Ten Myths about Israel by Ilan Pappé

Ten Myths about Israel Reviews

• 
  Paul Bryant

  This is a short book but dense, like a black hole from which no light can escape. These ten myths have been, according to Ilan Pappe, promoted and repeated so often they have been accepted as facts, and he intends to disprove each one of them. The ten myths are divided into FALLACIES OF THE PAST (6 of those), FALLACIES OF THE PRESENT (3 of those) and LOOKING AHEAD (one final myth). I could understand the myths of the past reasonably well, but I got lost in the present and baffled by the future. Pretty much like everyone else, then.
  
  We will start with the easy stuff. You’ve heard of the slogan “a land without people for a people without land”. It was coined not by Zionists but by Christians in the mid 19th century - the type of prophecy-minded Christians who wanted to see the Jews re-established in Palestine so that the Last Days and the Second Coming and so forth could happen. The prophecies required the Jews to return first. Later the Zionists took up the slogan. It breaks down into two myths :
  
  1. Palestine was an Empty Land.
  
  Well, of course, it wasn’t. The theory in the 19th & early 20th centuries was that the Ottoman empire had neglected Palestine and the land was turning back into desert and the population dwindling away. Pappe flatly contradicts this and claims a proto-Palestinian identity was being formed just prior to the first Zionist settlements. Anyway, this was obviously a myth.
  
  2. The Jews were a People without Land.
  
  Pappe gets all bogged down here. Were “the Jews” one people? Well – they thought they were! But really, did they share the same DNA with those who were kicked out of Palestine by the Romans in the first century? Well, who could possibly know? Were there a whole lot of non-Zionist Jews? Sure. Pappe could easily have reframed this as : were the Jews an identifiable people who did not have their own nation state? And could hardly have answered “no they weren’t”. In this sense, of course, the Jews were no more hard done to politically than all the other submerged nations of the world (Kurds, Catalans, Sikhs, Uigars, the list is a long one). For me, then, this myth was not obviously a myth.
  
  3. Zionism is Judaism.
  
  Meaning : Jews are Zionists. Pappe here investigates the strong Jewish opposition to Zionism. These anti-Zionists said that Zionisn would only exacerbate the pogroms and antisemitism in the various European countries, for example, by calling into question Jewish patriotism to their current countries. Anyhow, with all radical ideas, I was not surprised to find it was profoundly controversial. Pappe never convinced me that the majority of Jews have sought to equate Zionism with Judaism.
  
  4. Zionism is not Colonialism.
  
  Pappe unfortunately does not indicate how or by whom these ten myths are promoted. I can’t believe anyone would be able to straight-facedly say that Zionism was not a form of colonialism. The Jewish settlers displaced the original population – one way or another – just as the European settlers displaced the native populations of north and south America, Australia and New Zealand. Okay, there is an argument based on religion which says that the Palestinian people, in fact, were the colonists, because they took over when the Jews were ejected by the Romans. And the land really belongs to the Jews, because the Bible says so. Just as the Bible says that the Jews were given permission by God to take over Palestine (the Biblical land of Canaan) from its aboriginal inhabitants. (See the Book of Judges if you want to read the gruesome details.)
  What the Bible confirms is that the Jewish people were always temporary and uncertain occupants of this land.
  
  5. The Palestinians Voluntarily Left their Homeland in 1948.
  
  Pappe says :
  
  The official Israeli line has not changed for years : the Palestinians became refugees because their leaders, and the leaders of the Arab world, told them to leave Palestine before the Arab armies invaded and kicked out the Jews, after which they could then return. But there was no such call – it is a myth invented by the Israeli foreign ministry
  
  Pappe plunges into massively contentious stuff here (okay, the WHOLE BOOK is contentious, I know) when he says
  
  half of those who became refugees – hundreds of thousands of Palestinians – had been expelled before the war had even commenced. Moreover, I claim that the war was initiated by Israel in order to secure the historical opportunity to expel the Palestinians.
  
  7. Israel is the Only Democracy in the Middle East.
  
  A curious chapter. He does not talk about voters, political choice or fair and transparent elections at all. He talks about the crushing of the Palestinian people’s human rights, and says that no society can be called a democracy which tolerates such abuses. I can’t agree with that. Yes, these abuses are real and terrible. But what about the USA and UK carrying out an invasion of Iraq without UN sanction? That’s pretty serious. Could be called anti-democratic, in Pappe’s sense. Leading to the question – are there any actual real democracies at all? (The answer is probably Sweden, it always is.)
  
  Three of these myths were really complicated, too much for this review (the 1967 War, the Oslo Accords, the Gaza Strip) leaving one last one –
  
  10. The Two States Solution is the Only Way Forward.
  
  He ends the book on a completely gloomy note. The Two States solution, he says, means what the South African apartheid system used to call bantustans – it would be disconnected enclaves of territory set aside for the Palestinian people with no real political rights attached. I.e. the non-Israeli state in the two states solution would not really be a state. He makes no mention of any alternative.
  
  
  I was trying to enlighten myself a little bit about this whole subject but as usual feel like I got my head caught in a cement mixer.
• 
  Djeb Hatem

  كتاب عظيم!! ينهال فيه إيلان پاپيه (المؤرخ الاسرائيلي المولود بحيفا المحتلة) على عشر أساطير تأسست عليها دولة الاحتلال الصهيوني، و تكررها النخب السياسية والعسكرية و الأكاديمية و وسائل إعلام الصهيونية العالمية على مدار الساعة للتلاعب بالرأي العام، فيهشّمها واحدة تلو الأخرى بأدلة من كتابات المؤسسين الأوائل للحركة الصهيونية و مراسلات الدبلوماسيين الإنكليز في الشام نهايات القرن التاسع عشر إلى غاية كتابات المورخين الجدد اليهود -الذين يُعتبر إيلان واحدا من أشهرهم- ليفضح الجرائم و يصحح التصورات و يصدح بما يراه حقا.
  والكاتب بفضل تخصصه وكونه ابن البيئة أبدع في إحراج تلك الأساطير و تبيان زورها و عدم قدرتها على الصمود أمام الحقائق التي يرصفها تباعا كلما بسط أسطورة للنقاش..
  
