Overview

In this ground-breaking and controversial history of the founding of Israel, originally published in 1987, noted Israeli scholar and peace activist Simha Flapan gives a candid account of one of the most momentous political events of the 20th century. The official story is well known: the Zionists welcomed the partition of Palestine into an Arab and a Jewish state; the Arabs rejected partition and launched a war to drive the Jews into the sea; the Palestinians fled Israel despite the efforts of Jewish leaders to get them to stay; after Israel’s victory in 1948 its hand was extended in peace, but not a single Arab leader responded. The Birth of Israel exposes these ‘historical truths’ as propaganda myths that have misguided Israel policy for decades. Drawing on declassified material – from Ben-Gurion’s war diaries to the minutes of secret meetings – Flapan reconstructs the real events of that critical time. He demonstrates that the Zionist leadership accepted partition purely as a tactical strategy, that their intention was always to establish a homogenous Jewish homeland in most, if not all, of Palestine. Flapan shows, furthermore, how these objectives shaped Israeli actions: their expulsion of the Palestinians, their exploitation of the 1948 war for territorial gain and their refusal to make any concessions that might have brought about accommodation. Flapan’s lucid analysis sheds new light on the figures and events of that time: Ben-Gurion emerges as Menachem Begin’s forerunner, the ‘just’ war of 1948 as the precursor of the debacle in Lebanon. Full of unsettling revelations, The Birth of Israel is a seminal work for understanding the tragic Arab-Israeli stalemate which persists to this day.

Full Product Details

9781041248521

Table of Contents

Reviews

Original Reviews of The Birth of Israel: ‘A work of extraordinary integrity, and of great significance for all those who favour a humane peace in the Middle East. By writing critically, but from within the Zionist experience of Israel, Flapan provides us al with an understanding of why the Palestinian national imperative is indispensable for the recovery of Israeli moral and political health.’ Richard Falk ‘A cogent, controversial analysis of Israel’s propaganda structures and the policies of the crucial formative years between 1948 and 1952…This disturbing work bears witness to the futility, and unconscionability, of addressing political problems by military means.’ Publishers’ Weekly ‘[Flapan’s] thoughtful and incisive commentary make this a contribution of great value, with far-ranging implications concerning history and current policy.’ Noam Chomsky ‘[A] highly readable and well-researched book…’ M. Machover, Race and Class, Vol 30, Issue 4 (1989).

Author Information

Simha Flapan (1911–1987) was an Israeli historian and politician and had a long and distinguished career as a writer, publisher, peace activist and educator. From 1954 to 1981 he was National Secretary of Israel's Mapam party and Director of its Arab Affairs department. He was founder and editor-in-chief of the Middle East monthly New Outlook, and founder and director of the Jewish-Arab Institute and the Israeli Peace Research Institute. He was aFellow at he Harvard University Center for International Affiars, a visiting scholar at the Harvard Center for Middle East Sutdies, and a Foreign Associate of the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available