Genocide Scholar Examines Israel's Transformation in New Book
In his newly published work, Israeli-born Holocaust historian Omer Bartov presents a detailed examination of how Israel transformed from a hopeful nation into what he describes as a state embracing "settler colonialism and ethno-nationalism." The Brown University professor, who teaches a popular course on the Holocaust and the Nakba, brings both personal experience and scholarly expertise to this critical analysis.
From Liberation Movement to Extremist Ideology
Bartov traces the evolution of Zionism from its original conception as a movement for Jewish liberation and emancipation to its current manifestation as an extremist ideology. He identifies two key strands that have always existed within Zionism: one focused on settler-colonial ethno-nationalism, and another dedicated to the rescue and emancipation of a persecuted minority.
The professor argues that while Zionism predates the Holocaust by decades, it was the murder of six million Jews that transformed it from a theoretical concept into a viable political project. "If the Jews had had a state of their own," Bartov explains, "they would have escaped this unspeakable horror, and this was not an entirely vacuous argument."
The Critical Turning Point
According to Bartov, the fundamental problem emerged after Israel declared independence in 1948. "When the state decides that it's not going to be a normal state, it's not going to have a constitution, it's not going to define its borders, it's not going to try and have a normal relationship with its own Palestinian citizens," he states, "then its nature changes."
The historian identifies what he calls the "original sin" of Israel's founding: the resistance to granting meaningful legal weight to the promises contained in the nation's declaration of independence, coupled with the founders' failure to adopt a national constitution and bill of rights. Bartov contends that had Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, pursued either approach, the nascent state might have developed into the liberal democracy it has long claimed to be.
Personal Perspective and Professional Analysis
Bartov brings unique credentials to this discussion. Both his parents were devoted Zionists who fought in the 1948 war, and Bartov himself served four years in the Israel Defense Forces, commanding an infantry company in the West Bank, northern Sinai, and Gaza. After earning a doctorate in history at Oxford, he became a highly regarded genocide scholar, publishing ten books about the Holocaust.
Living in the United States for more than three decades has given Bartov what he calls the necessary distance to analyze Israel's actions in Gaza. "I think it's very hard to be dispassionate when you're there," he notes, invoking a line from a beloved Israeli pop ballad that former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon once quoted: "What you can see from there, you can't see from here."
Addressing Current Conflicts
Bartov made headlines in July 2025 with a New York Times essay titled "I'm a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It," in which he applied the term genocide to Israel's assault on Gaza. His declaration cost him several close relationships, though subsequent events have validated his analysis, according to the professor.
The scholar is particularly critical of how the memory of the Holocaust has been instrumentalized for political purposes, becoming "a vast fig leaf" that combines "self-victimization and self-pity with self-righteousness, hubris and the euphoria of power."
Pathways to Peace
Despite his condemnation of present-day Israeli society, Bartov identifies a narrow path toward peaceful coexistence with neighbors. He devotes a section of his book to the confederation plan championed by Israeli and Palestinian intellectuals called A Land for All, a version of which was originally considered by the United Nations in 1947.
Under this scheme, sovereign and independent Palestinian and Jewish states would exist side by side, divided roughly along pre-1967 borders. Citizens of both entities would be allowed to live and travel freely throughout the combined territory while voting only in their own national elections.
Changing International Dynamics
Bartov points to shifting American attitudes as potentially transformative. As a result of the Gaza conflict, a clear majority of Democratic voters now have a negative view of Israel, while recent U.S.-Israeli actions against Iran have eroded Republican support. "Maga is becoming anti-Israel," Bartov observes, due to what he describes as Israeli leadership leading American politicians "into a completely idiotic war."
The professor argues that America's indulgence of its longstanding Middle East ally may be reaching its limits. Should the United States withhold military support, "Israel will have to go through a process of coming to terms with itself," Bartov predicts. Under such circumstances, the country would have no choice but to pursue diplomacy, which ironically might represent the nation's best hope for a peaceful and prosperous future.
Personal Consequences and Publishing Challenges
Bartov's outspokenness has come with personal costs. "Many of my best friends are in Israel – at least they were my best friends until recently," he acknowledges. "I don't know now. So there's also a personal sorrow here."
His new book is being published in nine or ten languages, but Hebrew is not among them. Even left-leaning Israeli publishers declined the work, possibly because, as Bartov suggests, "they feel that I'm this Israeli living in America in an air-conditioned room, as they say, sipping espresso, while they're suffering."
Bartov's analysis raises fundamental questions about Israel's trajectory and the possibilities for change. As the scholar himself notes, if the Israeli public cannot access his work, how can they hope to see from their perspective what he has come to understand from his vantage point abroad?
