Ilan Pappe on decolonization

As we continue our series commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, we listen to Israeli historian Ilan Pappe’s March 2017 presentation to the National Press Club  

Al-Nakba is the Arabic word for catastrophe, the name given to the dispossession of Palestinians in 1948 by Zionist militias who violently seized their land to create the circumstances for Israel’s declaration of independence. In truth the Nakba began before 1948 and continues to this day. Like colonists before them Israel has developed and propagated a false narrative to legitimize its subjugation of the indigenous peoples of Palestine, relying on a distorted account of history to justify its policies. If the so-called conflict is ever to be resolved, the events that led to the creation of Israel – namely the Nakba-  must be reckoned with

Professor Ilan Pappe is currently a professor of History and Palestinian Studies at the University of Exeter in the UK. He has written prolifically and with honesty and courage about the events that led to Israel’s creation. His 2006 book
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine is a seminal book on this issue.


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