Jonathan Leaf, Commentary Magazine, February 2024
Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, one figure has been most ubiquitous and most determined in his assertions that Israel is actually to blame: British academic Avi Shlaim.
His op-eds or his comments have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, EL PAÍS (Spain), Al-Quds, the Wire, the Irish Times, the Islam Channel, the Africa News Network, Prospect, the Times Higher Education Magazine, NPR, and the Daily Mail. They have appeared in Apple podcasts. They have been featured in TikTok videos. Vogue is recommending his books. The message presented is always the same. Shlaim patiently explains to his many followers that Hamas is “not a terrorist organization.” In order to understand this, though, people need to understand the “hidden” history of Israel, one that Shlaim—perhaps alone—can supply.
All this prompts one to wonder: How does an academic come to be a fixture on chat shows and a frequent columnist in the world’s leading newspapers and magazines? To realize such celebrity, a college professor must first persuade others of vaunted expertise on some important matter. Yet presentation is more important than credibility. And more critical than either is what Gypsy Rose Lee offered audiences: a gimmick. The striptease must then be performed in a novel—or seemingly original—manner designed to titillate the appropriate crowd. …SOURCE