“The Massacre That Never Was”
A recently published book offers a new take on a pivotal battle and an intentional mistruth that changed the course of history forever
By Daniel Gordis
The first time I ever heard of the Deir Yassin massacre I was in high school, attending a program at Young Judea, the Zionist youth group. As a means of provoking discussion about I’m-not-sure-what, the person leading the program told us about Deir Yassin, about how during the War of Independence, Israeli troops had entered the village and massacred dozens of Palestinians there.
I have no recollection of the discussion that followed. What I do remember is being almost dizzy—sickened by what he said had happened, and even more, entirely confused:
How was it that I’d never even heard of Deir Yassin until then?
If anything, the pendulum has since swung to the other extreme. If decades ago, it was the rare Jewish educational setting that would mention Deir Yassin, today precisely the opposite is the case: everyone talks about Deir Yassin, even if they have little idea of what actually transpired.