  و قد قسم ايلان الكتاب إلى عشر أبواب هي:
  
  *أكاذيب ومغالطات الماضي*
  1- فلسطين كانت أرضا بلا شعب
  2- اليهود كانوا شعبا بلا أرض
  3- الصهيونية هي اليهودية
  4-الصهيونية ليست مشروعا احتلاليا استيطانيا
  5- غادر الفلسطينيون أراضيهم طوعا سنة 1948
  6- حرب 1967 كانت "حربا لابد منها"
  
  *أكاذيب ومغالطات الحاضر*
  7- إسرائيل هي الديمقراطية الوحيدة في الشرق الأوسط.
  8- أساطير أوسلو
  9- أساطير حول غزة
  
  *أكاذيب ومغالطات المستقبل*
  10- حل الدولتين هو المخرج الوحيد للقضية.
  
  الكتاب أنصح به بشدّة، خصوصاً لضرب الصهاينة الجدد على وجوههم -هذا أولا-، ثم للشرقيين او الغربيين الذين لا يعرفون القضية إلا من خلال وسائل الإعلام الخاضعة لتأثير اللوبيات الصهيونية إن لم تكن مملوكة لها.. بل و حتى لمن يعرفون القضية و يناضلون من أجلها..
  
  باختصار هو كتاب يجب أن يكون في كل مكتبة..
  
  التقييم: 4.5/5
  
  
  #قد أترجم بعض الاقتباسات و أضيفها لاحقا
• 
  عماد العتيلي

  ‎‫‏‬‬‬‬‬‬
  
  “History lies at the core of every conflict. A true and unbiased understanding of the past offers the possibility of peace. The distortion or manipulation of history, in contrast, will only sow disaster.”.
  
  What an amazing book!
  Maybe it is the best book I’ve read so far that tackled the Palestinian issue.
  
  
  
  In this book, the most important and widespread myths about Israel were uncovered, and the counter arguments were masterly illustrated. And it is important to notice that the author of this book is not a Palestinian or an Arab. He is an Israeli historian, and he knows what he’s talking about.
  
  
  
  I found so many passages that deserve quoting, and I highlighted them all. And I think it’s a shame that such a wonderful book is not translated yet into Arabic. I think everyone MUST read it.
  This wouldn’t be the only book I read for Ilan Pappe. This year I must read most of his books. Last night I watched some of his interviews and debates, and I loved him even more.
  
  
• 
  Vishal Misra

  During my undergraduate studies in law, I became intensely interested in the creation of, and the position of, Israel as a matter of public international law. Subsequently, I studied for my postgraduate studies in criminal law, where again, it was the nation of Israel that caught my eye. This time, I was interested from a position of international criminal law, and the complicity of the Israeli government in the international crime of apartheid. So, this year's paperback release of Pappe's "Ten Myths About Israel" caught my eye, and a brief glance through its contents page made me realise that I had to read this book.
  
  The book comprises 10 chapters, and each chapter speaks to a myth and/or fallacy that is peddled as common knowledge pertaining to the discourse of Israel. Part I deals with the "fallacies of the past", whilst Part II deals with the "fallacies of the present". Finally, the single chapter Part III looks to the future. To anyone with a passing interest in international law, politics or history, none of these fallacies is anything new. However, what the book does do, is to condense the basic myths into easy to follow and well referenced chapters. This means that the book is ideal to a total newbie, whilst also containing supremely useful nuggets for the seasoned Israel/Palestine watcher.
  
  Part I is split into 6 chapters. The first two are not hugely complex. The simple thrust of the argument is that Palestine was not empty. As the Ottoman Empire was collapsing, there was an important pan-Arab movement, seeking to create something akin to the United States. However, these federalist dreams were dashed by Anglo-French Imperialism. Thus, a more localised nationalism was born, and one of those national movements was Palestine (or South Syria). The first Zionist settlers knew they had arrived in to a populated country, and yet they continued to aggressively expound the myth that virgin land was awaiting cultivation. Whilst the second chapter deals with the notion that "Jews" did not have a homeland. Pappe debunks this wonderfully by pointing out that the Ashkenazi Jews were European, and had homes in Europe. The Mizrahi Jews also had homelands. In order to effectively peddle the myth, the would-be colonisers needed to rely on the Bible, and contemporary Christian support. Driven by anti-Semitism, and financial interests, we learn that "Zionism, as we can see, was therefore a Christian project of colonisation before it became a Jewish one." By relying on British support, the colonial mission was able to get off the ground.
  
  Chapters 3 and 4 deal with the all-encompassing myth that conflates Zionism with Judaism, and that Zionism is not colonialism. The conflation is easily debunked as most Orthodox Jews were against Zionism at its inception. As Pappe puts it: "When Zionism made its first appearance in Europe, many traditional rabbis in fact forbade their followers from having anything to do with Zionist activists. They viewed Zionism as meddling with God's will to retain the Jews in exile until the coming of the Messiah." It was not until the mid-1950s that strong anti-Zionist tendencies would fade in the face of the realities on the ground. In order to debunk the myth of Zionism not being a colonial movement, Pappe points out that Palestinians were never allowed to resist their displacement through civil means. He documents the number of non-violent protests brutally crushed by the Israeli army. Alongside this, he debunks the myth that Palestinian resistance is driven by anti-Semitism: "The diaries of the early Zionists tell a different story. They are full of anecdotes revealing how the settlers were well received by the Palestinians, who offered them shelter and in many cases taught them how to cultivate the land."
  
