BOOKS
673
the birth of the Jewish state; once this course of action failed, it tried to
shrink the new state to microscopic proportions.
But the ultimate question remains: Will the New Historians' distor–
tions win the day? Will their interpretation of history,
in
other words,
eventually displace the traditional interpretation? Although Karsh does not
dwell on this question, he appears to be worried by this prospect. While he
is certainly right to be concerned, the long-term fate of the New Historians
may not be all that bright. Mter all, most contemporary Israeli historians
who have researched the same topics do not endorse their views. Besides,
the New Historians may well have planted the seeds of their own destruc–
tion by launching
ad hominem
attacks on these historians. The New
Historians, in fact, have regularly accused many of their peers of being part
of some sort of bizarre academic plot to whitewash Zionist and Israeli his–
tory, and they have grossly misrepresented the methods and conclusions of
their peers to sustain this ridiculous charge. Intellectual counterattacks like
Karsh's are the inevitable response to this sort of unseemly behavior.
Indeed, he is not the first scholar to challenge the New Historians. A num–
ber of other historians-including Itamar Rabinovich, Avraham Sela,
Shabtai Teveth, and Shlomo Slonirn-have already contested the methods
and conclusions of this school. More critiques will undoubtedly follow.
Only time will tell, of course, whether the New Historians-like an
exploding star that eventually dims and fades out of sight under the forces
of nature---succumb to the assaults of their cri tics. If they do disappear from
the scene, Karsh's book will surely have played a significant role in their
demise. Whatever the future holds for the New Historians, though, nobody
interested
in
their views can afford to bypass Karsh's insightful work.
DAVID RODMAN
Three Kinds of History
KYRIE. By Ellen Bryant Voigt.
W W Norton $17.95
THE
POST OFFICE MURALS RESTORED. By Robert B. Shaw.
Copper
Beech Press. $11.00
SELVA MORALE. By John Peck.
Carcanet Press. $9 .95
These three books share a broad concern with the matter of history. But
each author understands it differently. For the various speakers
in
Voigt's
Kyrie,
the issue is to preserve the daily, concrete ties of love and duty among
