From Time Immemorial

Front cover of From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine is a 1984 book by Joan Peters about demographics of the Arab population of Palestine before the formation of the State of Israel . According to the book a large fraction of the Arabs of Palestine were not descendants of long-term residents of Palestine at the time of the formation of Israel in 1948, but had arrived in waves of immigration starting in the 19th century and continuing through the period of the British Mandate . The book was lauded by some reviewers upon release but has since come to be heavily criticized by experts in the field. Yehoshua Porath , Professor of Middle East History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem , wrote in a 1985 review in The New York Times that the book was "sheer forgery".

Front cover of From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine is a controversial 1984 book by Joan Peters about the demographics of the Arab population of Palestine and of the Jewish population of the Arab world before and after the formation of the State of Israel . According to the book a large fraction of the Arabs of Palestine were not descendants of natives of Palestine at the time of the formation of Israel in 1948, but had arrived in waves of immigration starting in the 19th century and continuing through the period of the British Mandate . At the same time a much larger number of Jews, according to the author, to the Arabs fleeing Palestine, were driven out of the Arab countries and became refugees in Israel. Peters contends that what is referred to the 1948 Palestinian exodus is actually a population exchange that resulted from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War . When the book was published, it was acclaimed by mainstream critics, including Robert St. A short time later, the book's central claims were attacked by Norman Finkelstein . Other critics, including Noam Chomsky , Edward Said and Yehoshua Porath , followed Finkelstein's criticism and called the book "ludicrous", "worthless" and a "forgery". Some historians rejected the central thesis. Other historians, such as Barbara W. Tuchman and Daniel Pipes , accepted the book's central thesis and claimed that weaknesses in the book do not undermine that thesis.

Front cover of From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab–Jewish Conflict over Palestine From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab–Jewish Conflict over Palestine is a 1984 book by Joan Peters about the demographics of the Arab population of Palestine and of the Jewish population of the Arab world before and after the formation of the State of Israel . When the book was published, it was initially acclaimed by mainstream reviewers, such as Barbara W. A short time later, the book's central claims were contradicted by Norman Finkelstein , then a PhD student at Princeton University, who argued that Peters misrepresented or misunderstood the statistics on which she based her thesis. Finkelstein noted that many of the statistics Peters cited were in Turkish, a language that Peters could not read. Finkelstein also mocked as a racist absurdity Peters's argument that, because Palestinians ranged so much in skin tone, from fair skinned to dark brown skinned, that they could not be descended from the same land. Various reviewers from across the political spectrum subsequently endorsed Finkelstein's findings that Peters's statistical analysis was faulty, and by the time the book was released in Britain, the book was widely regarded as wrongheaded at best and a fraud at worst, including by historians that were politically conservative or supportive of Israel. Ian Gilmour , a former British Secretary of State for Defence , ridiculed the book as "pretentious and preposterous" and argued that Peters had repeatedly misrepresented demographic statistics, while Israeli historian Yehoshua Porath called it "sheer forgery." Daniel Pipes , who had initially praised the book prior to Finkelstein's analysis, subsequently stated that "From Time Immemorial quotes carelessly, uses statistics sloppily, and ignores inconvenient facts. . . The author's linguistic and scholarly abilities are open to question. . . In short, From Time Immemorial stands out as an appallingly crafted book." Though the book is largely regarded as discredited in academic circles, it has had a politically significant legacy. Its central thesis, that Palestinians are not actually indigenous to the land, but the descendants of Arab immigrants from surrounding countries, is a popular trope in contemporary Israeli politics. In 2004, From Time Immemorial was the subject of another academic controversy , when Finkelstein accused Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz of largely plagiarizing his book The Case for Israel from it. London Review of Books . 7 (2): 8– 10 .

1984 book by Joan Peters For the expression, see Time immemorial . From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab–Jewish Conflict over Palestine is a 1984 book by Joan Peters , published by Harper & Row , about the demographics of the Arab population of Palestine and of the Jewish population of the Arab world before and after the formation of the State of Israel . It was initially positively received by reviewers such as Barbara W. A short time later, the book's central claims were contradicted by Norman Finkelstein , then a PhD student at Princeton University , who argued that Peters misrepresented or misunderstood the statistics on which she based her thesis. Reputable scholars and reviewers from across the political spectrum have since discredited the central claims of Peters's book. By the time the 1985 British edition was reviewed, the book was widely regarded as wrongheaded at best and a fraud at worst, including by historians that were politically conservative or supportive of Israel. Ian Gilmour , a former British Secretary of State for Defence , ridiculed the book as "pretentious and preposterous" and argued that Peters had repeatedly misrepresented demographic statistics, while Israeli historian Yehoshua Porath called it "sheer forgery." In 2004, From Time Immemorial was the subject of another academic controversy , when Finkelstein accused Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz of largely plagiarizing his book The Case for Israel from it. Gilmour, Ian & Gilmour, David (February 7, 1985). London Review of Books . 7 (2): 8– 10 .

1984 book by Joan Peters For the expression, see Time immemorial . From Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab–Jewish Conflict over Palestine is a 1984 book by Joan Peters , published by Harper & Row , about the demographics of the Arab population of Palestine and of the Jewish population of the Arab world before and after the formation of the State of Israel . It was initially positively received by reviewers such as Barbara W. A short time later, the book's central claims were contradicted by Norman Finkelstein , then a PhD student at Princeton University , who argued that Peters misrepresented or misunderstood the statistics on which she based her thesis. Reputable scholars and reviewers from across the political spectrum have since discredited the central claims of Peters's book. By the time the 1985 British edition was reviewed, the book received mixed reviews being regarded by some as wrongheaded at best and fraudulent at worst and by others as groundbreaking. Ian Gilmour , a former British Secretary of State for Defence , ridiculed the book as "pretentious and preposterous" and argued that Peters had repeatedly misrepresented demographic statistics, while Israeli historian Yehoshua Porath called it "sheer forgery". In 2004, From Time Immemorial was the subject of another academic controversy , when Finkelstein accused Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz of largely plagiarizing his book The Case for Israel from it. Gilmour, Ian & Gilmour, David (February 7, 1985). London Review of Books . 7 (2): 8– 10 .