  Myths 5 and 6 deal with the "voluntary" departure of the Palestinians and how Israel had no choice but to fight the war of 1967. In 1937, Ben-Gurion had written numerous letters stating that it would be necessary to remove the Palestinians from their villages by force. This, coupled with how the UN peace committee effectively worked alongside Israel to ensure that Palestinian voices regarding their living situations in their own homes were never heard puts lie to the idea that this was a voluntary exodus. Through clever manipulation of Arab leaders, and by double crossing the Egyptians, Ben-Gurion pushed Israel in to a position where the 1967 war would happen. Taking an ever more aggressive and militaristic stance towards the Palestinians, the Israelis hoped for guerrilla retaliation from the Palestinians. When it inevitably came, the Israelis could paint the conflict as 'self-defence'. Subsequently, Israel seized swathes of land, including the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
  
  Myth 7 is that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. This is a total fallacy, as Palestinians not incarcerated in the West Bank or Gaza Strip, who live within Israel proper, are denied basic rights. They have lesser access to labour, and they cannot purchase land. This basic denial of rights would suggest that this is no democracy, but given that any Jew may lay claim to Israeli citizenship, regardless of where they were born reveals that Israel is an ethnocracy, or an apartheid republic.
  
  Myth 8 deals with the Oslo process, which Pappe demonstrates was designed by Israel to fail. The Israelis initially wanted to negotiate with the Jordanians (not the Palestinians), then decided to negotiate with the PLO. This led to an Israeli demand of 80% of the territory, with Palestinians to be siphoned off into small cantons (or Bantustans in apartheid parlance), denying Palestinians the right to travel between the cantons. The map would have resembled a Swiss cheese. Finally, whilst granting a "right of return" to any international Jew, Israel callously refused to countenance the notion that Palestinian refugees may want to return to their villages. Thus, to join the UN, the Israelis committed to the right of return, and reneged as soon as they were admitted to the UN.
  
  Myth 9 deals with Gaza. Here Pappe destroys the notion that Hamas et al are salivating Islamist fundamentalists. They are, rather, non-secular people who mobilise regional particularities to resist a colonial occupation. They provide the Palestinians squeezed in to the ghetto of Gaza with medicine, welfare and schooling. In the face of this, the Israeli state controls the electricity and water supply of Gaza (so much for not being colonisers). Ultimately, it is Israeli policy to lay siege, deny access of food and medicine, and to economically destroy Gaza. This has led to the Israeli sponsored destruction of UNESCO Heritage sites in the name of their colonial project. In this manner, it is clear that whilst doing everything that can be done to undermine peace, provoking an armed response and then to respond with overwhelming force, declaring civilian structures such as schools and hospitals to be "barracks", another myth is peddled. That there is no one for Israel to negotiate peace with. This is by design, because on the ground, the Israeli state does not want peace.
  
  The final myth deals with the "two-State solution", which is so flawed for all the reasons above. It is not deliverable, believable or sustainable. However, it salves Liberal, European consciences to continue to peddle this 'solution'. What is clear is that the "Jewish settlers are now an organic and integral part of the land. They cannot, and will not, be removed. They should be part of the future, but not on the basis of the constant oppression and dispossession of the local Palestinians."
  
  This is an important book, and Pappe reveals the importance of BDS and other anti-imperialist policies that are slowly gaining ground in international civic societies. More and more people in States that support the Israeli government are aware as to what is being supported. This means that the status quo is time limited, and like apartheid in South Africa, the regime is living purely on borrowed time. For now, that status quo can be upheld by popular appeal to Islamophobia. Eventually, though, even this will have to wear thin.
  
  Read this book, it is wonderful and cogently argued. Unashamedly partisan (it is anti-colonial), and with a wealth of resource to draw on. The numerous letters and diary entries that Pappe has found and presented to the reader is in itself a treasure trove of insight. This is an important book, read it.
• 
  kav (xreadingsolacex)

  Ten Myths About Israel is a non-fiction book by Ilan Pappe, an Israeli Jewish historian. In this work, Pappe, as the book title would suggest, deconstructs ten commonly-accepted myths about Israel, from before the state's official creation to today.
  
  I annotated the hell out of this book...to the point where I'm not sure I could ever read this copy again.
  
  I've only recently started investing a significant amount of time in reading non-fiction works, and, while I do consider myself more educated than the typical American on the Israel-Palestine conflict, this is my first official read in my journey to gain an even better and more comprehensive understanding of the present-day colonial movement.
  
  With that preface, I found this book very easily digestible. It covers a significant period of time in history, and while I think it's fair to assume Pappe didn't include extensive detail about every single incident he addressed, there definitely was a considerable amount of information in this short read. But I found that I didn't struggle to engage with everything with Pappe presented.
  
  I essentially agree with the majority Pappe's claims, at least at this point in my knowledge - I, of course, plan to keep educating myself - but I found that though I held some of the ideas, Pappe, unsurprisingly, clearly stated the justification of these views / the flaws, or even blatant lies, in the counterpoints.
  
  I really can't complain about any aspect of this work. I'm so appreciative that my friend recommended it, because I truly value this book.
  
  
  
  
• 
  Randall Wallace

  For Israel, it’s all about casting “doubt on the Palestinian’s moral right to the land.” The estimate of percentage of Jews in Israel prior to the rise of Zionism is “2 to 5 percent”. Without the sudden increase in Zionism, “Palestine would probably have gone the same way as Lebanon, Jordan, or Syria.” Zionism can be found connected to the revival of Hebrew and writings about the need to “colonize Palestine”. Zionist records show its natives as “an obstacle, an alien and an enemy.” “Most of the Kibbutzim were built on destroyed Palestinian villages whose populations had been expelled in 1948.” Imagine the U.S. press saying this amazing Gandhi quote: “Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English, or France to the French. It is wrong and inhuman to impose the Jews on the Arabs…Surely it would be a crime against humanity to reduce the proud Arabs so that Palestine can be restored to the Jews partly or wholly as their national home.” JFK was “the last American President to refuse to provide Israel with vast military aid; after his assassination, the faucet was fully open.”
  
