In Original Sins, psychologist Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi of the University of Haifa examines the history of Zionism and Israel through a critical lens. He argues that the dispossession of the Palestinian people was the “original sin” on which the state was built.

Beit-Hallahmi explores the ideology of early Zionism, its relationship to religion and colonialism, the denial of Palestinian existence, and how Israeli society has tried to deal with – or avoid confronting – the moral consequences of 1948. The book is a critical reflection on national myths.