Avoiding the J word: Ilan Pappe on Hardtalk
[image error]Introduction by Gilad Atzmon: In this BBC Hardtalk episode, Stephen Sackur challenges professor Ilan Pappe’s views.
As expected, BBC’s Sackur presents the hard core Right wing Zionist viewpoint. Unexpectedly, Sackur displays a wide range of knowledge about Israel and seems almost as knowledgeable as Ilan Pappe - a leading pro-Palestinian historian who has dedicated his life to studying the conflict and the Palestinian plight. How is that possible? Is it because Pappe lacks erudition? Not at all, Pappe is an ethical human being and a superb scholar, he remains courteous and calm throughout the program. But Pappe attempts to argue his case with his hands tied behind his back. The history professor is afraid to utter the ‘J word,’ he fails to analyze Zionism and Israel’s actions within the appropriate ideological, historical and cultural context and he refuses to question the true meaning of the Jewish State.
History is an attempt to narrate the past. A few brave historians aim for a consistent narrative that sets events within the appropriate context which includes ideology, culture and heritage. Most historians however, are engaged in the opposite: the active concealment of the shameful i.e. that which is better to shove under the carpet. Instead of identifying the Zionist crime within the context of Jewish history and culture, Pappe attempts to isolate the Zionist crime by disconnecting it from Jewish history and continuum. Pappe injects the discourse with a dose of politically-correct terminology (such as colonialism, apartheid, etc.) that serves only to divert attention from the particular nature of Jewish nationalism. In practice, Pappe actually attempts to conceal that which is most shameful – the Jewishness of the Jewish State.