  Ethnic cleansing is an action to drive out an ethnic group from an area to make it a pure one, one example is the Nakbah. The Jewish state was born out of sin, out of ethnic cleansing - the Nakbah destroyed 531 Palestinian villages in seven months and taught a very important lesson: you can “expel half a country’s population and destroy half its villages with impunity”. What a great moral example Israel is provided the world. Once Israel decided to deny citizenship to Palestinians coupled with zero chance for independence, it knew Palestinians would be left “without basic civil and human rights”. This was only tolerated because Israel said it’s temporary, ha ha... Meanwhile world leaders have no problem referring to Gaza as the world’s largest open-air prison. A prison for non-citizens who had their citizenship stolen for settler-colonial racist reasons. Those who left before ’48 can’t ever see those family members who remained in Israel. How thoughtful. Hebron averages 100 attacks per month by settlers against locals. When Palestinians fight back, all Palestinian residential areas become treated as combat zones which gives us these figures: “15,00 Palestinians have been killed ‘unlawfully’ by Israel since 1967. Among them were 2,000 children.” “Since 2000, almost 4,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, half of them children.” “Hamas is branded as a terrorist organization, both in the media and in legislation. I will claim it is a liberation movement, and a legitimate one at that.” In closing the author Ilan would like you to remember: to redefine “Zionism as colonialism, Israel as an apartheid state, and the Nakbah as ethnic cleansing.” Great writing - Noam loves Ilan’s work for good reason.
  
• 
  sologdin

  probably a basic israeli left set of positions here--nothing really controversial, from my perspective, but nothing earth-shattering, though i was surprised that the palestinian communist party set up the deal between stalin and the czechs to arm the nascent state of israel--good on them. pappe is incidentally not interested in the loftus and aarons theory that the state of israel was recognized by the US and USSR because of the penetration and counter-penetration of Nazi espionage into the soviet union, which then was inherited by the CIA, along with the soviet counter-penetrators and their triple agent israeli loyalists; instead, he extends plausible reasons for the US and USSR to act as they did in 1948.
  
  my outsider perspective is that the state of israel is not very serious about the historicist arguments or the biblical claims or the rights of anyone--but is rather in total lumpenized mode, if a state apparatus can be said to have fallen into lumpenization, regarding its survivalist orientation toward perceived existential threats. after the holocaust, the world is only zombies, and state of israel has adopted the rightwing hobbesian assumptions that the uncritical think appropriate to the zombie apocalypse.
• 
  Morgan

  As is often the case with figures like Finkelstein, Chomsky, etc., Ilan Pappé is excellent at diagnosing the various power imbalances, abuses, and atrocities committed by Israel, but blind to the crimes of groups like Hamas and the PLO. Pappé routinely dismisses or ignores the genuine terror and anxiety Israelis feel when faced with Hamas rockets and uncompromisingly violent rhetoric. This leads to a frustratingly uneven assessment – it is clear that Pappé has an excellent grasp of Israeli history, but it does not help Palestinians to brush under the rug the genuine anxieties of Israeli citizens. Indeed, at times this book conflates both Hamas and Fatah with the will of the Palestinian people, despite the considerable evidence of discontent among Palestinian with both (and especially Fatah). This is particularly egregious by misrepresenting both the processes of collaboration between Israel and Fatah, and the agency of the Palestinian people.
  
  That being said, the final chapter on the two-state solution is particularly astute. Israel never offered Palestine a genuine state with political sovereignty, but rather a demilitarized autonomous zone under the perpetual threat of Israeli coercion. As Pappé rightly argues, rather than clinging to the fantasy of the two-state solution, we need to recognize that the most viable current solution is not a separate Palestinian state, but a single Israeli-Palestinian state that is truly democratic, and that grants Palestinians the same rights and freedoms as Israeli citizens.
• 
  Ali AbdulKarim

  After extensively outlining the crimes commited by apartheid israel in "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine". Illan Pappe writes another excellent book. This time, he discusses 10 misconceptions on the state of Israel.
  
  Illan Pappe's style in dissecting arguments and presenting counter-arguments is very beautiful! He patiently, slowly, and systemically breaks down zionist arguments down to the basic units of (false/misinterpreted) evidence, and then presents his counter-claim with concrete, irrefutable evidence that sometimes comes from israeli sources!
  
  This is a very important book, especially in times of normalization with apartheid Israel, it's important to reinforce our knowledge and remember why normalization and the zionist occupation itself are being opposed.
  
  Highly recommended!
• 
  Beorn

  Essential reading for anyone who has or wants either an opinion on the situation in Israel/Palestine or an entry into researching the subject more, beyond propagandised news bulletins and the like.
• 
  Bassam Ahmed

  كتاب لبروفيسور التاريخ "الإسرائيلي" إيلان بابيه يفند فيه الأساطير والأكاذيب التي درجت حكومات الكيان الصهيوني المتعاقبة والمؤسسات الثقافية والإعلامية التابعة لها، منذ إستعمارها الإستيطاني لفلسطين -وقبله- في سنة ثمان وأربعون من القرن الماضي إلى اليوم في الترويج لها.
  
  صدر الكتاب بعنون "Ten Myths about Israel" سنة 2017 وقد تولت نقله إلى العربية بحرفية وإقتدار المترجمة سارة عبد الحليم تحت عنوان "عشر خرافات عن إسرائيل".
  
  الكتاب يتناول المغالطات العشر الأهم والتي شكلت عند الوعي الشعبي الصهيوني في الداخل الجغرافي وعند مؤيدي الصهيونية في الغرب وكافة أنحاء العالم، العمود الفقري لشرعية قيام دولة الكيان الصهيوني على أرض فلسطين المحتلة، وهي كالتالي بحسب ترتيبها الزمني وترتيب ورودها في الكتاب:
  1- خرافة أن فلسطين كانت أرضا خالية.
  2- خرافة أن اليهود كانوا شعبا بلا أرض.
  3- خرافة أن الصهيونية هي اليهودية.
  4- خرافة أن الصهيونية ليست حركة إستعمارية.
  5- خرافة أن الفلسطينيين غادروا وطنهم طوعا عام 1948.
  6- خرافة أن حرب 1967 كانت حربا لابد منها.
  7- خرافة أن إسرائيل هي الدولة الديمقراطية الوحيدة في الشرق الأوسط.
  8- خرافات الصهيونية حول أوسلو.
  9- خرافات الصهيونية حول غزة.
  10- خرافة أن حل الدولتين هو السبيل الوحيد للمضي قدما.
  
