Yehoshua Porath facts for kids
Yehoshua Porath (born January 13, 1938 – died November 24, 2019) was an important historian from Israel. He was a professor who taught about the history of the Middle East.
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Academic Career
Yehoshua Porath taught history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He focused on the history of Palestinian nationalism. This is the story of how the Palestinian people developed their sense of identity.
Professor Porath won special awards for his books. These included the Landau Prize and the Ben-Zvi Prize. He also researched other interesting topics, such as:
- How communism affected Arab communities in Israel.
- A farmers' revolt in Lebanon between 1858 and 1860.
- The relationship between Palestine, Arab unity, and British policy from 1930 to 1945.
Political Views
Yehoshua Porath was also involved in politics. He was part of the Meretz political party in the 1992 Israeli elections for the Knesset. The Knesset is like Israel's parliament or main law-making body.
Later, his political ideas changed. He did not support the Oslo Accords, which were peace agreements between the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) and Israel. In the 1996 elections, he supported the Likud party and Benjamin Netanyahu for prime minister.
His change in views happened because of a disagreement about the PLO's Palestinian National Covenant. This was a document that had parts that were against Israel. The PLO had promised to change these parts. Professor Porath helped translate recordings of a meeting where this promise was made. He believed the changes had not truly happened, even though some political parties said they had.
Since 1967, he believed that peace should be made with Jordan. He thought this peace could not be achieved with representatives of Palestinian Arabs.
Porath described himself as a "moderate, liberal, and secular center man." This means he had balanced views and believed in freedom and separating religion from government. He did not want Jewish communities to be rebuilt in Gaza after the Six Day War. However, he also did not support forcing people to leave these communities in 2005.
He was active in groups like the Secular Movement and the Free People's Movement. He was also a member of the Shinui party. His wife mentioned that he "loved the Bible as a text," meaning he enjoyed reading it for its stories and history.
Personal Life
Yehoshua Porath lived in Jerusalem with his wife, Penina. They had two children. He passed away on November 24, 2019, in Jerusalem. He was buried the next day in the cemetery at Kibbutz Nahshon.
Published Works in English
- The Emergence of the Palestinian-Arab National Movement, 1918–1929, Cass (1974) ISBN: 0-7146-2939-1
- In Search of Arab Unity, 1930–1945, Cass (1986) ISBN: 0-7146-3264-3
Published Works in Hebrew
- Social Aspects in the Growth of the Palestinian Arab Movement Jerusalem: Homol, 1971.
- Growth of the Palestinian Arab National Movement: 1929-1918, Tel Aviv: Am Oved Publishing, 1976.
- From riots to rebellion: Palestinian National Arab Movement 1939-1929, Tel Aviv: Am Oved, 1969.
- In the test of political action: Israel, Arab unity and British policy 1930–1945. Jerusalem: Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, 1985.
- Shelach and pen in hand: The story of Uriel Shelach's life (Yonatan Ratosh). Tel Aviv: Literary Notebooks, 1989.
