Archive of The Invention of the Jewish People

Last week, on Thursday 7 December 2017, Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, pledging the relocation of the US embassy to the city. Defying UN resolutions emphasizing the international status of Jerusalem, Trump’s move reverses years of American policy on the matter and has been met with widespread condemnation, sparking protests in the region. We asked Israeli historian and author, Ilan Pappe, for his views on the unfolding situation.

Israeli historian Shlomo Sand responds to Emmanuel Macron's speech in front of Benjamin Netanyahu, in commemoration of the 1942 Vel d’Hiv round-up of Jews. "Has this former student of philosophy, Paul Ricoeur’s assistant, read so few history books that he does not know that many Jews or descendants of Jewish heritage have always opposed Zionism, without this making them anti-Semites?"

This week marks the 50th Anniversary of the Arab-Israeli Six Day War, fought from 5-10 June 1967. Israel’s decisive victory included the capture of east Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories – the West Bank and Gaza – as well as the Golan Heights and Sinai. The end of the war marked the beginning of what has become a 50-year military occupation of the West Bank. In Ten Myths About Israel, Ilan Pappe describes ‘The June 1967 War Was a War of “No Choice”’ as a core myth of Israel.