Figure 1.-- |
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The Isreali-Palestinian conflict is one of the most, if not the most contentious conflict of modern times. This is in part because both peoples can claim a stake in the land. Of course it is debateable as to the strength of each claim. Of course there are partisans on both sides, but the point is that it is debateable. The job of the historian is to collect, organize, and evaluate facts. As we know, a range of conclusions can be drawn from any given set of facts and authors vary as to the facts they collect and consider important. And of course some authors only collect those facts that butress their point of view. The problem with the Isreali-Palestinian conflict is even more difficult than that. The issue is so incendiary that some authors actually make up what they claim to be facts as well as quotations. Here the Muslim world is particularly likely to do this because of limitations on scholarship. Muslim scholars that dare to diverge from accepted views are quite litwraly putting their lives in danger. While no mater how outrageous the attacks on Jews, there are no adverse consequences. Poor scholaership is not, however, limited to Muslims. We note dishonest scholarship in the West as well, most commonly on this issue among left-wing writers. We mention this because readers who would want to seriously address this subject need to look carefully at the sources of articles they read to make sure they are based on sound scholarship. We will post some ecamples of poor scholarship as an example of the difficulties of reaerching this topic. We welcome readers to submit comments on authors that you think that have been dishonest in addressing this subject. Here we do not mean authors you may disagree with, but authors that have manipulated and misinterpreted the facts or worse still manufactured information.
Ilan Pappe is an anti-Zionist Isreali Communist. His 2006 book, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine is a good example of his writing. Some poor historians are artful in their misrepresentations. Pappe work makes no pretense at real history. He not only invents "facts" to support his point of view, but also provides fake quotes attributed to David Ben-Gurion and others. Readers who want details can consult David Pryce-Jones' review in the Literary Review. Communist historians are a kind of non-sequitor. Communist historians have generally never got over Stalinist-era Soviet Realism. This of course had nothing to do with actual realism. It was Stalin's belieft that history and the other disciplines (even sciences like biology) should futher the class struggle or more specifically Soviet power. History or the work in other disciplines were judged not in terms of accuracy but in terms of how they further the ultimate objective. Thus for many Communist writers, facts can be manipulated and invented if they further the goals of the writer or the groups the writer supports. The result is what can only be classified as historical fiction. His work is in the tradition of the forged Protocols of the Elders of Zion. What is most interesting about Pappe's work is that he is an Isreali. One of the strengths of Israel is the toleratuon of discent, even dishonest discent. This is something that is not tolerated in the Muslim world where even serious scholars and writers authors are attacked and even procecuted by state authorities.
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