  يبين بابيه في كتابه من خلال التقصي التاريخي لنشأة الحركة الصهيونية في نهايات القرن التاسع عشر إلى إحتلالها لأرض فلسطين عقب مرحلة الإنتداب البريطاني (الذي وعد الصهاينة بقيام دولة قومية لهم على أرض فلسطين سنة 1917)، بالأدلة والوثائق في إطار التحليل المعرفي الموضوعي، أن الحركة الصهيونية لم تسلم يوما بامكانية الإعتراف بدولة فلسطينية مجاورة مستقلة ذات سيادة، وأن الإستعمار الإستيطاني الصهيوني هدف (وحقق ذلك فعليا) إلى السيطرة على كامل التراب الفلسطيني إما بشكل مباشر أو غير مباشر.
  
  كما أن سياساته الإستيطانية التي لم تتغير في توجهاتها منذ مائة سنة الى الآن إلا في الوتيرة بحسب ما تقتضيه موازين القوى الإقليمية والدولية، بالرغم من الاختلاف السطحي لتصريحات سياسييه وحكوماته المتعاقبة، تقتضي الإستيلاء على أكبر حيز من الأرض الفلسطينية بأقل عدد من البشر القاطنين عليها، وقد وظفت في سبيل ذلك (مدعومة من الغرب بدوافعه العقدية والامبريالية، الغرب الذي وفر الدعم المالي والعسكري وغض النظر على جرائم الحرب الصهيونية)، مبدأي التطهير العرقي والتهجير وتجريد العربي الفلسطيني من إنسانيته (بالتالي تجريده من كل ما تقتضيه إنسانيته من الحد الأدنى من الحقوق والإعتبارات)، ولازال الكيان الصهيوني يقضم الأراضي ويشن حملات الإبادة العسكرية على الشعب الفلسطيني الى اليوم، وما طرح المبادرات العديدة (كخارطة الطريق أو صفقة القرن وما شاكلها)، وموضوع "السلام"، الا لتقدم السلطة الفلسطينية مزيدا من التنازلات عن شرعية حقوق الشعب الفلسطيني واسقاط شرعية القرارات الدولية (التي اتخذت في لحظات تاريخية فارقة لم تستخدم فيها الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية راعية الكيان الصهيوني وداعمه الأول حق الفيتو لنقضها كالقرار 194 و 242)، مقابل لا شيء من الحقوق وبعض المكاسب المعيشية غير المستدامة.
  
  كما يحيلنا المؤلف إلى أن النظام الصهيوني هو أحد آخر أشكال الإستعمار الإستيطاني القومي المحكوم بنظام الفصل العنصري بناء على أسطورة التفوق العرقي والديني، شكل ينتمي إلى حقب تاريخية سابقة نبذتها معظم حكومات دول العالم التي تبنت مثل هذه المقاربات قبل قرنين من الزمان، ناهيك عن أنه بؤرة توتر لا يمكن في ظل وجوده ووجود شكل الإستبداد وسياسات الإبادة التدريجية، أن تستقر منطقة الشرق الأوسط.
  
  الحل الذي يطرحه إيلان بابيه هو ذاته الذي طرحه البروفيسور إدوار سعيد، ويرفضه الكيان الصهيوني لأنه يهدد بحسب زعم الكيان مبدأ "يهودية الدولة"، ألا وهو إقامة دولة واحدة تضم جميع القاطنين على التراب الفلسطيني بحقوق وواجبات متساوية دون تمييز مع السماح للاجئين الفلسطينيين بالعودة وتأسيس دستور توافقي يضمن العيش الكريم المشترك لجميع سكان أرض فلسطين ما قبل 1948، إضافة الى سياسات الاعتراف بالجرائم والمصالحة على غرار ما حدث في جنوب أفريقيا، وهو برأي حل أخلاقي طوباوي بعيد المنال في ظل موازين القوى الحالية وتوحش النظام الصهيوني العنصري، مع كل مايناله من التأييد الأمريكي اللامحدود الداعم للتفوق الصهيوني النوعي والذي يمنع أي شكل من أشكال المسائلة الدولية أو الاقليمية لما يرتكبه هذا الكيان الإرهابي من جرائم.
  
  أهمية الكتاب تأخذ بعدا آخر في ظل محاولات التطبيع العربية الأخيرة المشبوهة والغير مبررة مع الكيان الصهيوني، والمصحوبة بآلة إعلامية ضخمة تهدف بالتلفيق إلى تغيير الوعي الشعبي لشعوب وأجيال لم تنخرط في مواجهات مباشرة مع الكيان الصهيوني ولم يرسخ في وعيها الخطر المحدق الذي يشكله هذا الكيان الاستعماري الإستيطاني، آلة تبنت الطرح الصهيوني القالب للحقائق والذي يصور الكيان على أنه حمامة سلام مغلوب على أمره وأن ضحايا جرائم الحرب من فلسطينيين وعرب هم جماعات إرهابية متوحشة بالفطرة ورافضة لأي شكل من أشكال السلام.
  
  هذا الكتاب الموضوعي المستند على حقائق مدعمة بأدلة ووثائق ووقائع على الأرض والمكتوب بيد بروفسور تاريخ "إسرائيلي" غير صهيوني، يشكل أداة ناجعة لدحض تلك الخرافات وتحصين الوعي العربي وغير العربي من فيروسات آلة التطبيع التي تسعى لتدجينه وإقصائه عن قضاياه، محيطه وهويته الثقافية وفي أسوأ الأحوال تجعل منه معول لتقويض أمته وتاريخه.
  
