Breaking the Iron Wall: How Avi Shlaim Came to Reject Zionism

Palestine Deep Dive

Celebrated historian Avi Shlaim, once a committed Zionist, reveals the personal and historical journey that led him to reject the ideology.

From his childhood as an Arab Jew in Iraq to his response to the genocide in Gaza, Shlaim dismantles long-held myths about Israel’s creation.

He also exposes how he has been largely excluded from interviews on the mainstream media throughout the duration of the genocide. Genocide in Gaza: Israel’s Long War on Palestine is published by The Irish Pages Press. The book can be ordered directly at the publisher’s website.

In the discussion about the media in Britain, Avi stated that he has not been interviewed by the BBC. He was referring to the BBC in mainland Britain, but would like to clarify that BBC Northern Ireland interviewed him in 2025 for the Radio Ulster TalkBack programme with William Crawley.

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Avi Shlaim is an historian and author, and is a Emeritus Fellow of St Antonys College and a Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the University of Oxford.

Ahmed Alnaouq is a Palestinian journalist from Gaza.