New Historians

New Historians

The New Historians were a group of revisionist Israeli scholars whose research in the late 20th century re-examined the origins of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem, and Israeli state formation, challenging earlier narratives associated with David Ben-Gurion, Zionist Organization, and mainstream Israeli historiography. Their work used newly declassified archival material from institutions such as the Israel Defense Forces archives, the State of Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs collections, and international repositories including the British National Archives, the United States Department of State, and the United Nations archives, prompting debates involving political figures like Menachem Begin, Golda Meir, and Yitzhak Rabin. The debates engaged intellectuals and institutions including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Oxford, the American Historical Association, the Jerusalem Post, and the New York Times.

Origins and Context

Scholarship by historians such as Benny Morris, Ilan Pappé, Avi Shlaim, Tom Segev, and Simha Flapan emerged amid archival openings in the 1970s, the regional aftermath of the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, and global trends following the Vietnam War reassessments and the Watergate scandal. Influences included earlier Zionist-era chroniclers like Shmuel Katz and Uri Avnery, contemporary analysts such as Michael Oren and Martin Gilbert, and international diplomats including Ernest Bevin, Anthony Eden, and Harry S. Truman. Institutional shifts at places like the Israel State Archives, the British Foreign Office, the United States National Archives, and the Central Zionist Archives enabled access to documents concerning leaders such as Chaim Weizmann, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Abba Eban, Moshe Dayan, Haganah commanders, and representatives of the Arab League including Hajj Amin al-Husseini and King Abdullah I of Jordan.

Key Figures and Works

Prominent scholars associated with the movement include Benny Morris ("The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949"), Ilan Pappé ("The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine"), Avi Shlaim ("The Iron Wall"), Tom Segev ("1949: The First Israelis"), Simha Flapan ("The Birth of Israel: Myths and Realities"), Baruch Kimmerling ("The Invention and Decline of Israeliness"), and Shabtai Teveth ("Ben-Gurion and the Palestinian Arabs"). Their work engaged primary sources from the Israel Defense Forces, the Haganah, the Palmach, the British Mandatory Government, and diplomatic correspondence involving Maurice Hankey, Winston Churchill, King Faisal, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat, and delegations to the United Nations General Assembly such as the UN Partition Plan for Palestine (Resolution 181). Reviews and discussions appeared in periodicals including the Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, The New York Review of Books, Foreign Affairs, and press outlets like The Guardian and The Washington Post.

Methodology and Sources

New Historians prioritized archival research in repositories such as the Israel State Archives, the Israel Defense Forces Archives, the British National Archives, the United States National Archives and Records Administration, the League of Nations Archives, and the United Nations Archives. They examined correspondence and memos by figures like David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, Moshe Sharett, Ariel Sharon, Ismail Husseini, and Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, as well as records from organizations including the Zionist Executive, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Arab Higher Committee, and the Palestine Liberation Organization. Comparative use of foreign diplomatic cables from the United Kingdom, the United States, France, and Soviet Union archives—documents relating to officials such as Ernest Bevin, Dean Acheson, Georges Bidault, and Vyacheslav Molotov—enabled reevaluations of wartime decisions, operations like Plan Dalet, battles at Latrun, Lydda and Ramle, and population movements across locations such as Jaffa, Acre, Haifa, Safed, Tiberias, Nazareth, and the Galilee.

Major Debates and Criticisms

Debates centered on interpretations of events such as the causes of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the intentionality behind population expulsions in operations like Operation Dani and Operation Nachshon, and responsibility attributed to leaders including David Ben-Gurion, King Abdullah I of Jordan, Haj Amin al-Husseini, and commanders such as Yitzhak Sadeh. Critics included historians like Efraim Karsh, Benny Morris (later reappraising aspects of his work), Joseph Heller, and commentators from institutions such as the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, the Zionist Organization of America, and conservative publications including The Jerusalem Post and The Wall Street Journal. Controversies involved methodology, alleged selective use of sources, contemporaneous testimony from figures like Eliezer Pa'il and Ilan Pappé's critics including Ian Black, and political ramifications voiced by politicians such as Ariel Sharon, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Naftali Bennett.

Impact on Israeli Society and Historiography

The scholarship reshaped public debates in forums including the Knesset, university departments at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv University, and cultural outlets such as the Israel Museum and film festivals featuring documentaries like those by Amos Gitai and Chaim Topol. It influenced Israeli education discussions involving the Ministry of Education, legal claims before courts like the Supreme Court of Israel, and international diplomacy involving peace initiatives tied to actors such as Yasser Arafat, King Hussein of Jordan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. The conversation continues across generations of scholars at institutions such as Oxford University, Columbia University, Tel Aviv University, Haifa University, and research centers like the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and the Israel Democracy Institute.

Category:Historiography of Israel