Friday, October 23, 2009

Avi Shlaim on Israel and Palestine - The Economist

It is always good to hear a historian about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In this case, The Economist podcast offered a short conversation with Israeli historian Avi Shlaim, who is considered as one of the revisionists among Israeli historians.



Shlaim repeats a position that can be seen as one example of what Henry Kissinger is supposed to have generally stipulated: The Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. The specific tactical mistake Shlaim has in mind is the Palestinian (and broad Arab) rejection of the 1947 UN division plan. Not only would they have been better off than today or at any time in the future if there is ever going to be a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 borders. He goes on to add that the Jewish state within the 1947 borders would not have been viable.

More from The Economist:
A crisis of authority in Iran,
Comfort with Obama,
Democracy in America - podcast review,
Issues of Race,
The primary system.

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