Robin Moss
A History of Israel’s Conflict(s): 1973-1995

Since before its founding, and right up to today, Israel has been defined by conflict. In this series, we try to tell the story of Israel’s multiple fights against its multiple enemies — “conflicts within a conflict” — in as fair-minded and non-tendentious a way as possible. Everything about the conflict is contested, even down to the very name! (Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Israeli-Arab conflict? Conflict in the Middle East? Israel’s conflict against the terrorists?) So we will tread carefully, try to engage with multiple perspectives, and hope to end up with more knowledge and a greater depth of understanding of this most divisive of conflicts.

After the Yom Kippur War, a new Israeli order emerged. As internal politics shifted from left to right, Israel found itself fighting wars in places the IDF had never before deployed (Lebanon) and making peace with adversaries considered implacable just months before (Egypt). As Israeli leaders won Nobel Peace Prizes, some within Israel saw this not as cause for celebration but of deep betrayal.

This lecture is presented in association with Etgar, a Jewish and Israel education programme in the UK. etgar.co.uk.