Out of the Frame: The Struggle for Academic Freedom in Israel

Ilan Pappe has long been a controversial figure in Israel, here; he gives a full account of his break with mainstream Israeli scholarship and its consequences. Growing up in a conventional Israeli community and influenced by the utopian visions of Theodor Herzl, Pappe was barely aware of the Nakba in his high school years. This intellectual biography traces his journey of discovery, from the whispers of Palestinian classmates, to his realisation that the 'enemy's' narrative of 1948 was correct, and his vow to protect the memory of the Nakba. For the first time he gives the details of the formidable opposition he faced in Israel, including death threats fed by the media, denunciations by the Knesset and calls for him to be sacked from his post at Haifa university. This revealing work, written with dignity and humour, highlights Israel's difficulty in facing up to its past and forging a peaceful, inclusive future in Palestine.

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction 1. The Demons of the Nakbah 2. The Arming of the Zionist Mind 3. The Katz Affair 4. The Trial and the Acquittal 5. The Battle for the Historiography of 1948 6. The Home University 7. The Last Straw: Lebanon and Gaza 8. The Killing Fields of Gaza Epilogue Appendix Index

About the Author :
Illan Pappe is Professor of History and Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter. He is the author of numerous books, including Ten Myths About Israel (Verso, 2017), The Forgotten Palestinians (Yale University Press, 2013) and The Idea of Israel (Verso, 2012).

Review :
A courageous, honest painful personal account of what goes on in Israel to silence dissent and to curb freedom of thought and expression. A daring cri du Coeur that exposes academia and other institutions in Israel to using subtle ways of pressure to ensure conformity and loyalty to the state and alerts the world to this unseen dangerous trend that in the long run may be detrimental to Israel and to others. -- Mariam C. Said In this long-awaited intellectual autobiography, Prof Ilan Pappe, Israel's most important critical historian, who was hounded out of Haifa University for his clear-headed insistence on theorising the vital links between the 1948 Nakbah and Israel's unabashed militarism, charts the real road map to Israel's ideological dismantling and to reconciliation with the Palestinians via the non-violent Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. -- Ronit Lentin, Head of Sociology, Trinity College Dublin Pappe takes us through his own development from child of a solid zionist family into a historian in conflict with his own society's view of its past. He describes this intellectual and moral journey in the measured tone of an academic, but also with his customary humanistic sensitivity to the suffering so many ignore. Pappe is one of the courageous few who refuse to believe in an ideology or mythology that denies the humanity of others and traps his country in a cycle of violence. -- Allan Cameron, Writer and Translator In this remarkable intellectual history and autobiography, Ilan Pappe shows why he changed his mind from the Zionist consensus, and how he resisted Zionist pressure to deny his findings and his conscience. His work shines with steadfastness, humour, and hope. -- Professor James Holstun, University of Buffalo, New York