I am always amazed by the convoluted creativity of some writers who are dealing with issues concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Paul Wagner (“U.S Wrong on Israel,” Jan. 7 letters) writes that “the international community delivered a stinging rebuke to Israel’s settlement construction.” The Israeli policy on settlements construction is certainly a topic that is an integral part of the peace process and of the question of the two-state solution.

But Mr. Wagner uses the opportunity to raise the libel accusation of “ethnic cleansing of Palestine.” In support of this statement he quotes Ilan Pappe, whom he describes as “a highly respected Israeli historian.” As a matter of fact, Ilan Pappe belongs to a fringe group known as the New Historians. The New Historians argue that Zionism was at best an aggressive and expansionist national movement and at worst an offshoot of European imperialism. As such, it was responsible for the Palestinian tragedy, the continuing Arab-Israeli conflict and even the Middle East’s violent history.

They dismiss the fact of hostile Arab armies seeking to destroy Israel at its inception as a Zionist myth. In support of their political agenda they systematically distort the actual evidence to invent a “new” Israeli history. The fallacy in their arguments has been shown by the works of a number of Israeli scholars such as Itamar Rabinovich, Avraham Sela, Shabtai Teveth and others. I found it interesting that the former “guru” of the New Historians, Benny Morris, has significantly modified his early claims that Israel was the cause of the Palestinian refugee problem.

I have maintained that there is no doubt the Palestinians should have a state for no other reason than this is the only pragmatic solution.

RAM KOSSOWSKY
Oakland

First Published: January 16, 2015, 5:00 a.m.