On October 22, the renowned Israeli historian Ilan Pappé will release a major new book with Beacon Press, titled “Israel on the Brink: And the Eight Revolutions that Could Lead to Decolonization and Coexistence.”
Ilan Pappé is an Israeli historian, political scientist, and former politician, best known for his controversial research within Israel about the country’s modern history and its relationship with Palestine. As one of the most prominent members of the so-called “New Historians” — Israeli scholars who challenge the official Zionist narrative — Pappé has published works that critically reassess Israel’s founding myths.
His most famous book, “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” (2006), argues that the mass expulsion of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War was not an accident of war, but rather a premeditated and organized plan by Zionist leaders.
After teaching for over two decades at the University of Haifa, Pappé faced mounting hostility for his views, including threats and public condemnation, which eventually forced him to leave Israel in 2007. He has since served as Professor of History at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom.
A former member of Israel’s Hadash (Communist) Party, Pappé ran for the Knesset in 1996 and 1999. He is a staunch advocate of a one-state democratic solution for Israelis and Palestinians and an active supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Among his key publications are “A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples” (2003) and “Ten Myths About Israel” (2017).
A Timely Analysis of an Unraveling State
In this forthcoming book, Pappé argues that Israel is fracturing from within, and explores the critical questions that must be addressed to envision a peaceful future for both Palestinians and Jews.
With the rise of the most right-wing government in Israel’s history in 2022, the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and the ensuing Israeli war on Gaza, Pappé contends that Israel’s long-latent internal divisions have dangerously deepened — potentially to the point of collapse.
Seeking a roadmap for a peaceful transition, Pappé presents his thoughts on both the risks and opportunities emerging from this historic moment. He proposes that eight “small revolutions” will be required to build a more just and hopeful future. These include:
- Placing the right of return for Palestinian refugees at the heart of any new vision.
- Redefining what it means to be part of the Jewish community in historic Palestine.
- Developing a comprehensive plan for the future of Jewish settlements built in the West Bank since 1997.
- Establishing a unified Palestinian national movement with a coherent strategy for liberation and coexistence.
Pappé envisions a decolonized, democratic state for both Palestinians and Israelis — and outlines practical steps for realizing it.
Structure and Themes of the Book
The book is divided into three main parts:
- Part I examines the failure of the so-called “peace process” and the early signs of what Pappé describes as the beginning of the end of Israel.
- Part II introduces seven intellectual and political mini-revolutions that must occur for the transformation from a collapsing state to a new, just order to succeed. Drawing on insights from a younger Palestinian generation, Pappé identifies unanswered questions and points to emerging activists capable of providing new solutions. These answers, he writes, will become the building blocks of a new political and moral architecture founded on equality and justice.
- Part III presents the eighth and final revolution — an act of imagination. Speaking as an Israeli Jew who has dedicated his life to the Palestinian cause, Pappé argues that academics cannot simply observe the disintegration of Israel or theorize institutional change from a distance; they must help others envision life after decolonization — not as an abstract ideal, but as a tangible and hopeful reality.
He insists that Palestinians, Israelis, and those seeking to return and live together in Palestine can transform a century of ethnic cleansing, occupation, and now genocide, into a new century of hope and reconciliation. This requires, above all, the capacity to imagine what that new reality will look like.
The book concludes with fictional diaries set in a post-Israel Palestine of 2048, blending speculative narratives with current reflections — emphasizing that there can be no genuine future for humanity without imagination, hope, and concrete action.
Excerpts from Chapter One
“The road from a state on the brink of dissolution may be short indeed. States rarely end suddenly — perhaps ‘end’ is too definitive a term. Most states transform, sometimes radically. History offers examples of both total disappearances, such as South Vietnam and Yugoslavia, and of regimes that collapsed yet re-emerged under new systems — like South Africa or Chile.
Israel’s potential downfall could combine both models: the erasure of a state and the replacement of an ideological regime. I believe both elements are unfolding — and faster than most people can comprehend.”
Pappé explains that the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, Israel’s internal social collapse following the 2022 elections, and the brutal Gaza war have collectively exposed unprecedented fragility in Israel’s structure.
He raises the central question now occupying both critics and defenders of Israel alike:
“Will Israel remain a Jewish state in the future?”
Palestinians and their supporters answer no, envisioning the end of Israel and the emergence of a free Palestine. Many Israelis, by contrast, see such an outcome as apocalyptic, not only for Israel but for Jews worldwide.
Pappé cautions that both emotional responses ignore the complex and potentially violent transitions that precede such historical transformations. If unaddressed, Palestinians — as the occupied and dispossessed — are likely to bear the heaviest cost.
“As a historian, I can say that Israel’s disintegration has already begun. The collapse of any geopolitical entity creates a vacuum. The key question is not whether Israel will fall, but what and who will fill that void. The faster it is filled, the less violent the disintegration process will be.”
He adds that these developments will have far-reaching consequences beyond Israel–Palestine, affecting Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and even more distant states like Yemen, Sudan, and Libya, all of which are already experiencing profound instability.
From Apocalypse to Transformation
While Pappé acknowledges the temptation to frame Israel’s decline in apocalyptic terms — a narrative long popular among Christian evangelicals and Jewish messianists — he offers instead a vision of renewal.
“It is possible to present a more optimistic assessment — one that views Israel’s inevitable disintegration not as an end, but as an opening for building a better future for everyone in historic Palestine.”
He describes his motivation for writing the book as twofold:
- Academic observation — identifying multiple independent processes that, when viewed together, reveal a pattern of irreversible systemic collapse.
- Moral commitment — offering a hopeful and constructive framework amid despair, destruction, and global indifference to ongoing atrocities.
Pappé expresses dismay at the silence and complicity of Western governments despite daily, live-streamed evidence of war crimes in Gaza. He calls this moment a reckoning — one that demands a complete reevaluation of Western policies toward Israel, Zionism, Palestinian resistance, and the broader prospects for peace in the Arab world.
He urges all relevant actors — Palestinian factions, Israeli and diaspora Jewish communities, Christian institutions, and even multinational corporations and arms industries — to reassess their roles and responsibilities in shaping the post-colonial future.
“The collapse of Israel is not a political stance; it is an objective process already underway. The question is not whether to support or oppose it, but how to guide it toward justice and equality.”
He concludes that the Zionist project — a century-long Western attempt, led by Britain, to implant a Jewish state in an Arab land — has run its course.
“The only viable future for the Jewish population in historic Palestine lies in embracing equality within a decolonized, democratic Palestine. I believe that many will ultimately choose this path.”
