Nothing more worthwhile to learning history than reading publications of the day. I personally collect magazines, especially LIFE. Newspapers offer more detail, of course.
There's nothing necessarily self-hating about rejecting AIPAC propaganda. Or even rejecting Zionism, as many religious Jews did, & continue to do.
One point, however, is the issue of "European guilt". Many of the areas—Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, etc—where the slaughter reached its height were even more antisemitic, at least for a time, after the war than before.
But essentially the only one that mattered, at least until '48, was Great Britain. And Atlee's government maintained the White Paper policies of '39, which not only restricted immigration, but called for a binational state with an Arab majority. So, how are Jews any better off? Sure, Jews got along fine with Arabs prior to the Aliyahs (a point which many anti-Zionists who call for a unitary state make today), but that was as a tiny, nearly invisible minority.
No doubt, the Stern Gang (LEHI) were terrorist thugs who basically fought for the Nazis in WWII (after even Irgun agreed to a truce), assassinated Lord Moyne & Count Folke-Bernadotte (who had rescued Jews during the war). I couldn't never believe that little LEHI goon, Shamir was elected PM, twice!
In fact, thanks largely to LEHI (& Irgun) far from feeling guilt, the sense in Britain was closer to outrage at the perceived lack of gratitude for defeating the Nazis, at paying that back in terror & assassinations.
I think revisionist Zionism, which called for taking the entire land, Eretz Yisroel, had been a minority view until, the war over & the Allies see for themselves what happened, they did nothing. I believe that was the final straw. Jews of the Yishuv were on their own. And they had to act.
I've encountered a few pro Palestinian accounts of the region which suggest that largely pacific Palestinians were suddenly & willfully attacked by an "armed to the teeth" Haganah/IDF & driven from their homes. But, according to Arab League general secretary Ahlman Azzah Pasha: "This will be a war of extermination and momentous massacre, which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the crusades!" [Morris]
It's become common, thanks to Morris, Pappe & Shlaim to focus on the Yishuv's advantages in manpower, but we should also consider that they entered the fight not knowing precisely the weaknesses of the Arab forces, that the Arab Legion was restricted from entering their side of the Partition, & perhaps most importantly, they had nowhere to go. If they lose, they die (at least as far as they knew). That's an advantage not to be underrated.
That being said, of course the AIPAC version we grew up with is largely bollocks & we should be angry at learning such facile lies as history. But I remain a Zionist because I see no reasonable alternative for Israel. I still think things can work ... if only people there come to their senses.
