Ilan Pappe

Updated annually, the World Today series: The Middle East and South Asia 2026–2027 provides historical background on the Middle East to help readers gain a thorough understanding of contemporary developments in this region. Broad introductory chapters are followed by sections on each country in the region. The combination of factual accuracy and up-to-date detail make this an outstanding resource for researchers, practitioners in international development, media professionals, government officials, potential investors, and students to understand the immediate background of contemporary developments.

Israel can’t go on like this. 7 October and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza laid bare the cracks in its foundations. It was unveiled as a country unable to protect its citizens, divided between messianic theocrats and selective liberals, resented by its neighbours and losing the support of Jews worldwide. While its leaders justify bombing campaigns exceeding the worst atrocities of World War 2 and a spiralling humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, Israel is becoming a pariah state. Its worst enemy is not Hamas, but itself. Ilan Pappe paves a path out of the Jewish state, rooted in restorative justice and decolonisation, including the return of refugees, the end of illegal settlements, and building bridges with the Arab world. The future can be one of reconciliation, not endless war.

The World Today Series: The Middle East and South Asia 2025–2026 provides historical background on East & Southeast Asia to help readers gain a thorough understanding of contemporary developments in this region. Broad introductory chapters are followed by sections on each country in the region. The combination of factual accuracy and up-to-date detail make this an outstanding resource for researchers, practitioners in international development, media professionals, government officials, potential investors, and students to understand the immediate background of contemporary developments.

Since its foundation in 1948, Israel has drawn on Zionism, the movement behind its creation, to provide a sense of self and political direction. In this groundbreaking new work, Ilan Pappe looks at the continued role of Zionist ideology. The Idea of Israel considers the way Zionism operates outside of the government and military in areas such as the country’s education system, media, and cinema, and the uses that are made of the Holocaust in supporting the state’s ideological structure.In particular, Pappe examines the way successive generations of historians have framed the 1948 conflict as a liberation campaign, creating a foundation myth that went unquestioned in Israeli society until the 1990s. Pappe himself was part of the post-Zionist movement that arose then. He was attacked and received death threats as he exposed the truth about how Palestinians have been treated and the gruesome structure that links the production of knowledge to the exercise of power. The Idea of Israel is a powerful and urgent intervention in the war of ideas concerning the past, and the future, of the Palestinian–Israeli conflict.

Israel can’t go on like this. 7 October and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza laid bare the cracks in its foundations. It was unveiled as a country unable to protect its citizens, divided between messianic theocrats and selective liberals, resented by its neighbours and losing the support of Jews worldwide. While its leaders justify bombing campaigns exceeding the worst atrocities of World War 2 and a spiralling humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, Israel is becoming a pariah state. Its worst enemy is not Hamas, but itself. Ilan Pappe paves a path out of the Jewish state, rooted in restorative justice and decolonisation, including the return of refugees, the end of illegal settlements, and building bridges with the Arab world. The future can be one of reconciliation, not endless war.

A renowned Israeli-British historian argues Israel is fracturing, and considers the issues that must be centered for a peaceful future for Palestinians and Jews alike In this timely book, historian Ilan Papp argues that with the 2022 election of the most right-wing government in Israel's history, the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and the subsequent Israeli war on Gaza, political fractures inherent in the Jewish state have expanded dangerously--and will potentially lead to Israel's collapse. With the goal of working towards a transition that is as peaceful as possible, Papp sets out his thoughts about the risks and opportunities emerging from this historical moment. Eight "mini-revolutions," he argues, will be necessary for this more hopeful future to emerge, including: Relocating the Right of Return of the Palestinian refugees to the center of the future vision;Establishing a new definition for the Jewish collective in historical Palestine;Finalizing a plan for the future of the Jewish settlements built in the West Bank since 1967; andCreating a new strategy for a united Palestinian national movement.Papp concretely envisions a more just future--a democratic decolonized state for both Palestinians and Israelis--and how we might get there.

