Why this Book "Ten Myths About Israel" by "Ilan Pappé" is A Must Read?

In the name of ALLAH, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Why this Book "Ten Myths About Israel" by "Ilan Pappé" is A Must Read?

A book, that was published in May 2017, has been written by Ilan Pappé “The most eloquent writer on Palestinian history”; which revealed the myths and reality behind the state of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as reported in New Statesman; which further added that "Along with Edward Said, Ilan Pappe is the most eloquent writer of Palestinian history".

Ilan Pappé is the outspoken and radical Israeli historian, who examined the most contested ideas concerning the origins and identity of the Zionist Jewish state of Israel. He penned the “ten myths”—repeated endlessly systematically in the media (legacy print and electronic media, now including social media), enforced by the military, and accepted without question by the world’s governments.

Key Points of the Book:

This book exposes the ten major false narratives that are popularized to justify the creation of the Israeli state and its subsequent policies. Following are basically ten chapters, ten characterized myths, which have been created to befool the world and to reinforce the regional status quo and control over the Palestinian lands:

• Palestine was an empty land at the time of the Balfour Declaration.

• The Jews were a people without a land.

• There is no difference between Zionism and Judaism.

• Zionism is not a colonial project of occupation.

• The Palestinians left their Homeland voluntarily in 1948.

• The June 1967 War was a war of ‘No Choice’.

• Israel is the only Democracy in the Middle East.

• The Oslo Mythologies

• The Gaza Mythologies

• The Two-State Solution

Who is Ilan Pappé ?

Ilan Pappé was born in Haifa in 1954, Israel, to a family of Ashkenazi Jews. So, he is an original Israeli born real Jewish historian, political scientist, and former politician. He is a professor with the College of Social Sciences and International Studies at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, director of the university's European Centre for Palestine Studies, and co-director of the Exeter Centre for Ethno-Political Studies. Pappé was also a board member of the Israeli political party Hadash. Prior to coming to the United Kingdom, he was a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Haifa (1984–2007) and chair of the Emil Touma Institute for Palestinian and Israeli Studies in Haifa (2000–2008). He left Israel in 2008 after being condemned in the Knesset and receiving several death threats. (Through Google search)

Ilan Pappé's parents were German Jews who had fled Nazi persecution in the 1930s. At the age of 18, he was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and served in the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. He graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. He then completed a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree in 1984 under the supervision of British historians Albert Hourani and Roger Owen at the University of Oxford. His doctoral thesis was titled "British foreign policy towards the Middle East, 1948-1951: Britain and the Arab-Israeli conflict"[14] and this became his first book, titled Britain and the Arab-Israeli Conflict.

Ilan Pappé; since the release of pertinent British and Israeli government documents in the early 1980s; has written extensively on the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight. Pappé's work makes the case that the expulsions were the result of a systematic ethnic cleansing, for which Plan Delete served as a blueprint. He is the author of Ten Myths About Israel (2017), The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (2006), The Modern Middle East (2005), A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples (2003), and Britain and the Arab-Israeli Conflict (1988).

Ilan Pappé has been described as "Israel’s bravest, most principled, most incisive historian" by John Pilger and another Israeli and British historian Avi Shlaim FBA added "One of the most prominent Israeli political dissidents living in exile; He is also one of the few Israeli students of the conflict who write about the Palestinian side with real knowledge and empathy."

This book was written in 2017 and world then was in iron clad control of Zionist Jewish members and such books are not much trumpeted or forwarded for mass approach. However, lots much water has flowed down the bridges and lot many facts have surfaced since then. The Hamas-Israel War of 2023-2025 has exposed some more myths of Israel. Therefore, it’s very important now to carry out an objective analysis of the book. The author has arranged ten chapters in the book, in which each chapter challenges a related myth. A simple analysis of the chapters or "myths" in the Book is presented in the following:-

1. Creation of Israel: "It was a waste land":  This first fallacy challenges the Zionist claim that Palestine was an empty land in 1948, upon which Jews settled and founded Israel. The author presents historical evidence that Palestine already had an Arab population and that in 1948 millions of Palestinians lived there.

2. The Palestinian people left their land “voluntarily”:  This second chapter explains that the Palestinian people did not leave their land on their own in 1948, but were forcibly evicted. This chapter details the events of the Nakba and provides evidence of massacres, forced evacuations, and destruction of villages by the Israeli military.

3. Israel has always wanted "peace:"  It is common Western propaganda that Israel has always sought peace, but the author explains that Israel has always adopted war tactics to suppress the rights of the Palestinian people. This chapter discusses in detail the 1967 war, the 1982 Lebanon war, and the attacks in Gaza.

4. The 1967 war was a "defensive" war:  The author rejects the fallacy that Israel fought the 1967 war for survival. They present the historical facts that Israel waged this war on its own to occupy the territories of Palestine, Syria, and Jordan.

5. The Palestinian people are terrorists:  This chapter criticizes the notion prevalent in the Western media that the Palestinian people are involved in terrorism. The authors prove historically that the Palestinian resistance is a war of liberation, and that Israel itself has supported many terrorist organizations.

6. Israel is the "only democracy:"  This fallacy is commonly used in favor of Israel as the only democratic country in the Middle East. Ilan Pappé explains that Israel's democracy is limited to Jews, while Palestinians are denied basic human rights.

7. Palestinian refugees have no right of return:  This chapter highlights the right of return of Palestinian refugees expelled in 1948 and explains how Israel made their return impossible through ethnic cleansing.

