Ilan Pappé is an Israeli historian and professor, who served in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) during the 1970s, and studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, later completing his doctorate at Oxford University.
He’s known for his work on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and known as a prominent ‘New Historian’ (or revisionist), since he re-examines Israel’s history using declassified archives.
The Zionist project rests on ethnic cleansing—700,000 Arabs expelled in 1948 prove Israel’s roots are rotten.
— Norman Finkelstein, political scientist
He's written a lot of books
His book, Ten Myths About Israel (2017), debunks common beliefs about Israel’s history and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and is the foundation of our podcast episode.
He argues truth matters and understanding it can help the region’s people.
That said, I doubt anything will help.
It’s a forever war, and my prognosis is grim, as external forces like the US government drive globalist objectives.
Gaza, compliments of Israel 'defending itself'
Quick history
Before 1948, Palestine was home to a mix of Arabs, Jews, and Christians, all with religious links to the area, especially Jerusalem. The land had been ruled by various empires, like the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, and later the Islamic Caliphate and Ottoman Empire.
After World War I, the League of Nations (which became the United Nations) gave Britain the job of governing Palestine. The British Mandate aimed to create a 'national home for the Jewish people' while also looking after the rights of the Arab majority.
But it didn't work.
In 1947, the United Nations suggested splitting Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as an international city. The Jewish community mostly agreed to this plan, but the Arab community didn’t, which led to a civil war.
On 14 May 1948, the State of Israel was created, ending British rule in Palestine. This sparked the first Arab-Israeli War, involving nearby Arab countries, and resulted in hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs being forced to leave their homes (known as the Nakba) and prohibited from returning.
Pretty much everything that is going on, today, is a consequence of the above.
Jerm
What are the 10 myths?
The following are narratives constantly repeated in the mainstream, but are they true?
- Palestine was ‘empty’
- Zionism is just self-determination
- Palestinians left ‘voluntarily’ in 1948
- Israel is ‘defensive’
- Six-Day War was ‘no choice’
- Israel is a ‘true democracy’
- Oslo was a ‘peace process’
- Gaza’s crisis is ‘self-inflicted’
- Israel wants a ‘two-state solution’
- Palestinian ‘rejectionism’ stops peace
Not true, says Ilan.
All of them are myths.
I’ve been a member of the Mavericks Project for years, a global network founded by guys I know, buffering against central control. They don't accept all applications because they focus on quality, not quantity.
🎙️ Podcast episode
Ilan dismantled some myths and explained why Israel faces a particularly challenging position historically, politically, and religiously.
