A boulevard (esplanade) in Paris to be named after Ben-Gurion. Ilan Pappe writes to the Mayor

Dear Mr. Delanoé !

On the face of it one can understand the wish of the Counsel of Paris to honour David Ben Gurion with a boulevard. He was the founding father of the state of Israel and its prime minister for many years. And indeed as mentioned in the communique he was responsible for the development of good relationship with France in the attempt to topple President Gamal Abdul Nasser in 1956 and oversaw the improvement of the military and strategic ties between the two countries up to 1967. And one can see how the supporters of Israel in the Jewish community and beyond would welcome such a move. But I am writing to you today to consider the other side of the argument. One which to my mind outweighs the positive reasons for such a decision. David Ben Gurion was the architect of, and the mastermind behind, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948. An operation that begot the Palestinian problem as we know it today and dragged not only Arabs and Jews into an endless and bloody conflict, but the Middle East as a whole.

He was not alone but he was the most important figure in the systematic expulsion of almost one million Palestinians from their houses, fields and homeland. He also oversaw the demolition of thundreds of their villages and dozens of their towns and personally ordered their transformation into either Jewish settlements or recreational parks.

He then oversaw the imposition of a ruthless and cruel military rule over the Palestinian minority left in Israel, which included the expropriation of their lands, the exile of many and the Kafar Qassim massacre of November 1956 in which dozens of innocent Palestinian were killled by the Israeli border police.

Had contemporary Israel come to terms with the criminal side of his policies and strategies, as did the White community in Apartheid South Africa, then one could consider some sort of a more comprehensive commemoration of the man and his achievements. But as this crime, the Palestinian Nakbah, is still denied today by official Israel, that act of calling an avenue after him would mean accepting and legitimizing the denial. This would undoubtedly seem as an offensive and insensitive act to the vast majority of your citizens, regardless of their ethnicity, religion or cultural affiliation.

I beseech you as an activist and as a historian of the Nakbah, born in Israel and teaching today in the United Kingdom rethink that decision and leave it until both Palestinians and Israelis would be able to face the unpleasant past and reconcile. Any other decision would alas contribute to the continuation of the conflict and cast a doubt on French politicians’ sincere commitment to peace.

Yours sincerely,
Professor Ilan Pappe
Director
The European Centre for Palestine Studies
Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies
University of Exeter
United Kingdom
(Thanks v)