  الكتاب على قدر كبير من الأهمية، أنصح بقرائته قراءة فهم متأنية.
• 
  Faris Aljahwari

  يتناول الكتاب تاريخ فلسطين في مرحلة ما قبل تشكل الصهيونية وأهم الحجج التي يتخذها الصهاينة في سبيل تبرير موقفهم من إحتلال فلسطين ، ومن ضمن هذه الأسباب:
  ١- أن فلسطين كانت أرضاً خالية قبل وصول الصهيونية:
  الحقيقة أن فلسطين كانت أرضاً مزدهرة وحركة التجارة فيها نشطة (كما ذكر ذلك باحثون إسرائيليون)وكانت على وشك الدخول للقرن الـ٢٠ كمجتمع حديث وأرض مستقلة قد تندمج ضمن دولة عربية كبرى أو سوريا متحدة عن ولكن إتفاقية سايكس بيكو بددت هذه الأحلام.
  ٢-اليهود كانوا شعباً بلا أرض:
  هذه الحجة التي تم دعمها من قبل الصهيونية المسيحية (من ضمنها حركة التقوية الألمانية أو ما يعرفون بأسم "الهيكليون" ) والتي حسب معتقدها: إنه يجب على اليهود أن يعودوا إلى فلسطين ؛ لأن ذلك سوف يُعجل من ظهور المسيح وعودته مرة أخرى. وأحد أهم المنظرين لهذه الحركة هو اللورد البريطاني شافتسبري. وبعد إضطهاد الهيكليون من قبل الكنيسة الرسمية في ألمانيا هاجروا إلى فلسطين وفي نفس الوقت أضحت الصهيونية أكثر شهرة بأوروبا بفضل ثيودور هيرتسل. وبفضله كان هناك موجات من الهجرة من اليهود ومجموعة من الشيوعيين الاشتراكيين المُحبطين.
  ٣- الصهيونية هي اليهودية:
  كثير من النصوص الموجودة في الكتاب المقدس تؤكد أحقية اليهود للارض كما قال الصهاينة. مثال على ذلك: الصهيونية الاشتراكية في ذكر المزارعين المضطهدين ، ونصوص أخرى للمتشدين اليهود بأن خلاصهم يكون بالعودة للارض المقدسة.
  ٤- الصهيونية ليست حركة إستعمارية:
  لأن اليهود عندما قدموا كانت فلسطين أرض بلا شعب (حسب زعمهم) . والحقيقة أن الفلسطينين قدموا المأوى للمستوطنين الأوائل ولم يعترضوا على العمل معنا. وشيئاً ف شيئاً بدأ اليهود يتملكون مع نيتهم بإقصاء الفلسطينين من أرضهم.
  ٥-الفلسطينين غادروا وطنهم طوعاً عام ١٩٤٨:
  تم تهجير الفلسطينين بصورة مباشرة وغير مباشرة سواء بالترهيب أو من خلال هدم بيوت الفلسطينين بينما تقول الرواية الاسرائيلية الرسمية أنهم غادوا لأن القيادات العربية طلبت منهم المغادرة قبل قصف وطرد اليهود منها والحقيقة غير ذلك.
  ٦- حرب ١٩٦٧ كانت حرباً لابد منها:
  كانت هناك مناوشات عدة من إسرائيل قبل الحرب مع عبدالناصر وأيضا من خلال تحويل بعض الموارد المائية بين مصبات نهر الاردن التي كانت سوريا والأردن بأشد الحاجة إليها.
  ٧- إسرائيل هي الدولة الديموقراطية الوحيدة بالشرق الاوسط: الديموقراطية تتمثل في مدى تسامح الدولة مع الأقليات التي تعيش فيها وإسرائيل لا تفعل ذلك بل كانت تقتل اللاجئين الذين يحاولون إستعادة أراضيهم ، بالإضافة إلى سن قوانين تسمح لليهود فقط بتملك الأراضي والتوظيف ؛ لأن ينظر لهم كمشكلة ديموغرافية.
  ٨- خرافات أوسلو :
  إحدى خرافات أوسلو تمثلت في إدعاء إنها عملية سلام بينما الحقيقة كانت إقصاء حق الفلسطينين في تكوين دولة لها قوام إجتماعي واقتصادي بل كانت إتفاقية لا تشمل حق اللاجئين الفلسطينين بالعودة لديارهم. والخرافة الأخرى تمثلت في إدعاء أن ياسر عرفات سعى لتقويض إتفاقية السلام من خلال إشعال إنتفاضة ضد إسرائيل.
  ٩- خرافات غزة:
  الخرافة الأول تمثلت في إدعاء أن حماس حركة إرهابية. الخرافة الثانية تمثلت في أن إسرائيل قامت بمبادرة سلام بالإنسحاب من قطاع غزة بشكل كامل والحقيقة إنها أرادت تقوية القبضة على الضفة الغربية وجعل غزة سجن كبير تتم حراسته. أما الخرافة الثالثة كانت أن حرب ٢٠٠٦ ضد حماس كانت دفاعاً عن النفس ولكنها كانت بسبب تضييق الخناق على الفلسطينين بعدة إعتقالات وشن صواريخ على حركة الجهاد الإسلامي حليف حماس.
  ١٠- حل الدولتين هو السبيل الوحيد للمضي قدماً: لن يتم هنالك حل في ظل سياسة التطهير العرقي التي تنتهجها إسرائيل
• 
  Latifa

  كتاب مبسط وجميل ومباشر لتأريخ وشرح جميع الخرافات اللي اطلقتها اسرائيل في الإعلام الرسمي لتسهيل وتبرير عمليات الإستيطان والتطهير العرقي و "الإبادة التصاعدية" كما سماها الباحث إيلان بابيه.
  
  إيلان بابليه مؤرخ وبروفيسور يهودي، سخر كتاباته للدفاع عن الشعب الفلسطيني وانتقاد الصهاينة وأفعالهم في الأراضي المحتلة. شرح كيف تأسست فكرة اسرائيل وليش تم أختيار دولة فلسطين وكيف اللي سعوا للتأسيس حصلوا الدعم المادي والمعنوي.
• 
  Nick Patten

  Read on kindle...
  
