Outstanding Jewish Israeli historian Ilan Pappé is Professor of history at the University of Exeter (UK) and co-Director of the Exeter Center for Ethno-Political Studies. He was formerly a Senior Lecturer in political science at Haifa University (1984-2007), and Chair of the Emil Touma Institute for Palestinian and Israeli Studies in Haifa (2000-2008). He is the author of “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” (2006) and many other scholarly books (for details see Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilan_Papp%C3%A9 ).
Professor Ilan Pappé in his book “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine”: "When it created its nation-state, the Zionist movement did not wage a war that `tragically but inevitably' led to the expulsion of `parts of' the indigenous population, but the other way round: the main goal was the ethnic cleansing of all of Palestine, which the movement coveted for its new state. A few weeks after the ethnic cleansing operations began, the neighbouring Arab states sent a small army - small in comparison to their overall military might - to try, in vain, to prevent the ethnic cleansing. The war with the regular Arab armies did not bring the ethnic cleansing operations to a halt until their successful completion in the autumn of 1948 … [after expelling 800,000 people, destroying 531 villages and empty eleven urban neighbourhoods] a clear-cut case of an ethnic cleansing operation, regarded under international law today as a crime against humanity." [1].
Professor Ilan Pappé in reviewing Alan Hart’s “Zionism, the real enemy of the Jews” (Clarity Press, 2009): ““In this extraordinary book, Alan Hart has succeeded in elucidating for us the immediate and long term dangers involved in the unconditional Western support for Zionism and its oppressive policies against the Palestinians. The author provides us with a chilling exposure of how this embrace developed and continues to endanger the Jewish existence and fuels the anti-Semitism that refuses to disappear. Motivated by a genuine concern for peace in Israel and Palestine and beyond in the world at large, Alan Hart has written not only a strong indictment of Zionism, based on both research and personal experience, but also provided us with a charter for a better future” [2].
Professor Ilan Pappé re Apartheid Israel and Apartheid South Africa (2008): “There are similarities and dissimilarities. The colonialist history has many chapters in common and some of the features of the Apartheid system can be found in the Israeli policies towards its own Palestinian minority and towards those in the occupied territories. Some aspects of the occupation, however, are worse than the apartheid reality of South Africa and some aspects in the lives of Palestinian citizens in Israel are not as bad as they were in the hey days of Apartheid. The main point of comparison to my mind is political inspiration. The anti-Apartheid movement, the ANC, the solidarity networks developed throughout the years in the West, should inspire a more focused and effect pro-Palestinian campaign”. [3].
Professor Ilan Pappé to Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a New Hampshire student group promoting divestment in Israel: “I was thrilled to learn about the courageous step the college has taken. I am confident that history would judge it to be in hindsight one of the definitive moments in the non violent struggle to tend the occupation and the oppression in Palestine and Israel.” [4].
[1]. Ilan Pappe, “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” (Oneworld publications, 2006); Amazon reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Ethnic-Cleansing-Palestine-Ilan-Pappe/dp/1851684670 .
[2]. Ilan Pappe, review of Alan Hart’s book “Zionism, the real enemy of the Jews” (Clarity Press, 2009), Clarity Press: http://www.claritypress.com/files/Hart-I.html .
[3]. Interviews with Professors Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé, OpEd News, 25 September 2008: http://www.opednews.com/articles/Noam-Chomsky-Ilan-Pappe-In-by-Duffer2205-080925-957.html .
[4]. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a New Hampshire student group promoting divestment in Israel, “Endorsements“, 2009: http://www.hsjp.org/endorsements/ .