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Publications

2020
Kramer, Martin. “Ben-Gurion's Army: How the IDF Came into Being (and Almost Didn't).” Mosaic Magazine, 2020, February 3. Web originalAbstract
On the eve of Israel's statehood in 1948, with the massed forces of five Arab nations threatening invasion, David Ben-Gurion picked a fight with his own army. 
Ben-Gurion's Army: How the IDF Came into Being (and Almost Didn't) (pdf) Ben-Gurion at the Moment of Crisis (pdf)
The two parts of this essay were published in February 2020. Visit the website of Mosaic Magazine for the responses by Benny Morris, Eliot A. Cohen, and Efraim Inbar.
 
2019
Kramer, Martin. “What Did (and Didn't) Happen in Room 16 of the American Colony Hotel.” Mosaic Magazine, 2019, December 16. Web originalAbstract
Room 16 of the American Colony Hotel is reputedly where the Oslo process began, between Israel and the PLO. It isn't, but it was a milepost on the "road not taken," between Israel and the "inside" West Bank leadership personified by Faisal Husseini. A look at the forgotten alternative to Oslo, inspired by the author's own stay in Room 16.
What Did (and Didn't) Happen in Room 16 of the American Colony Hotel (pdf)
Kramer, Martin. “The Balfour Declaration and the Jewish Threat that Made Britain Honor It.” Mosaic Magazine, 2019, October 31. Web originalAbstract
An appraisal of the way Zionist leaders, above all Chaim Weizmann, tried to hold Britain to its Balfour Declaration commitment by emphasizing the dangers of mass Jewish migration after the First World War.
The Balfour Declaration and the Jewish Threat that Made Britain Honor It (pdf)
Kramer, Martin. “Seven Black Swans in the Middle East.” Mosaic Magazine, 2019, September 24. Web originalAbstract
From the Yom Kippur War to the Arab Spring, events considered impossible happen in the Middle East with unusual frequency. Here are seven; when will the eighth appear?
Seven Black Swans in the Middle East (pdf)
Kramer, Martin. The King is Dead? Does it Matter?. Washington, DC: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2019. Web versionAbstract
The Washington Institute has sponsored a series of discussions about sudden succession in the Middle East. Each session focuses on scenarios that might unfold if a specific ruler or leader departed the scene tomorrow. This essay sets the scene by asking whether a major leader’s departure is necessarily history-changing. Martin Kramer examines past cases of unexpected departures of twentieth-century regional leaders, in Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. He suggests that the impact depends mostly on where the hand of fate interrupts the leader’s career. Paradoxically, the more successful a leader has been in realizing his larger goals, the less consequential his exit.
The King is Dead! Does it Matter? (pdf) خالفة مفاجئة: دراسة تأثير التغيير المفاجئ في الشرق األوسط (pdf)
Kramer, Martin. “Where MLK Really Stood on Israel and the Palestinians.” Mosaic Magazine, 2019, March 13. Web originalAbstract
Why did MLK not condemn Israel’s actions in the twenty years between 1948 and 1968, at a time when Israel stood repeatedly in the dock? And why didn’t he say anything about the Palestinian “plight,” especially as he got a high-level tutorial on the subject during a visit to East Jerusalem in 1959? An exploration of possible influences, from Reinhold Neibuhr to King's own personal experience.
Where MLK Really Stood on Israel and the Palestinians (pdf)
2018
Kramer, Martin. “Towards a Middle East Regional Security Regime?” In Routledge Handbook on Israeli Security, edited by Stuart A. Cohen and Aharon Klieman, 249-57. London and New York: Routledge, 2018.Abstract
A survey of the past history of efforts to create a regional security order in the Middle East. Israel has always sought its security through major ties with centers of power outside the region. The article examines the logic for this approach, and assesses prospects that this might change.
Towards a Middle East Regional Security Regime?
Kramer, Martin. “The Three Wars of Bernard Lewis.” The Journal of the Middle East and Africa 9, no. 3 (2018): 239-245. OnlineAbstract
The career of Bernard Lewis was punctuated by three wars: World War II, the Cold War, and what he himself called “the crisis of Islam.” The article seeks to demonstrate that for Lewis, these wars formed a continuum, the common thread being the struggle to defend freedom and democracy against the forces of tyranny.
The Three Wars of Bernard Lewis (pdf)
Kramer, Martin. “How True is 'The Crown' on the Suez Cover-Up?” Mosaic Magazine, 2018, March 1. Web originalAbstract
The Netflix series The Crown includes a scene depicting British prime minister Anthony Eden nearly misleading Queen Elizabeth about the role of Israel in the 1956 Suez "collusion." The author considers whether the depiction is accurate.
How True is "The Crown" on the Suez Cover-Up? (pdf)
Kramer, Martin. “The May 1948 Vote That Made the State of Israel.” Mosaic Magazine, 2018, April 2. Web originalAbstract
An analysis of the proceedings of the People's Administration, culminating in a decisive vote not to specify Israel's borders in its declaration of independence of May 14, 1948.
The May 1948 Vote That Made the State of Israel (pdf) Israel's Situation Today Looks Much as Ben-Gurion Envisioned It (pdf)