Devastating cartoons from acclaimed Palestinian political cartoonist that convey the outrage and scope of the genocide in Gaza. Mohammad Sabaaneh is an acclaimed Palestinian political cartoonist who has gained worldwide attention for his insightful and provocative linocut artwork, which sheds light on the reality of Palestinian life under occupation. His striking black-white-and-gray cartoons bring attention to the horrors of the Israeli assaults and atrocities in Gaza and open people's eyes to the suffering Palestinians endure under Israel's brutal settler colonialism and its system of apartheid. After his social media accounts were shadow banned and taken down, resulting in the loss of 15 years worth of content, Sabaaneh started questioning the fate of the thousands of videos and pictures of Gaza that can be erased in a second--the commemoration of its historical importance and the importance of documenting what is happening on the ground. The fate of Gaza's story and history is in the hands of a few corporations intent on hiding the crimes committed against the people of Gaza. Capturing and drawing scenes from videos posted on social media was a decision Sabaaneh made as a way to archive moments and information that are expected to be banned and erased later. From the genocide in Gaza to the atrocities in the West Bank, Sabaaneh's political cartoons portray a world in which injustice is unending, but so is the resilience of the Palestinian people. 30 Seconds from Gaza: Diary of Genocide is an artistic triumph and a powerful testament to Palestinian sumud (steadfastness). It is proof of art's capacity to make visible what oppressors want the world to forget. In the words of Mohammad Sabaaneh "30 seconds. 30-second peek through videos from the heart of Gaza to social media platforms. 30 seconds of people's lives in Gaza; a small window showcasing the atrocities and hell Palestinians in Gaza are living in. 30 seconds of people's lives, of people like us. Humans, nothing less... Watching the full scene unfold is gut wrenching, scenes that not many people can watch. Sometimes, we get the 'sensitive content' warning before the video begins... Can you imagine how the ones living those 30 seconds feel? Capturing and drawing scenes from these videos was a decision I made as a way to archive moments and information that are expected to be banned later. It allows me to showcase what is happening on the ground, showcasing the crimes committed against the people of Gaza ... The reasoning behind using Indian drawing ink is its permanence; water cannot erase it. No substance at all can erase it, resembling the dried-up blood splattered across the roads of Gaza, its hospitals, its children's faces... never erased, never forgotten." Notes from the author My story begins in prison. The occupation has held Palestinians in various prisons, some of them small and called jails; others larger and called towns and villages, which are surrounded by military checkpoints, walls, and settlements. The political reporting seen on the news every day can sometimes feel removed and distant, and I am saddened to see our stories are being reduced to numbers and statistics. The life of the Palestinian has become a hemorrhage between military checkpoints, and between one prison and another. This is the reality of settler colonialism. And this is how it impacts us as individuals. This book is an attempt to translate headlines into stories and illustrations, so that you, the reader, can see and feel the reality of Palestinian life.

In 1896, a Jewish state was a pipe dream. Today the overwhelming majority of Jews identify as Zionists. How did this happen? Ilan Pappe unveils how over a century of aggressive lobbying changed the map of the Middle East. Pro-Israel lobbies convinced British and American policymakers to condone Israel’s flagrant breaches of international law, grant Israel unprecedented military aid and deny Palestinians rights. Anyone who questioned unconditional support for Israel, even in the mildest terms, became the target of relentless smear campaigns. Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic shows us how an unassailable consensus was built – and how it might be dismantled.