  A necessary wake-up call, especially for Americans, our tax dollars each year are used to support a systemic cycle of settler colonialism, apartheid, and genocide.
• 
  منال

  كتاب ضخم بمعلوماته بالرغم من عدد صفحاته التي لا تتجاوز 190 تقريبًا.
  المثير في هذا الكتاب أن المؤلف اعتمد على وثائق سرية "إسرائيلية" في تقصي الحقائق.
• 
  Malcolm

  There are few places where history is either so intensely politicised or contested as that small part of West Asia known by various combinations of Israel and Palestine. Among the critics of Israel Shlomo Sand and Ilan Pappe stand in as markers of two ways of doing historical critique. Sand, in texts such as
  The Invention of the Jewish People, goes back to explore how the current dominant Israel-endorsing historical understandings and models came about; Pappe, as he does here, takes a different approach unpacking what we might think of as history-in-action.
  
  Working from an approach that sees Israel as a settler colonial state (it certainly fits all the criteria of contemporary definitions) Pappe outlines six historical myths – he labels them fallacies, three about the current circumstances and one ‘future myth (fallacy)’ to unpick many of the foundational claims made about Israel. He rebuts claims for instance that Palestine was an empty land or that Zionism is the same as Judaism and others that are hotly contested in contemporary political discourses. He also, drawing again on settler colonialism, challenges the two state solution.
  
  This approach means that he steers away from questions such as approaches to the Old Testament that treat it as a literal historical truth, or the intensity of the use of archaeological work as sustaining the interests of the state. This is probably a good thing: while these are important issues for historians and others to grapple with in our professional practice, they can finish up being more than a little arcane. This is a critique grounded much more securely in the modern conventions of historical practice and analysis – and for that reason for the most part convincing and difficult to refute (although I say that sharing the settler colonial analysis – so others will see me as an unreliable reviewer).
  
  The one aspect that I found less than convincing –or perhaps less compelling – was the section exploring the fallacy that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, in that he largely failed, in my reading at least, to either grapple with the structure of the Israeli state (surely the measure of democracy) or the comparative element (others in the Middle East). So, despite its failing I’m fairly sure I could mount a compelling argument that as a state structure Lebanon is, by the conventions of liberal democracy, as if not more ‘democratic’ than Israel in terms of allowing for representation and participation. Yet, Pappe focuses on questions such as extrajudicial killings and destruction of Palestinian settlements including those declared ‘irregular’ or ‘illegal’ even though they pre-existed the formation of the state. This seems to me to miss the point of the structure of the state and makes the case that Israel is a repressive state, and does not really address the ‘democracy’ question.
  
  This problem is surprising – the other nine myths are convincingly skewered, making this a well-cast and sharp introduction to one of the most hotly contested globally challenging contemporary political challenges and to the tactics deployed by a settler colonial state to justify its existence and actions. It is an engaging dispute with the claims made by the powerful and their allies, and a good place to start rethinking Palestine’s anti-colonial struggle.
• 
  Finn Corcoran

  A dense, strongly argued polemic against some of the most common arguments trundled out to defend some of Israel’s unjustifiable policies against the Palestinians. Pappé clearly and forcefully dismantles 10 broad and widespread myths concerning the conflict in an authoritative manner. This is definitely a useful resource if you’re looking for that kind of analysis and debunking, though it may be of less use to as an introduction to somebody not already somewhat versed in the topic.
• 
  readorables on instagram

  Another really good one. Pappe, an Isr**li historian, debunked the narrative of the mainstream media through a short yet dense book, comprised of 10 chapters where each one tackles the myth or fallacy that pertain the discourse of Isr**l:
  
  10 MYTHS:
  
  1. P*l3st1ne was an empty land
  2. The Jews were a people without a land
  3. Zionism is Judaism
  4. Zionism is not colonialism
  5. The P*l3st1n1an voluntarily left their homeland in 1948
  6. The June 1967 War was a war of “no choice.
  7. Isr**l is the only democracy in the Middle East
  8. The Oslo mythologies
  9. The Gaza mythologies
  10. The two-states solution is the only war forward
  
  I find this book very digestible, provided with coherent history lesson. The book is rich of resources (found in footnotes). Essential for critical thinkers who are open to deconstruct propagandist articles, claims or news bulletins. Important for those who want to dig deeper into the P*l3st1ne-Isr**li debate, particularly those who are defensive about the apartheid.
  
  Pappe concludes that the Zionist movement in P*l3st1ne is a settler colonialism that’s been translated into the same logics as an ethnic cleansing operation. He compares the project to settler colonialist movement in the Americas, Australia and New Zealand (the removal of aboriginal peoples). As quoted, “these nations could only be created if the settlers employed two logics: the logic of elimination—by getting rid by all means possible of the indigenous people, including by genocide; and the logic of dehumanisation—regarding the non-Europeans as inferior and thus as not deserving the same rights as the settlers,” which are exactly what’s been happening in P*l3st1ne.
  
  5/5 stars 🌟 I implore you to read it. #readoreview #reviewbukuazzah
• 
  Wendelle

  The dichotomy of Israel/Palestine is obviously a minefield issue, and this book is doubly provocative not only for wading into it but for being unequivocal and forceful in its assertion that from the very beginning, Israel was a project of settler colonialism, conducted by its leaders with full knowledge of and complicity in the displacement of Palestinians. Ilan Pappe's stature as a historian ensures that one cannot dismiss this book out of hand. Israel has to stop rewriting its beginnings with foundational myths, which legitimize and encourage the very real oppression of Palestinians. Nevertheless, it is to be hoped that reader do not draw conclusions beyond the narrow confines of the facts about Zionism in this book to attack Israel and Israelis. Furthermore, Pappe was operating from a narrow mandate in deciding the contents of this book, avoiding any discussion on that landmark event imprinted on Israeli memory-- the Holocaust at the hands of an alien country-- and, in my opinion, exhibiting a slight bias in favor of Israel's rivals that tilts the stage away from a fair argument. I refer specifically to his readiness to pronounce Palestinian acts of violence as all legitimate responses to Zionist colonialism, and to his judgement of Nasser and allies' brinkmanship in 1967 as acceptable postures that are not to blame for the inception of the war, yet Israeli responses are! As to the first example, while violent guerillas are understandable responses to an occupying regime in assymetric warfare, he fails to mention that Fatah was not a sincere partner in Israel's attempts to navigate their thorny relationship through more diplomatic means. In conclusion, one has to read more books and sources than simply Ilan Pappe to truly get a handle on the Israel issue.
• 
  Immigration Art

  Read. This. Book. If you are a critical thinker, with an open mind, then you will find the popular "narrative," in the Western Press and spouted by our Political leaders (who are held captive by the Israel Lobby), that Israel is somehow "the underdog," and that the Palestinians are somehow the war-mongering, terrorist "bad guys," is PURE BULLSH*T.
  
