The Massacre That Never Was

"On April 9, 1948, forces of the Etzel and Lehi Jewish underground military organizations attacked the Arab village of Deir Yassin west of Jerusalem. The nature of this attack became one of the most controversial issues in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Professor Eliezer Tauber’s serious and in-depth research sheds light on this event, as we discover what really happened at Deir Yassin. In The Massacre That Never Was, a work of engrossing narrative and exhaustive research, Professor Eliezer Tauber proves that no massacre of Palestinians took place in the village of Deir Yassin in 1948, exploding a myth that has been the cornerstone of the Palestinian narrative for seven decades. Reconstructing a fierce ten-hour battle through a meticulous analysis of Arab and Jewish testimony and documents from 1948 that are still closed to the public, Professor Tauber persuasively demonstrates that the massacre narrative was a myth intentionally invented by the Arab leadership of 1948 Jerusalem. Furthermore, the subsequent false rumors surrounding the event exacerbated the mass exodus of Arabs from Palestine, thus creating the refugee crisis and fueling propaganda against Israel, which has shaped the world’s understanding of the affair to this day. A timely work of historical reappraisal, The Massacre That Never Was will have a major impact on how we understand Israeli and Palestinian history."