Influence On Traditional Israeli Historical Narrative and Public Opinion
Michal Ben-Josef Hirsch argues that prior to the advent of the New Historians "Israelis held to a one-sided historical narrative of the circumstances leading to the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem, and that any other counter-narratives were taboo." According to Hirsch the research of the New Historians and the wide ranging debate that they provoked broke that taboo and changed the way in which the Palestinian refugee problem and its causes were viewed in Israel. Hirsch states that the traditional Israeli narrative, that Arabs were responsible for the exodus of the Palestinians, held from 1948 to the late 1990's. He states that the arguments of the New Historians significantly challenged that narrative, leading to a broad debate both in academia and in the wider public discourse including journalists and columnists, politicians, public figures, and the general public.
Hirsch sees a significant change in how the Palestinian Refugee issue is viewed in Israeli society from the late 1990's, with a more complex narrative being more prevalent, that accepts instances where Israeli forces expelled Palestinians with the knowledge and authorization of the Israeli leadership. Hirsch attributes that change to research of the New Historians and the debate that their research provoked in Israeli society.
Critics of the New Historians have acknowledged this shift. Avi Beker, writing in the Jerusalem Post, states that the effect of the New Historians work on the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict "cannot be exaggerated". He says the work of the New Historians is now the mainstream in academia, and that their influence was not confined to intellectual circles. To illustrate his point he cites examples from changes to Israeli school text books to the actions of Israeli political leaders and developments in the Peace Process.
Read more about this topic: New Historians
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