This seminal text by renowned Israeli historian, Ilan Pappe, discusses one of the most significant periods in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Based on archival material, it presents the reader with a comprehensive and general history of the origins and consequences of the 1948 war. While among Arabs, and especially Palestinians, the events of that year are known as the nakba - the catastrophe, the trauma, the disaster - for Jews, and in particular for Israelis, their victory in the war of 1948 is a veritable miracle. For them, against tremendous odds and through heroic military effort, the Jewish community succeeded in thwarting attempts by the Arab states to destroy it. Pappe shows here that in sharp contrast to the recollections and myths of both sides, the military events of 1948 were not decisive. The victory of the Zionist organization and the fate of the Palestinians was determined by politicians on both sides - in the discussions and decisions of the United Nations in 1947-8 and in the Arab League - long before a shot had been fired. He argues that Israel's failure to take advantage of the genuine opportunity for peace with the Arabs at the UN-sponsored Lausanne Conference in 1949 resulted in the prolonged and tragic conflict between Israel and the Arab states still very much alive today. Complete with a new foreword by the author, the book remains the authority on the subject for a new generation of readers.

Ødelæggelserne den 7. oktober 2023 og de rædsler, der fulgte, forbløffede verden. Men konflikten mellem Israel og Palæstina startede ikke den 7. oktober. Den startede heller ikke i 1967, da Israel besatte Vestbredden, eller i 1948, da staten Israel blev erklæret. Den startede i 1882, da de første zionistiske bosættere ankom til det daværende osmanniske Palæstina.Ilan Pappé forklarer historien for de to folk, som nu deler ét land. Han går tilbage til zionismens grundlæggere og tager på lidt plads, men med stor ekspertise læseren med gennem den internationale politik, der er blevet ført over for Israel-Palæstina, den palæstinensiske modstand mod besættelserne og de forandringer, der finder sted i selve Israel.En uundværlig guide til at forstå den israelsk-palæstinensiske konflikt, og hvordan vi stadig kan finde en vej ud af den, fra en af de mest læste israelske historikere.”Sammen med Edward Said er Ilan Pappé den mest velskrivende forfatter, som fortæller den palæstinensiske historie. Han er også den bedst videnskabeligt funderede.” The New Statesman“Ilan Pappé er den mest originale og velargumenterede af Israels ‘nye historikere’.” Avi Shlaim, forfatter til Three Worlds

Denne brennaktuelle boken tar for seg ti av de mest omstridte ­temaene i Israels historie. Fra tiden da de første jødiske boset­terne ankom Palestina frem til våre dager, viser den aner­kjente ­israelske historikeren Ilan Pappe hvordan Israels ­offisielle historie­fremstilling er bygget på en rekke usannheter, som har hatt katastrofale følger for palestinerne og stadig er et hinder på veien mot en fredelig løsning på konflikten. Pappe under­søker blant annet sannhets­verdien i ­påstandene om at palestinerne forlot sitt hjemland frivillig i 1948, at seksdagerskrigen i 1967 var en «ufrivillig krig» og hvordan Oslo-avtalen, fremfor å være et gjennom­brudd i fredsforhandlingene, bidro til å forverre ­situasjonen for de ­okkuperte og undertrykte ­­palestinerne.

An indispensable guide to understanding the Israel–Palestine conflict, and how we might yet still find a way out of it. 'Ilan Pappe is the most original, radical and hard-hitting of Israel’s "new historians".' Avi Shlaim, author of Three Worlds The devastation of 7 October 2023 and the horrors that followed astounded the world. But the Israel–Palestine conflict didn’t start on 7 October. It didn’t start in 1967 either, when Israel occupied the West Bank, or in 1948 when the state of Israel was declared. It started in 1882, when the first Zionist settlers arrived in what was then Ottoman Palestine. Ilan Pappe untangles the history of two peoples, now sharing one land. Going back to the founding fathers of Zionism, Pappe expertly takes us through the twists and turns of international policy towards Israel–Palestine, Palestinian resistance to occupation, and the changes taking place in Israel itself.

