Two Luminaries’ Middle Eastern Correspondence: Jacob Talmon and Arnold Toynbee Revisited

Amikam Nachmani

Jacob Talmon and Arnold Toynbee are noted as among the twenty most influential historians of the twentieth century in a list published by the Dutch journal Intermediair in May 1980. But this is not the only common denominator between them: both faced strong opposition at home -Toynbee was ridiculed and Talmon was considered a "self-hating Jew." Following the generally accepted definition that an intellectual is one who attempts to shape history while it is still in progress, they both tried to shape developments in the Arab-Israeli conflict. They failed, but their insights and suggestions are still valid today. They differed deeply with regard to major aspects of the Middle East conflict, in particular, the right of the Jewish people to statehood.
Following the 1967 Six Day War, they corresponded and discussed the Middle East conflict. This article focuses on the correspondence and quotes from their private papers, books and articles over the last 70 years as well as from other sources.