  Read this book, and you will shatter the myths. You will discover the Israeli genocide, Israeli apartheid, and Israeli war crime atrocities against the Palestinians worthy of any Nazi campaign commiting the same crimes against Jewish humanity during the holocaust . . . SHAME on Israel for using the Holocaust as a moral "cover" to commit its very own Holocaust against Palestinians. Two wrongs do not make a right. Israel is SLAUGHTERING Palestinian Women and Children. SHAME! Someone is burning in hell for this, and that person is not a Palestinian.
• 
  Dee

  Nothing new here for this "Palestinian Rights Activist" - but a well-put, succinct discussion on a subject that many will find off-putting and/or upsetting. I can think of a number of people that I'd like to recommend this book to - but won't, because I know that they (like many other intelligent progressives - sometimes called PEP or "Progressive Except for Palestine!) see the whole "Israel/Palestine" issue from the only perspectives readily available to them - the "mainstream" news media - and are unwilling to look at it from another viewpoint!
• 
  Dina Nasr Eddin

  كتاب قصير لكنه غاية الافادة ويمكن الاطلاع على مزيد من التفاصيل من خلال كتب أخرى.
  انحاز المؤلف للحق رغم اختلاف الهوية بحث بحق عن الحقوق المهدرة والاكاذيب والخرافات التي صنعتها الدولة الصهيونية وصدقها الكثيرون شرقا وغربا.
  أنصح بقراءته بشدة.
• 
  Ayala Levinger

  EVERYONE needs to read this book
• 
  Aizat Affendi

  Packed with historical data and a deep dive into the Zionist ideology, Pappé did a wonderful writing to dispel some of the more common myths that is mainly perpetrated by the Western governments and media about the ongoing conflict in Palestine. Can't deny that reading this riled me up a lot as I learnt how some some Palestinians themselves (leaders of the secular Fatah party whom had always supported a two-state solution, which would only mean damning the Palestinians to an abyss of persecutions at the hand of the vile Zionist regime), neighboring Arab nations (who really couldn't be bothered to immerse themselves fully in the resolution of the conflict - exemplified by their pathetic half-hearted war efforts in 1967), Brits (who had also committed to ethnic cleansing crimes when they were governing Palestine), Americans (the sugar daddy to the Zionist regime - whom would arm the regime and ratify all palpably one-sided treaties at "peace talks" that they are always so keen to mediate) and even Russians were complicit in this ongoing ethnic cleansing exercise that is the Zionist settlement in Palestine!
• 
  Caspar Bryant

  As of today, this is free on Verso's website as an ebook so BIG recommend for anybody. You don't even need to read the whole book if you'd prefer to dip into just the chapter on the myth of the two-state solution, or the Judaism=Zionism myth (I do recommend the entire book nonetheless). What's to lose? Ten Myths is free.
  
  It's a wonderful book on the topic. As an Israeli Jew, Pappé seems to have firsthand access to rather compromising information on the Israeli government, and the tone of the book strikes a perfect balance between authoritative and naturalistic.
  
  That is to say, the style isn't overly academic. It's not one to be put off by for fear of dryness or dullness. I'm really not sure what else I can say - give it a read. Free Palestine.
  
• 
  Andreia

  Um livro muito elucidativo sobre a questão israelo-palestiniana que todos devíamos ler. O autor assume sempre, sem rodeios, a sua posição crítica em relação a Israel, mas justifica cada argumento e desconstrução que faz com um sólido contexto histórico, de forma concisa e brilhante. Aprendi muito com esta leitura!
• 
  Jonas

  Når den ikke var forvirrende og dårlig oversatt, var den veldig bra. for fem stjerner burde den ha vært: 1. mindre forvirrende; 2. bedre oversatt.
• 
  Eduardo Esteves

  Grande livro
• 
  Moinuddin.95

  In this book Ilan Pappé, a Jewish author, questions the status quo of Israel. Ten myths, according to Ilan, have been repeated (by the mainstream media and worldwide GOVT) so often that they are validated as facts, and he intends to disapprove them.
  
  This book compromises of ten chapters and each chapter speaks to a myth and/or fallacy that is peddled as common knowledge pertaining to the discourse of Israel. Part I deals with the "fallacies of the past", whilst Part II deals with the "fallacies of the present". To anyone with a passing interest in international law, politics or history, none of these fallacies is anything new. However, what the book does do, is to condense the basic myths into easy to follow and well referenced chapters. Therefore making this book ideal for a novice.
  
  Alongside Edward Said, Pappé is the most eloquent writer on the Israeli illegal occupation of Palestine.
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  Michal Lipták

  Published on 50th anniversary of Israel's "temporary" occupation, Pappé's book doesn't pretend that it is not primarily a primer for activists, a tool for engagement in debates. And it's certainly a handy one at that, although the themes are familiar for me at this point, this compilation is useful. And I can confirm that as historian, Pappé is reliable. It's certainly biased, but, y'know, as they say, reality tends to have liberal bias. Or, to put it otherwise, when you're starting from point of view of liberal democracy, it's much easier to criticize settler colonialism, wars of conquest, racial discrimination and war crimes than to try to engage in byzantine legal sophistry in order to explain why they are - maybe only in this single case, but they are - acceptable.