Product Description

This text takes issue with the "new historians" exposing "Zionist narrative," arguing that they have ignored or misinterpreted much documentation in developing their analysis of Israel's history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #279033 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 378 pages

From the Back Cover
Israeli historiography has long been subjected to a sustained assault by self-styled "new historians" vying to expose what they claim to be the distorted "Zionist narrative" of Israeli history and the Arab-Israeli conflict. They have cast Israel as the regional villain, bearing sole responsibility for the cycle of violence in the Middle east since 1946.
This text takes issue with these "revisionists". The author argues that they have ignored or misinterpreted much documentation in developing their analysis of Israel's history. There are numerous in-depth studies to illustrate the author's argument.

Customer Reviews

Exposes the charlatans for what they are.
Prof. Karsh has done a brilliant job exposing a certain class of academics who have embarked on a campaign to deliberately falsify Israeli history. They exploit their positions in top academic institutes to deliberately invent events that never took place, put words into the mouths of Israel’s leaders, omit key passages in archival documents for political reasons. At best, these academics are propagandists. The book thoroughly tackles the most common myths invented by Morris, Shlaim and company, and Prof. Karsh uses authentic sources such as government declassified documents to refute many commonly believed innovations.

The book also contains an afterword, which further debunks popular myths, which are commonly believed in Marxist circles. This book is strongly recommended to any serious seeker of truth in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Interesting read but don't believe the hype
Karsh is one of the few voices in the wind against the current anti-Israeli downpour coming out of academia. He is to be commended for at least visiting some sources rather than arguing about what someone else argued about someone else's argument.

You will find that much of what the "New" Historians had to say was actually old hat. Arabs weren't marching lock-step unified in defeating the Jews - well no one ever said that. The Yishuv talked to Abdullah? - well one of the earliest histories of the 1948 war has a discussion of this, as does pretty much every single history of that war. It also discusses how the Yishuv spoke to most of the other players in the war, ultimately to no effect. So we see Shlaim having built a reputation out of claiming he discovered something that was common knowledge.... nice work if you can get it!

Karsh is far less effective with Morris. One feels he is arguing more with what OTHER people have SAID about Morris than what Morris has said himself. For every slight misquote of Morris, there are hundreds that aren't and it would appear Karsh's attack on Morris's highlighting of Weitz would be better fought against Massalha who has made a career out of lying about Weitz.

Karsh doesn't deal with Pappe that much, mostly one assumes because Pappe is a caricature of a "historian" who - to give him his due - makes no bones about not wanting to relate the "truth". History is apparently much more fun if you don't bother with those pesky archives and facts and simply make stuff up.