The two parts of this essay were published in April 2018. Visit the website of Mosaic Magazine for the responses by Benny Morris, Efraim Karsh, and Avi Shilon.

Kramer, Martin. “A Controversy at Harvard.” In Anti-Zionism on Campus: The University, Free Speech, and BDS, edited by Andrew Pessin and Doron S. Ben-Atar, 151-162. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2018.Abstract
A review of the Harvard aspects of a 2010 controversy that followed remarks on Gaza made by the author at a conference in Israel.
A Controversy at Harvard (pdf)
Kramer, Martin. “The Conflicted Legacy of Bernard Lewis.” Foreign Affairs (website), 2018, June 7. Web originalAbstract
Bernard Lewis, historian of the Middle East, was widely misunderstood. But no other person in our time has done as much to inform and influence the West's view of the Islamic world and the Middle East.
The Conflicted Legacy of Bernard Lewis (pdf) Η αμφιλεγόμενη κληρονομιά του Μπέρναρντ Λιούις (pdf) تَرِكة برنارد لويس الملتبِسة (pdf)
The Greek translation appeared in the Hellenic edition of Foreign Affairs. The Arabic translation was prepared by the Naama Center for Research and Studies in Beirut.
2017
مارتین کریمر, “میراث ادوارد سعید و وضع مطالعات خاورمیانه در آمریکا.” مجله قلمرو, 2017, دی۱۳۹۶, شماره هشتم, ۸۵-۷۸.Abstract

 نقادی ادوارد سعید از شرق‌شناسی هم نظام آموزشی دانشگاه‌های آمریکا را تحت تأثیر قرار داد هم نظام اداری آن‌ها را. بخش نگاهِ ماه شماره هشتم بدین موضوع می‌پردازد، از جمله در مصاحبه با مارتین کریمر، استادِ مطالعات خاورمیانه و شاگرد برنارد لوئیس که از ناقدان نامدار سعید شناخته می‌شود. به علاوه، گزارشِی از تحولات عمده چند دهه اخیر در منابع مالی نهادهای آموزشی و پژوهشی آمریکا که راه را بر نفوذ دولت‌های غیردموکراتیک عربی گشوده است.

میراث ادوارد سعید و وضع مطالعات خاورمیانه در آمریکا (pdf)

