‘The Massacre that Never Was’: Exposing Nakba Denial in Zionist History

December 8, 2025

The Deir Yassin massacre, which took place on April 9, 1948. (Photo: via MEMO)

By Peren Birsaygılı Mut

After October 7, 2023, Israel did not conduct merely a military operation; just as in the Deir Yassin Massacre, it launched a large-scale digital narrative war to conceal the truth.

Jewish professor Eliezer Tauber is widely known for his books on the rise of Arab nationalist movements and the formation of modern Arab states. His works are frequently referenced in studies on these subjects. He is also the founder of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at Bar-Ilan University. What makes Tauber even more striking is his book Deir Yassin: The Massacre That Never Was, written about the Deir Yassin massacre, the last major massacre before the Nakba, which took place on April 9, 1948.

Tauber’s book was first published in Hebrew in 2017 and later in English in 2021. As the title suggests, Tauber claims that the Deir Yassin Massacre never happened and that there are different motives behind this so-called Palestinian myth. According to him, Deir Yassin — a village consisting of about 150 houses and covering 2,700 dunams, more than half of which were cultivated — was not a civilian settlement at all, but one of the places where Palestinian fighters stored weapons.

He even argues that the villagers themselves were armed. Tauber states that the massacre narrative has long been a driving force of anti-Zionist sentiment, while insisting that there was no brutality committed against women or children as widely evidenced.

Tauber’s main thesis is that this event was not a massacre but a mutual clash, deliberately portrayed as a massacre by Palestinian leaders. He claims that the aim of these leaders was to instill fear among Palestinians and force them to flee their lands. He argues that the Arab Higher Committee orchestrated this narrative, pointing specifically to Hussein Fakhri al-Khalidi, a committee member who served as Mayor of Jerusalem between 1934–1937 and was later exiled to the Seychelles by the British during the Great Revolt.

Zionist Historiography: The “Ministry of Truth”

Eliezer Tauber reminds me of the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s famous novel 1984. Just like that ministry, he takes on the mission of completely altering the truth. And by doing the exact opposite of what he claims to represent, he becomes responsible for the distortion of historical events. Orwell’s Ministry of Truth lives on today within the Zionist academic sphere. If one were to define Zionism in a single sentence, the answer would come instantly: a chain of lies designed to bury the truth. And the strongest links of that chain are found in academia and culture.

We all know very well what truly happened and possess a wealth of historical data and documentation that completely refutes Tauber’s claims. We know, for example, that Zionist terrorist organizations drafted Plan Dalet to make their brutality against Palestinians more systematic: to expel them from their land. We know that they continuously launched mortar and rocket attacks on civilians, carried out surprise raids, abducted Palestinian Arabs, and captured towns and villages in order to expand the borders of the state of Israel on the eve of its establishment.

We also know that following the official end of the British Mandate, military rivalry within the Zionist movement reached its peak: on one side, Haganah, and on the other, Irgun and the Stern Gang – all operating intensely in competition, manifesting itself in terror operations targeting Palestinians. Considering the symbolic, historical, religious, political, and strategic significance of Jerusalem, we know that conquering the city was one of their greatest objectives. And because Deir Yassin was a prosperous Palestinian village in close proximity to Jerusalem, it became a perfect target for Zionist terror organizations.

Real Stories from the Deir Yassin Massacre

We also have dozens of real stories that recount the Deir Yassin Massacre. For example, the story of Hind al-Husseini, who became a mother to the orphans of Deir Yassin.

Or the story of Hayat al-Balbisi, born in al-Bireh village. Ever since childhood, her greatest dream has been to become a teacher. But her father had died, her mother was paralyzed and bedridden, and her sister was visually impaired. Her family’s situation was extremely difficult. As a student at the Teacher Training College in Jerusalem, she decided to search for work to both support her family and continue her education.

Fortunately, Hayat found a job at Palestine Radio in Jerusalem. She worked and taught at the same time. When she heard that the village school in Deir Yassin needed a teacher, she set out with no hesitation, even though she knew the village was surrounded by six Zionist colonies. After the attack, she refused to flee and stayed with the children, helping the wounded. Seeing this, the Zionist militants deliberately targeted her, and she was martyred.

We know that, because the massacre took place on Ghassan Kanafani’s 12th birthday, he never celebrated another birthday again, until he was assassinated in Beirut at the age of 36.

They Want to Erase the Gaza Massacre Using the Same Method

After October 7, 2023, Israel did not conduct merely a military operation; just as in the Deir Yassin Massacre, it launched a large-scale digital narrative war to conceal the truth. To reinforce this framework, a significant amount of dramatic and cinematic content was produced. The most well-known examples were the productions circulated under the title “The October 7 Films.”

Soon after, these films were distributed to global media outlets; private screenings were organized for international journalists, diplomats, politicians, and even groups specially invited from Hollywood circles. After each screening, statements were delivered to make Israel’s narrative be accepted as the unquestionable truth.

This method appeared as a modern version of classical propaganda tools. This time, propaganda was not carried out merely through newspaper headlines or academic publications but through professionally crafted videos, viral social media content, and emotional manipulation strategies. All of this had a single purpose: to erase the traces of genocide in Gaza, divert the world’s attention from the real destruction on the ground, and distort the truth. Israel conducted a multi-layered strategy of control, acting simultaneously on both the military and digital fronts.

This propaganda circulated not what was happening in Gaza, but the image it wanted the world to see. The dramatic visuals, staged videos, and selective testimonies produced by Israel were served as the only valid narrative.

The Greatest Heroes of Our Time: Palestinian Journalists

The Palestinian journalists who have fought against this Zionist war of perception have, without a doubt, become the greatest heroes of our time. With immense courage, they shattered the entire narrative that Zionism sought to construct by bringing us real images from the ground. Risking death, they told the truth to the whole world.

In every frame they captured, in every second of video they released, there was the naked reality that was meant to be hidden from the world: the ongoing human tragedy in Gaza, the destruction of homes, the breaking apart of families, the screams of children…

They showed us how a perception strategy, built over many years and backed by immense financial power, could be destroyed by nothing more than faith and courage. Many of them were killed by Israel, but the images they left behind created an indelible memory in the minds of millions. They became the modern continuation of the testimony that Zionism had tried to silence in Deir Yassin. Every frame bore witness to the present while also carrying the cries of those silenced in the past into the future. They proved that the truth, which has been suppressed since Deir Yassin, can in fact never be completely erased.

So, shall we ask again now: Did the Deir Yassin massacre really never happen?