Zionist historiography and its critics: a case of mythtaken identity?

Abstract

Since the 1980s, several Israeli scholars, who have come to be known as the 'new historians', have been engaged in the reappraisal of the events surrounding the Zionist state's foundation. They have been highly critical, at the same time, of mainstream Israeli historiography. In his book, Fabricating Israeli History, Karsh launches a vigorous counter-attack against the 'new historians', focusing on shlaim's discussion of Zionist-Transjordan relations during the 1948 war and on Morris's account of the factors that precipitated the flight, in that war, of two-thirds of the Palestinian Arab population. The article reviews the main findings of the 'new history' by referece to Karsh's critique. It identifies the principal points of divergence between the 'old' and 'new' interpretations and provides an assessment of their respective claims.