The Tantura massacre is the subject of a master's thesis by an Israeli student, Theodore Katz, in which he alleged that Israeli forces massacred 200-250 Arab civilians from the village of Tantura during the Israeli War of Independence in 1948.[1]
Katz, a student of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Haifa, originally received a grade of 97. Katz's claims were based on oral testimony and were found to be false. [2] Katz's presentation of the facts was disputed by Israeli historians such as Benny Morris [3] and Yoav Gelber [4] as well as veterans of the Alexandroni Brigade, who were accused of the massacre.[5] Katz was sued for libel, and he recanted his claims.[5] Katz’s mentor and close friend, the post-Zionist historian Ilan Pappe, defended him.[5]
Tantura was captured by the Alexandroni Brigade of the Haganah on May 23, 1948 as a part of the Coastal Clearing offensive at the start of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. According to Katz, Israeli forces massacred hundreds of unarmed civilians — mostly young men, allegedly prisoners of war.[6] Most of the village inhabitants fled to the Israeli-Arab Triangle region along the Green Line and the nearby town of Fureidis.[7] According to historian Benny Morris, there is no proof of a large-scale massacre at Tantura, although war crimes may have been committed there.[8]