India, July 5 -- You have been quite vocal in your criticism of the state of Israel for its policies of apartheid and occupation. What gives you the courage to do this?

I grew up in Israel. Like many others, I served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and was subjected to Zionist indoctrination. I was a patriotic Israeli but the turning point was the June 1967 War when Israel tripled its territory by capturing the Golan Heights, the West Bank and the Sinai Peninsula and became a colonial power.

My disenchantment with Israel began then and increased gradually. My real change of heart about Israel happened when I became a scholar of the Arab-Israeli conflict, went to the Israel State Archives and read the official documents. I found out t...