Simha Flapan

Simha Flapan was an Israeli historian and politician. He is known for his book The Birth of Israel: Myths And Realities, published in the year of his death.

Biography

Simha Flapan was born in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Congress Poland. He died on 13 April 1987 in Israel.

Political activism

Flapan was National Secretary of the left Zionist Mapam party, and the director of its Arab Affairs department from 1959 to the mid-1970s; he also edited New Outlook magazine—a non-party monthly that promoted Arab-Jewish rapprochement.

Views and opinions

Flapan was one of the New Historians, a term coined by Benny Morris in the 1980s. In the preface to Zionism and the Palestinians, Flapan writes:
Flapan's personal and professional archives are located at Yad Yaari, Hashomer Hatzair Research and Documentation Center at Givat Haviva.