Benny Morris

Benny Morris is an Israeli historian and author. His books include 1948: A History of the First Arab–Israeli War (Yale UP, 2008) and most recently Sidney Reilly: Master Spy (Yale UP, 2022).

10 Posts

A Pontian man wears traditional costume during a ceremony.

Erdogan’s Hypocrisy

While routinely declaring that Israel’s behaviour toward Hamas is genocidal, Erdogan has consistently denied the real genocides carried out by Turkey.

Benny Morris

22 Apr 2024 · 8 min read

Iranian men burn Israeli flag in Tehran .

Iran Contra Israel

The Iranian missile strike against Israel marks a watershed moment in the Middle East conflict, even though it was unsuccessful.

Benny Morris

16 Apr 2024 · 8 min read

The NYT Misrepresents the History of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict

A welter of factual errors and misleading judgments has produced a distorted description of the 1948 War.

Benny Morris

27 Feb 2024 · 12 min read

Israel’s Occupation of Gaza in 1956–57

Many of the questions that have arisen since October 7 have been raised before.

Benny Morris

13 Jan 2024 · 12 min read

Israel’s Grim Future: Attrition on All Fronts

The Jewish state is facing security threats from groups based in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Yemen—all of them supported by Iran.

Benny Morris

16 Dec 2023 · 10 min read

Muslim Antisemitism and the Western Left

The pro-Hamas demonstrations are driven by the identification of Israel with “colonialism” and the idea that the Palestinians are anti-colonialists. This approach is based on ignorance.

Benny Morris

7 Nov 2023 · 9 min read

Podcast #227: The October 7 Terrorist Attacks: a Historical Perspective

Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay talks to influential Israeli historian Benny Morris about Hamas’ acts of mass murder, the Israeli response, and the future of Gaza.

Quillette / Benny Morris

1 Nov 2023 · 15 min read

What Comes Next For Israel?

Today's political and military leaders never imagined that the Hamas was capable of launching a successful invasion of Israel's borderlands.

Benny Morris

23 Oct 2023 · 8 min read

PODCAST 127: Historian Benny Morris on the Forgotten 19th-Century Genocide of Turkey's Christians

Quillette / Benny Morris

8 Dec 2020 · 19 min read

My Military Jail-Time in Israel

In combat, the IDF was more disciplined, which accounts for its battlefield successes—though these probably also owed a lot to the character and quality of the armies they had faced.

Benny Morris

5 Oct 2020 · 19 min read