Questioning narratives

I am writing to respectfully challenge Karen Milstein’s portrayal of Ilan Pappé (“Lannan misfires,” Letters to the Editor, Feb. 2). Pappé has written 18 books. I’m not a historian, but I doubt that one is published 18 times if it’s all “fake news.” He and the other revisionist Israeli historians are reexamining the origin myth of Israel and the effects of settler colonialism on Palestinians and Israelis. Pappé does reference the Nakba, the mass eviction of 700,000 Palestinians during the 1948 war that created the current exploding refugee crisis. This event is not well-known or is often overlooked.

Now there are generations of Palestinians suffering from the traumas that accompany refugee status side by side with Israelis who still suffer from the effects of historical persecution and Holocaust trauma. Yet, there exists no compassion on either side for the other, which then precludes the possibility of constructive solutions.

As a Jew, I was taught that we should never be afraid of questioning narratives that support the oppression and exploitation of our fellow humans (or any narrative for that matter). When that happens, as Albert Memmi stated years ago in The Colonizer and The Colonized, both sides lose their humanity. I urge Milstein to consider this: A critical examination of the past and present prevailing narratives regarding Israel could benefit Israel and Palestine and all of us who care about both populations.

Ellen J. Shabshai Fox, LCSW

Santa Fe