A collection of interviews with some of the world’s leading progressive thinkers on the movement for Palestinian liberation and its connections to struggles for justice across the globe. As more and more people align themselves with the Palestinian people, Palestine in a World on Fire provides the global perspective and analysis needed to inform how we forge ahead on this path of newfound solidarity. Editors Ilan Pappé and Katherine Natanel have gathered a collection of interviews that are intimate, challenging, and rigorous—many of them conducted before October 7th but still startlingly prescient. The interviewees connect the struggle for Palestinian liberation to various liberatory movements around the world, simultaneously interrogating and recontextualizing their own positions given the ongoing aggression in Palestine. This incredible group includes Angela Y. Davis, Noam Chomsky, Judith Butler, Nadine El-Enany, Gabor Mate, Mustafa Barghouti, Yanis Varoufakis, Paul Gilroy, Elias Khoury, Gayatri Spivak, and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian. Palestine in a World on Fire highlights the centrality of Palestine in struggles shared across the world: capitalism, imperialism, misogyny, neo-colonialism, racism, and more. Each conversation tackles urgent events and unfolding dynamics, and the scholar-activists interviewed here provide invaluable perspectives and insights, illuminating the richness and relevance of recent scholarship on Palestine.

The World Today Series: The Middle East and South Asia. More than a quarter of the world’s population live in the Middle East and South Asia, yet our knowledge and understanding of the region is often limited to news updates about the latest conflicts and crises. This edition of the annually updated volume of the World Today Series provides important insights that take the reader beyond the headlines. It offers detailed and up-to-date information about the politics, economies and societies of the twenty-four states that make up the region. Contemporary events are placed in their historical context, through an examination of major civilizations and key historical events. This volume introduces major themes that have shaped the region, including the struggles of ordinary people to achieve democratic rights; the role of oil in shaping society; burgeoning environmental threats; and the rise and fall of the Islamic State caliphate. While there is reason for optimism in regards to the Middle East and South Asia, this is tempered by the very real challenges that confront the region. The general reader will gain an understanding of these challenges and opportunities through an exploration of current and past developments.

In this groundbreaking book, the outspoken and radical Israeli historian Ilan Pappe examines the most contested ideas concerning the origins and identity of the contemporary state of Israel. This has been updated with a new afterword on the 2023 invasion of Gaza.1. Palestine was an Empty Land2. The Jews were a people with out a land3. Zionism is Judaism4. Zionism is not Colonialism5. The Palestinians Voluntarily Left their Homelands in 19486. The June 1967 War was a war of 'No Choice'7. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East8. The Myths about the Oslo Agreement9. The Lies we tell about Gaza10. The two state solution is the only way forward

Få internationella tvister är lika uppmärksammade som Israel-Palestina-konflikten. Ändå kan den ­vara svår att förstå, både för dem som studerat den utförligt och för dem som nöjt sig med att ta del av bevakningen i media. Vad handlar konflik­ten egentligen om? Hur uppstod den? Hur kan den lösas? Det är frågor som den israeliske historikern Ilan ­Pappe grubblat över i flera decennier. I Kort historik över Israel-­Palestina-konflik­ten försöker han, utan att förenkla mer än nödvändigt, formulera sina svar. Boken är emellertid inte bara en saklig historisk översikt av en djupgående och långvarig internationell konflikt. Den är också en flam­mande appell för upprättandet av en demokratisk stat, för alla dem som idag bebor det historiska området Palestina, som den på sikt enda möjliga lösningen. OM ILAN PAPPEIlan Pappe är född i Haifa i Israel. Han var soldat i den israe­liska armén under okto­berkriget. Han har varit verksam som histo­ri­ker i närmare 50 år vid universitet i Israel och Storbri­tannien. Han har skrivit ett tiotal böcker om Mellanöstern med sär­skilt fokus på Israel och ­Palestina.ILAN PAPPE OM BOKENVi måste tala om Israel och Pale­­stina på ett nytt sätt. Det är meningslöst att tala om fred som om båda sidor har lika stor del av skulden när processen vi faktiskt talar om är avkolonisering. Det historiska Pale­stina har utsatts för bosättar­kolonialism under mer än hundra år och har fått betala ett högt pris.Avkolonisering är ett ord som är nära förbun­det med ett par andra uttryck som undviks i den all­män­na politiska debatten i väst när det gäller Israel och Palestina, nämligen befrielse och för­soning.Jag påstår inte att jag har svaren på hur vi upp­- når dessa ädla mål. Den palestinska befrielserörel­sen måste avgöra hur en lösning kan genomföras i praktiken, en lösning som innebär rättvisa för alla som lever i det historiska Palestina i dag, ­inklusive israeliska judar.