8. The Oslo Accords were a successful peace process:  The author states that the Oslo Accords were a strategy for Israel to continue occupying Palestinian land.

9. Israel's withdrawal from Gaza was for "peace."  This chapter debunks the Israeli propaganda that the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza was recognition of Palestinian rights. The author explains that the withdrawal was actually a military strategy, to completely encircle Gaza and turn it into a prison.

10. The two-state solution is the “only viable solution:”  The final chapter of the book rejects the fallacy of the two-state solution and explains that Israel has divided Palestine to the point that an independent Palestinian state is no longer possible. The authors emphasize that the only sustainable solution is a shared, equal rights-based state.

There has been a mixed response to this book in various academic and political circles. The book raises several important questions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and presents an alternative historical narrative that is less visible in the Western media.

Positive comments:

1. Highlighting historical truth:  Many critics and historians have praised Ilan Pape's research, particularly his courage in challenging the official Israeli narrative. Famous journalist John Pilger said that Ilan Pape is Israel's most courageous and principled historian.

The book highlights the Nakba of 1948, the rights of Palestinian refugees, and the military policies of the Israeli state, which are generally less discussed in the mainstream media.

2. Challenging the Western narrative:  The book was well received in pro-Palestinian circles because it rejected the narrative of Israel being "defensive" and exposed the colonial nature of the Zionist movement. Many researchers among the New Historians, such as Avi Shlaim and Benny Morris, have also supported the view that Israeli history needs to be re-examined.

3. Common sense and simple style:  According to some readers, the book is written in a layman's style, which makes it comprehensible even for non-expert readers. Explaining the historical facts in simple language is considered a special quality of this book.

Critical Comments:

1. The "biased and one-sided" approach:  Pro-Israel critics have called the book "biased" and "one-sided". According to them, Alan Pape is an ideological historian who promotes an anti-Israel agenda. Prominent historian Benny Morris, himself a critic of Israel, has accused the pope of "taking a very one-sided view" and saying he "distorts history for political purposes".

2. Lack of evidence and references:  Some critics have pointed out that Pape's research lacks thorough historical evidence in some places. There are certain claims in the book that could have been strengthened with more authentic documents and references. Some of his analysis, particularly of the 1948 war and the 1967 war, have been challenged and his sources are said to be incomplete.

3. Strong stance on two-state solution:  According to some critics, Pape's book completely rejects the two-state solution, which is not a realistic approach. According to some analysts, insisting on a total boycott or a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not practically possible.

4. Strong backlash in Israeli circles:  The book was heavily criticized in the Israeli media, and Ilan Pape was branded a "traitor" and an "anti-Israeli Israeli himself". In Israeli right-wing circles, he was called a "propagandist historian" and said that his research was written to please the western left.

According to supporters:  This book exposes Israel’s propaganda and presents the history of the Palestinian people from a new perspective. According to detractors; it presents a one-sided narrative, does not fully describe historical facts and is written for political purposes. The book has become an important but controversial reference for those considering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Analysis of the impact of the book:

1. Scientific and research implications:  The book has become an important reference in other writings on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially for researchers looking critically at the Israeli narrative. Following the works of "New Historians" such as Avi Shlaim and Benny Morris, this book also plays an important role in questioning the official narrative of Israeli history. The book has also been made part of the curriculum in some educational institutions, especially in universities that teach Middle Eastern history.

Several Palestinian and Arab scholars have called the book a "valuable analysis" and see it as a strengthening of the Palestinian narrative.

2. Political implications in the Western world:  After the book, the discussion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict intensified in the Western world, especially in America and Europe, the supporters of the BDS Movement (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) presented it as an important research document. Left-wing political circles are using the book as an argument to challenge the traditional Western narrative in favor of Israel (which portrays Israel as an "oppressed state"). After reading the book, some Western politicians openly criticized Israel's policies, especially regarding the atrocities against the Palestinian people.

3. Effects on Israel and the Zionist movement:  In Israel, this book caused a great controversy and Ilan Pape was called a "traitor".

Right-wing Israeli circles described it as a "propaganda book" and said it was written to "inflame world opinion against Israel". Some Israeli universities have tried to remove Ilan Pape's work from the curriculum, calling his writings "biased". Liberal circles within Israel call the book a "mirror of reality" and insist that Israel must rethink its policies.

4. Palestinian Resistance and Public Consciousness:  Palestinian resistance and intellectuals presented the book as an "academic justification" for their struggle. Some quarters of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Hamas praised the book as acknowledging the Palestinian "Nakba" (Nakba - the forced expulsion of Palestinians in 1948). The book raised political awareness among Palestinian youth and many consider it a "factual document" against the Israeli occupation.

5. Social media and public discourse:  Following the book's publication, debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict intensified on social media, with Palestinian rights advocates sharing excerpts from the book, particularly on Twitter, Facebook and other platforms. The Israeli digital lobby (Hasbara) launched counter-propaganda against the book, saying it was "ideologically biased".

The book has become an important reference in many online forums and discussions, especially in circles that view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a colonial and apartheid perspective.

Should this book be read?

If you want to know an alternative historical narrative about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this book is a must read. It must be remembered that the routine scholarly work is mostly funded through Jews associated groups and such works are not supported or funded. However, it is important to look at opposing viewpoints as well in order to form a comprehensive and balanced opinion on the subject.

The above is mostly taken from a written work in Urdu by Mr Bitteres Raza and published on Face Book. He also has actually translated the book in Urdu also which is published by " Fiction House Lahore" under the Title "اسرائیل کے دس جھوٹے مفروضے ".