New Historians (Israel)
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| New Historians (Israel) | |
|---|---|
| Name | New Historians (Israel) |
| Founding period | 1980s–1990s |
| Region | Israel |
| Notable people | Benny Morris, Avi Shlaim, Ilan Pappé, Tom Segev, Simha Flapan |
| Major works | "The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem", "The Iron Wall", "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine", "A State at Any Cost" |
New Historians (Israel) are a group of Israeli scholars, journalists, and intellectuals who from the 1980s onward re-examined the history of Zionism, the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and the establishment of the State of Israel using newly released archives and archival methodologies to challenge earlier narratives. Their revisionist findings prompted debates involving figures associated with the Haganah, Irgun, Lehi (group), Palestine Liberation Organization, Mapai, Herut, and institutions such as the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel State Archives. The movement engaged with works and controversies tied to personalities and events including David Ben-Gurion, Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, Gamal Abdel Nasser, King Abdullah I of Jordan, Frantz Fanon, UN General Assembly Resolution 181, and Armistice Lines (Israel–Jordan).
Origins and Intellectual Context
The origins of the New Historians trace to shifts in access to primary sources such as declassified documents from the Israel Defense Forces, Foreign Ministry (Israel), Prime Minister's Office (Israel), and British mandates in the National Archives (United Kingdom), alongside international collections like the United Nations Archives, US National Archives and Records Administration, and the Russian State Archive. Influences included historiographical debates surrounding works by Benny Morris, Avi Shlaim, Tom Segev, and the earlier scholarship of Berl Katznelson, S. Y. Agnon, and Jacob Talmon. Intellectual context drew on comparative studies from Orwellian-era critiques, postcolonial frameworks associated with Edward Said, and methodological trends evident in the scholarship of Eric Hobsbawm, E. P. Thompson, and Herbert Butterfield.
Key Figures and Major Works
Key figures include Benny Morris ("The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949"), Avi Shlaim ("The Iron Wall"), Ilan Pappé ("The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine"), Tom Segev ("1949: The First Israelis"), Simha Flapan ("The Birth of Israel: Myths and Realities"), and journalists-turned-historians like Amos Oz and A. B. Yehoshua who influenced public reception. Other scholars and writers associated with the debates include Nadine Piatto, Baruch Kimmerling, Joel Migdal, Shlomo Sand, Yehoshua Porath, Efraim Karsh, Martin Gilbert, Chaim Weizmann, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, Haim Gouri, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Abba Eban, Zeev Jabotinsky, Aaron Lerner, Raul Hilberg, Ilan Troen, Salo Baron, and reviewers in outlets like Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, The New York Times, and The Guardian.
Methodology and Sources
New Historians prioritized archival research in repositories such as the Israel State Archives, British National Archives, US National Archives, Central Zionist Archives, Arab League Archives, Palestine Exploration Fund, and regional holdings in Cairo and Amman, supplementing with oral histories collected from veterans of the Haganah, Irgun, Lehi (group), and displaced Palestinians recorded in projects linked to Institute for Palestine Studies and university research centers including Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, University of Haifa, Oxford University, Cambridge University, and Princeton University. They used diplomatic correspondence involving actors like Harry S. Truman, Anthony Eden, Ernest Bevin, Moscow, and Washington, D.C. to triangulate military orders, demographic statistics, and evacuation reports tied to events such as Operation Nachshon, Plan Dalet, Deir Yassin, Lydda and Ramle expulsions, and the 1949 Armistice Agreements.
Major Debates and Criticisms
Debates centered on interpretations of responsibility for the Palestinian refugee crisis, the intent behind operations like Plan Dalet, and whether actions amounted to planned ethnic cleansing as argued by Ilan Pappé versus unplanned wartime flight as argued by critics like Efraim Karsh and Benny Morris in later reassessments. Critics invoked counter-evidence from archives cited by Martin Gilbert, contested methodological choices associated with oral history reliability, and referenced diplomatic contexts involving United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, UN General Assembly, Security Council (UN), United Kingdom, United States, and neighboring states Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon. Political and public responses involved figures such as Benjamin Netanyahu, Shimon Peres, Ariel Sharon, Yitzhak Rabin, and organizations like Mossad-linked commentators and settler movement voices, while academic disputes appeared in journals and symposia at institutions such as Brandeis University, The Hebrew University Crisis Forum, and editorial pages of Commentary and Foreign Affairs.
Impact on Israeli Historiography and Society
The New Historians reshaped curricula and public discourse, influencing debates in forums including the Knesset, Supreme Court of Israel, museums like the Yad Vashem and Israel Museum, and cultural productions referencing authors such as Amos Oz and filmmakers like Ephraim Kishon. Their work intersected with peace process milestones including the Oslo Accords, negotiations involving Yasser Arafat, Ehud Barak, Bill Clinton, Ehud Olmert, and public policy debates over settlements and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Academic programs at Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University of Jerusalem incorporated revised syllabi, prompting civic discussion about national narratives, commemorations like Yom HaZikaron, and museum exhibitions addressing 1948-era events.
Legacy and Continuing Scholarship
Legacy includes an expanded archival culture, increased comparative studies linking Israeli historiography to scholarship on decolonization, ethnic cleansing studies, and global refugee research tied to scholars in Princeton University, Harvard University, Columbia University, SOAS University of London, and Australian National University. Continuing scholarship engages younger historians and projects at centers like the Institute for Israeli Studies, the Palestinian Oral History Archive, and interdisciplinary collaborations with researchers focusing on diplomatic history, social history, and memory studies. Debates persist in monographs, edited volumes, and symposia that reference archives in London, Moscow, Washington, D.C., Cairo, Amman, and manuscripts housed at the Central Zionist Archives, ensuring the movement’s questions remain central to understanding the modern history of the State of Israel and the Palestinian national movement.