To the editor:

John Hoopes says Melanie Schnebelen’s views reveal “a profound ignorance of history.” But Hoopes repeats myths that have been attacked by historians recently. All of these quotes are taken from “The War for Palestine: Rewriting the History of 1948,” edited by Eugene L. Rogan and Avi Shlaim.

“The core of this explanation was that the Palestinians left because Arab leaders, bent on the destruction of Israel, told them to flee. Over the past decade or so, a number of scholars, most of them Israeli, have decisively refuted this interpretation in its entirety.” — Rashid Khalidi.

“The departure of Arab communities from some sites, departures that were described in ‘The Birth’ as due to fear or IDF (Israel Defense Forces) military attack or were simply unexplained, now appear to have been tinged if not characterized by Haganah or IDF expulsion orders and actions.” — Benny Morris.

“This means that the proportion of the 700,000 Arabs who took to the roads as a result of expulsions rather than as a result of straightforward military attack or fear of attack, etc., is greater than indicated in ‘The Birth.’ Similarly, the new documentation has revealed atrocities that I had not been aware of.” — Morris.

“…the IDFA (archives of IDF) has a standing policy guideline not to open material explicitly describing expulsions and atrocities.” — Morris.

“… my research shows that Morris has skirted an issue that undermines the central thesis of his book (‘The Birth’) that the exodus of Palestinians refugees was by accident and not on purpose.” — Laila Parsons.

Dave Brichoux,

Lawrence