Origins & Early Life

Avi Shlaim (Hebrew: אבי שליים; Arabic: أفي شلايم; born 31 October 1945) is an Israeli and British historian of Iraqi Jewish descent. He is one of Israel's "New Historians", a group of Israeli scholars who put forward critical interpretations of the history of Zionism and Israel. Born in 1945, his family emigrated to Israel in 1951 during Operation Ezra and Nehemiah. He later moved to England in 1966 and studied and taught international relations at the University of Reading.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

He began studying the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 1982, when 1948 Arab–Israeli War archives were unclassified by the Israeli government. Shlaim has an extensive bibliography and has contributed to various newspapers and publishers. Shlaim’s scholarship has been praised by historians and commentators, including Norman Finkelstein, Benny Morris and Anne Irfan, especially for his use of newly available sources and reinterpretation of Israeli history, Zionism and Palestine. Others like Yoav Gelber, Joseph Heller and Efraim Karsh say his conclusions reflect political bias that leads to flaws in his methodology and interpretation. Shlaim was born in 1945 in Baghdad, Kingdom of Iraq, into a wealthy...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Alan Mulally — Contemporary (Born in 1945) (1945): Aerospace executive credited with revitalizing Boeing and saving Ford Motor Company.
• Anne Frank — Contemporary (Died in 1945) (1945): German-born diarist whose secret writings documented life in hiding during the Holocaust.
• Anne Murray — Contemporary (Born in 1945) (1945): Pioneering Canadian country and pop vocalist with a 40-year global career.
• Alexander Borodin — Shared historical date (10-31 · Born) (1833): Russian Romantic composer, chemist, and physician known for 'Prince Igor' and symphonies.
• B. H. Liddell Hart — Shared historical date (10-31 · Born) (1895): Influential British military theorist advocating the 'indirect approach' in warfare.
• Anselm Kiefer — Historical peer (Born in 1945) (1945): German painter and sculptor confronting German history, the Holocaust, and myth.
• Anton Webern — Historical peer (Died in 1945) (1945): Radical modernist composer of the Second Viennese School, known for atonal and twelve-tone techniques.
• Abanindranath Tagore — Historical peer (Died in 1951) (1951): Pioneering figure of the Bengal School, modernizing Indian art against Western influence.
• André Gide — Historical peer (Died in 1951) (1951): Pioneering French author, Nobel laureate known for exploring selfhood and transgression.
• A. R. Rahman — Historical peer (Born in 1966) (1966): Visionary Indian composer celebrated for blending global sounds with cinematic emotion.
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