Israel’s endless wars

Avi Shlaim (Fellow of the British Academy) is an Israeli‑British historian of Iraqi Jewish origin and a leading figure among Israel’s “New Historians”. Born in Baghdad and displaced to Israel in 1951, he later moved to England, studying at Cambridge, LSE and Reading. His academic career spans Reading University and the University of Oxford, where he became Professor of International Relations and an Emeritus Fellow of St Antony’s College. Shlaim’s work on the Arab–Israeli conflict is noted for its rigorous use of newly opened archives and its critical reassessment of Zionism and Israeli state formation. His scholarship has drawn both high praise and strong critique, reflecting his influence on debates about Israel–Palestine. A frequent media commentator, he continues to write and teach on Middle Eastern affairs.