Idith Zertal (born 1945) is an Israeli historian, considered one of the "

New Historians The New Historians ( he, ההיסטוריונים החדשים, ''HaHistoryonim HaChadashim'') are a loosely defined group of Israeli historians who have challenged traditional versions of Israeli history, including Israel's role in the 1948 Pal ...

Career

After a career in journalism, Zertal began a career as a professor of history and cultural anthropology at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

. She has been a visiting professor at several universities, including the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and the

School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and ''grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The ...

in Paris. Zertal is considered one of the

. In ''From Catastrophe to Power'', she examined Zionist immigration policy after the end of World War II for survivors of Nazi extermination camps, and in particular the divergence of interests between the Jewish community in Palestine and the survivors. According to her, while Zionist organizations acted in the interests of the victims of the

Final Solution The Final Solution (german: die Endlösung, ) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (german: Endlösung der Judenfrage, ) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to th ...

, there was also a political instrumentalization of this suffering in order to fight the immigration quotas imposed by Great Britain. Zertal highlights another fault line: that between the Jewish diaspora and the Jews of Palestine, the latter of whom, according to her, were filled with remorse for not having done enough to save the Jews of Europe. In ''Israel's Holocaust and the Politics of Nationhood'', she questions the place of the Holocaust in the discourse and politics of Israel. In particular, she accuses the Jewish state of instantiating the Holocaust to justify "the abuses of the Palestinians". She also wrote a book critical of the occupation of the

Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...

, ''

Lords of the Land ''Lords of the Land: The War for Israel's Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007'' by Idith Zertal and Akiva Eldar () is a book explaining how Israel is changing the current demographic formula at the occupied territories through buildi ...

'', together with

Akiva Eldar Akiva Eldar ( he, עקיבא אלדר; born 27 November 1945) is a political analyst, author and contributor to Israeli daily Haaretz. He was chief political columnist, editorial writer and US Bureau Chief for the paper,Meretz Meretz ( he, מֶרֶצ, ) is a left-wing political party in Israel. The party was formed in 1992 by the merger of Ratz, Mapam and Shinui, and was at its peak between 1992 and 1996 when it had 12 seats. It currently has no seats in the Knesset ...

and ranked 86th on the party's list for the 2013 legislative election. A critic of politics in Israel, Zertal has spoken out in favor of the refusenik movement that refuses to serve in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in favor of a boycott of Israeli companies active in the West Bank, and against the recognition of anti-Semitism in anti-Zionism.

Bibliography

* ''From Catastrophe to Power: The Holocaust Survivors and the Emergence of Israel'', Berkeley, University of California Press, 1998, * ''Israel's Holocaust and the Politics of Nationhood'', Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2005, *''

: The War Over Israel's Settlements in the Occupied Territories, 1967-2007'', with

Akiva Eldar Akiva Eldar ( he, עקיבא אלדר; born 27 November 1945) is a political analyst, author and contributor to Israeli daily Haaretz. He was chief political columnist, editorial writer and US Bureau Chief for the paper,New Historians 1945 births Living people 20th-century Israeli historians 20th-century Israeli women writers 21st-century Israeli historians 21st-century Israeli women writers Israeli women non-fiction writers Women historians {{Israel-historian-stub