För judarna i Palestina var 1948 året då de vann sin frihet och självständighet. För palestinierna innebar händelserna ­detta år att de förlorade sin frihet och ­större delen av sitt land.Länge har historiker tvistat om vad som egentligen hände detta år. Enligt en under lång tid dominerande israelisk historieskrivning, som också haft stort genomslag i Västvärlden, så flydde pale­stinierna frivilligt eller på order av invaderande arabiska arméer. Denna uppfattning kom senare att ifråga­sättas, inte bara av pale­stinska histo­riker, utan även av ­israeliska. En av de mest framträdande bland dem är Ilan Pappe.I det internationella standardverket Den ­etniska rensningen av Palestina hävdar Ilan Pappe att händelserna 1948 bäst kan beskrivas som en regelrätt etnisk rensning.Palestiniernas väpnade styrkor ska utplå­nas och den palestins­ka be­folkningen ska fördrivas till utanför statens gränser. Så var det centrala budskapet i den så kallade Plan Dalet, som utarbeta­des av det judiska ledarskapet i Palestina i mars 1948. Planen­ förverkligades och resulterade i att närmare en ­miljon ­palestinier­ tvingades fly sina hem, att tusentals civila ­mas­sa­­krerades, att hundratals byar, stadsdelar och städer förstördes eller tömdes på sin arabiska befolkning.Att beskriva och erkänna detta brott mot mänsklighe­ten , menar Ilan Pappe, är ett nödvändigt första steg mot fred och försoning mellan de båda folken.Ilan Pappe, född 1954 i Haifa, Israel, är professor i historia och föreståndare för European Centre for Palestine Studies vid University of Exeter, England. Han har tidigare varit verksam vid bland annat Hebrew University, Jerusalem, University of Oxford och Haifa University. Ilan Pappe har skrivit en rad böcker om Israel, Palestina och Mellanöstern, bl.a. Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic (2024), Tio myter om Israel (på svenska 2020), The Rise and Fall of a Pale­stinian Dynasty: The Husaynis 1700-1948 (2017), The Biggest Prison on Earth: A His­tory of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine (2015), The Making ­of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1947-1951 (2015) och The Idea of Israel (2014).Även om boken inte är det sista ordet, är den ett betydande bidrag till en debatt som kommer att fortsätta och som måste fortsätta. Så länge spökena från 1948 fortfarande vandrar omkring finns inget hopp för varaktig fred i Mellan­östern. Stephen Howe i Independent Pappe går i polemik mot sin historikerkollega Benny Morris, pionjären för den nya historien som har trängt undan den rosenskimrande versionen av Israels födelse, i vilken oförsonliga araber i huvudsak bara hade sig själva att skylla sin olycka på. Om Morris underminerade de gamla myternas grundvalar och slog sönder stora delar av väggarna, är Pappe den som får taket att rasa in Ian Black i Guardian Pappe baserar sin argumentation på väletab­lerade internationella definitioner av etnisk rensning, bland annat från FN. Han granskar på ett plågsamt detaljerat sätt den israeliska militärens förstörelse och avfolkning av hundratals byar och deras fördrivning av hundratusentals invånare. Boken är en lättillgänglig kunskapkälla som ger viktiga bidrag till hur man ska förstå den historiska bakgrunden till ­dagens konflikt. Publishers Weekly För 20 år sedan öppnade Benny Morris arkiven om rensningarna i en klassisk bok som skakade om hela Israel. Några år senare kom Walid Khalidis All That ­Remains, en tung gravsten över förödelsen. Men Pappes bok är ändå kontroversiell. Kompromisslöst lämnar han Morris bakom sig och driver israelisk