Israeli Television's Fiftieth Anniversary "Tekumma" Series: A Post-Zionist View?

In a series of three articles published in these pages, I tried to describe the post-Zionist phenomenon: an academic and cultural critique of Zionism from within Israel. The three articles touched only slightly on the extent to which this critique has been disseminated in Israeli society and affected general attitudes toward the Arab world and the Palestinians. The screening of a recent documentary series on Israel's history, broadcast on the country's official television channel, provides one of the first opportunities to gauge the potential impact of post-Zionism on a wider public. The series, "Tekumma," has been proudly presented as the centerpiece of Israeli Television's efforts to participate in the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary jubilee.

Ilan Pappé , professor of political science at Haifa University and academic head of the Institute for Peace Research Givat Haviva, is the author of The Making of the Arab-Israeli conflict, 1947-1051, among other works.