مصاحبه با مارتین کریمر

Kramer, Martin. “The Fantasy of an International Jerusalem.” Mosaic Magazine, 2017, December 28. Web originalAbstract
In 1917, over a lunch, the internationalization of Jerusalem became irrelevant—and it remains so.
The Fantasy of an International Jerusalem (pdf) وهم تدويل القدس (pdf)
Arabic translation published by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Kramer, Martin. “Who Saved Israel in 1947?” Mosaic Magazine, 2017, November 6. Web originalAbstract
A reexamination of the crucial yet overlooked role of the Soviet Union in the UN recommendation to partition Palestine in 1947.
Who Saved Israel in 1947? (pdf) Кто спас Израиль в 1947 году? (pdf) Why the 1947 UN Partition Resolution Must Be Celebrated (pdf)
The two parts of this essay were published in November 2017. Visit the Mosaic Magazine website for responses by Benny Morris, Michael Mandelbaum, and Harvey Klehr. The Russian translation of the first part appeared in Лехаим № 4 (312), апрель 2018.
Kramer, Martin. “The Forgotten Truth about the Balfour Declaration.” Mosaic Magazine, 2017, June 5. Web originalAbstract
The author revisits the making of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, and demonstrates that the Lloyd George government only issued it after receiving the prior approval of other Allied governments. The role of Zionist diplomat Nahum Sokolow is given particular attention.
The Forgotten Truth about the Balfour Declaration (pdf) ﺍﻟﺴﻌﻲ ﻟﻼﺳﺘﻴﻼﺀ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻓﻠﺴﻄﻴﻦ: ﻛﻮﺍﻟﻴﺲ ﻭﻋﺪ ﺑﻠﻔﻮﺭ ﻭﺇﺻﺪﺍﺭﺍﺗﻪ (pdf) The Balfour Declaration Was More Than the Promise of One Nation (pdf) Balfour Deklarasyonu: Bir Ulusa Verilen Vaatten Daha Fazlası (pdf)
The two parts of this essay were published in June 2017. Visit the website of Mosaic Magazine for the responses by Nicholas Rostow, Allan Arkush, and Colin Shindler. The Arabic translation of the first part, by Ahmad M. Jabir, appeared in Al-Hadaf, January 20, 2018. The Turkish translation of the second part, by Dücane Demirtaş, appeared in Umran, no. 276 (November 2017), pp. 46-51.
2016
Kramer, Martin. “Setting the Record Straight on Israel (interview).” The Weekly Standard, 2016, November 7. Web originalAbstract
An interview with Martin Kramer by Lee Smith, on publication of Kramer's book The War on Error.
Setting the Record Straight on Israel (pdf)
Kramer, Martin. “In the Words of Martin Luther King.” In The War on Error: Israel, Islam, and the Middle East, 254-67. New Brunswick, NJ and London: Transaction Publishers, 2016.Abstract

“When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You’re talking anti-Semitism!” Martin Luther King was supposed to have said this at a dinner party in Cambridge, Massachusetts, shortly before his death. Critics claimed he could not have said this because he could not be placed in Cambridge at the time. They thus insinuated that the quote must have been invented by Harvard’s Seymour Martin Lipset, who reported it. The author relies on King’s papers to establish a firm address, host, date, and time for the dinner. But he also bring evidence (from FBI wiretaps) of King’s profound ambivalence about Israel’s 1967 victory. King supported Israel’s right to exist, but he thought Israel would have to disgorge its military conquests.

In the Words of Martin Luther King (pdf)
Amalgamates and revises three posts from Kramer's blog Sandbox.
Kramer, Martin. “The Exodus Conspiracy.” In The War on Error: Israel, Islam, and the Middle East, 245-52. New Brunswick, NJ and London: Transaction Publishers, 2016.Abstract

The author examines the oft-repeated claim that the famous 1958 novel Exodus by Leon Uris was set in motion by a scheming New York advertising man, and not by Uris himself. Through the testimony of witnesses who were there, the author shows that this is untrue.

The Exodus Conspiracy (pdf)
Based on a 2011 post on Kramer's blog Sandbox.
Kramer, Martin. “The Shifting Sands of Academe.” In The War on Error: Israel, Islam, and the Middle East, 9-17. New Brunswick, NJ and London: Transaction Publishers, 2016.Abstract

Martin Kramer looks back upon the writing of his book Ivory Towers on Sand (2001), recalls his intentions, identifies what he sees as the book’s merits and shortcomings, and assesses its reception.

The Shifting Sands of Academe (pdf) شن های روان در فضای دانشگاهی (pdf)
Originally a lecture delivered to the graduate proseminar "Approaches to Middle Eastern Studies" at Harvard in 2007. This is its first publication. The Persian translation, also here in pdf, appeared in the magazine Ghalamo, no. 8, Dey 1396 (December 2017-January 2018).

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