine,
uproote& its population an& occupie& an& brutalize& many o% them+ Morris will probably %eel
unwelcome in such as society o% eEuality between people an& races an& yet woul& write its
history an& claim to be 8ob9ecti3e8 about it all+
Q(ee his article 'Ne,otiations between the Cewish !,ency an& the Palestinians' in #lan Pappe
0e&+5, Cewish)!rab Relationship in Man&atory Palestine> ! New !pproach to the .istorical
Research, Ii3at .a3i3a *662, pp+ **)42+
21