historieskrivning framåt: tillspetsat och hänsynslöst. Det är plågsamt att läsa. Belysningen blir så stark att ögonen svider. Per Wirtén i Expressen Med minutiös noggrannhet går Pappe igenom by för by, stad för stad i Palestina och bevisar genom dokument hur soldaterna for fram. Israelerna kallade det befrielsekrig. Palestinierna det för den stora katastrofen. Idag skulle det fört de ansvariga till Haagdomstolen skriver Pappe. Evert Svensson i OBS Kulturkvarten När jag läser Ilan Pappe, som är israelisk historiker, så kommer mycket nytt i da­- gen. Hans bok Den etniska rensningen av Palestina går i närkamp med åren i slutet av 1940-talet då palestinierna fördrevs. Pappe är noga med källorna, håller ­hellre igen än drar på, och ändå känns det i nästan alla ord att här kommer en ­hi­storieskrivning som inte går att bläddra sig förbi. Stig Hansén i Helsingborgs Dagblad Den etniska rensningen av Palestina är som titeln kan ge en vink om en mycket smärtsam bok. Att läsa om etnisk rensning, om hur ett folk berövas sitt liv, sin historia och alla sina materiella tillgångar kräver att man sätter sig över de känslor som kan drabba en. Men den israeliske historikern Ilan Pappes bok är en nödvändig läsning. Den ger en viktig del av orsakssammanhanget bakom den allt mer oförsonliga konflikten mellan judar och palestinier. Många skulle nog mena, ­palestinierna gör det, att det som Pappe beskriver utgör konfliktens grundbult. Åke Svidén i Sundsvalls Tidning Sedan slutet av 1980-talet har också israeliska historiker grävt i arkiv och påvisat att massflykten drevs fram av massakrer, våldtäkter, summariska avrättningar. Men inte förrän nu, genom den israeliske historikern Ilan Pappes nyutkomna bok, klargörs bortom allt tvivel att utdrivningen inte bara berodde på krigets fasor utan ­också var resultatet av centralt israeliskt beslutsfattande och noggrann förhands­­pla­nering. Per Gahrton i Aftonbladet Ilan Pappe har skrivit en extraordinär bok med stor relevans för de historiska, de nuvarande och de framtida israelisk-palestinska relationerna. Richard Falk, professor i internationell rätt vid Princeton University Ilan Pappe är Israels skarpaste, modigaste och mest principfasta historiker. John Pilger, författare och journalist En utomordentlig bok och ett mäktigt kraftprov; ett verk utfört med stor vetenskaplig noggrannhet, biblisk moralisk skärpa och medmänsklighet. Walid Khalidi, tidigare forskare vid Harvard UniversityOm det någonsin kommer att bli fred i Palestina/Israel, så kommer den moraliska energin och intellektuella skärpan som utmärker Den etniska rensningen av Pale­­stina att bidra till den på avgörande sätt. Adhaf Soueif, författare Pappe har åstadkommit ett märkvärdigt arbete för alla som är intresserade av ursprunget till Israels invasion och den följande brutala ockupationen av Pale­stina. James Abourezk, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

In 1896, a Jewish state was a pipe dream. Today the overwhelming majority of Jews identify as Zionists. How did this happen? Ilan Pappe unveils how over a century of aggressive lobbying changed the map of the Middle East. Pro-Israel lobbies convinced British and American policymakers to condone Israel’s flagrant breaches of international law, grant Israel unprecedented military aid and deny Palestinians rights. Anyone who questioned unconditional support for Israel, even in the mildest terms, became the target of relentless smear campaigns. Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic shows us how an unassailable consensus was built – and how it might be dismantled.