Martin Kramer is The Washington Institute's Walter P. Stern Fellow and author of one of its most widely read monographs, Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America.
Articles & Testimony
It has long been accepted that Israel's founders settled two burning issues in closely decided votes just days before the state's birth, but that conventional wisdom is only half right.
This year's 70th anniversary of Israel's independence invites a reappraisal of May 12, 1948. Once we dispense with the story of the vote that didn't happen, and focus on the vote that did, May 12 emerges as a microcosm of the modern history of Israel. The territorial extent of the state has always been a question, one that divides Israel almost down the middle. It can be resolved only by a democratic process. That process was inaugurated by the vote on May 12 seven decades ago, and continues to this day...
To read the full article, download the PDF above. This essay was originally published on the Mosaic website.
