Tom Segev
Tom Segev
Tom Segevis an Israeli historian, author and journalist. He is associated with Israel's New Historians, a group challenging many of the country's traditional narratives...
cannot fight help holocaust papers publish released suddenly
We were always told we cannot use them, we cannot publish them because it would help Holocaust deniers. Now suddenly these papers are being released to fight the Holocaust deniers.
debating deeply divided future israelis leave people question saying tired
Most Israelis are tired of the big decision. It is as if they're saying to the politicians do your thing and leave me alone. This used to be a very deeply divided society. For 40 years, we have been debating about the future of the territories, and people now feel that question has been decided.
almost components contrary deep hearts holocaust identity israeli mean memory sky
Yes, Hitler is in Tel Aviv and the sky isn't falling. No, this doesn't mean that Israeli hearts are coarsened to the memory of the Holocaust; on the contrary ? the Holocaust is planted so deep in the components of Israeli identity that almost nothing can get to it.
details glued radio waiting
It's like everybody's a relative: the whole country's glued to the radio or the TV, waiting for details from the hospital.
convinced deep hostile israelis million population presence settlers situation thousands truth
The truth is that deep down, the Israelis are still convinced that the presence of thousands of settlers of a hostile population of 1.3 million Palestinians is a situation that could not last.
conspiracy theories
The conspiracy theories have never had it better.
opportunity would-be rooms
If the corrupt Jordanian monarchy were overthrown, it would be the ideal opportunity to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, because the West Bank and Jordan could then be united. There is already a Palestinian majority in Jordan, and there is enough room for everyone there. That would be the best revolution I could imagine.
israel democracy world
While we see democracy coming to the Arab world, democracy is getting weaker in Israel. Democracy is in jeopardy in Israel, and this threat is greater than the external threat.
country israel people
Like most Israelis, I know very little about the Arabs. We just look down on them and see them as a threat. We have absolutely no experience with a democratic country in our vicinity. Is it good or bad for us? I am convinced that democracy isn't just good for the people in those countries, but for Israel as well.
kings men thinking
We (Israelis) always think that we're at the center of everything. It's true that we didn't make peace with Egypt and Jordan, but with two men, President Sadat and King Hussein. It is possible that we will have to restructure the peace and our relations (so that they are) between one people and another.
giving-up long want
We could have made peace with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad a long time ago. It didn't happen, because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't want to give up the Golan (Heights).
world earth imagine
If the region truly becomes democratic, an undemocratic bit of earth would remain here. It's hard to imagine that the world, especially the Arab world, would tolerate this.
giving-up want territory
Netanyahu adheres to his old position: He doesn't want a Palestinian state, and he doesn't want to give up the settlements and the occupied territories. Pressure from abroad is the only way to change anything.
mistake thinking uprising
I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad for both sides. But I don't think the forces are there (that could carry out) an uprising against the leadership. The people that could initiate it are in Israeli prisons. And what could they hope to achieve? In the end, they're too weak to end the Israeli occupation.