Scottish historian & art historian; @EmpirePodUK podcaster & Jaipur Lit Fest co-director. 2024 Visiting Fellow at All Souls, Oxford. Writes the occasional book.
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How To Academy Presents
William Dalrymple and Sam Dalrymple:
The Rise and Fall of the British Raj share.google/k9RSHZ2sGjmqiit…
Fri 9 Jul 2027, Barbican Hall
@howtoacademy
@SamDalrymple123
@BarbicanCentre
William Dalrymple retweeted
"The extreme far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu is the antithesis of core Jewish values."
"Israel is an agent of chaos."
Historian Avi Shlaim explains how Benjamin Netanyahu has alienated the global Jewish community.
You won't see this pointed out @BBCNews
William Dalrymple retweeted
With the final vote counted, 92.31% of zionist Israelis voted to the centre-right, right, far-right & ultra-right
7.59% of zionist Israelis voted for the centre-left party, the Democrats
A left wing party calling for full Jewish-Arab equality (Beyachad Natzliach) got 0.09%
William Dalrymple retweeted
"Israel’s Election Destroyed the ‘It’s Only Netanyahu’ Lie"
The country is in the grip of genocidal mania and any hope that change will come from within Israeli society is now extinguished. It is Netanyahu who will emerge victorious from the ‘deadlock’.
zeteo.uk/p/israels-election-…
William Dalrymple retweeted
Trump has done everything Putin has wanted him to do.
In Helsinki he stood with Putin and disclaimed U.S. intelligence. He lobbied to bring Russia back into the G-7.
He withheld military aid to Zelensky and pulled out of Syria to give Russia a freer hand.
He questioned NATO, lifted sanctions on Deripaska-linked companies, and walked away from the INF Nuclear Treaty.
He walked away from Open Skies, leaving European allies blind to what Russia was actually doing.
He slowed down Starlink for Ukraine and struck a diesel fuel deal with Russia even though he could’ve gotten a better deal with Canada.
How can you not see the link??
William Dalrymple retweeted
Wonder how all those British commentators who worked themselves into such a lather with @ZackPolanski and the Green 'Zionism is Racism' motion, are squaring their convictions with the awkward fact that Netanyahu would actually have packed his bags by now and conceded if, well, Zionism wasn't racist & it was OK for mainstream Israeli parties to enter coalitions with moderate Palestinian ones.
As it is, we are probably in for another massively racist and genocidal government, quite possibly led by Netanyahu...
It goes without saying that on a historic election night for the Arab voters, in which they’ve elected an unprecedented number of MKs, Netanyahu has just totally disregarded them as equal citizens. But that was to be expected. What’s more disappointing (though sadly not very surprising) is that the Jewish opposition leaders didn’t make any gesture in their speeches to the Arabs either, and spoke of a “Zionist” government. They deserve to lose to Netanyahu.
William Dalrymple retweeted
On my way to Guwahati!
RGU is honoured to confer Honoris Causa Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) upon Sri William Dalrymple, historian, author, and public intellectual, at its 6th Convocation on 30 October 2026! @EduMinOfIndia @DalrympleWill @ugc_india @MinOfCultureGoI @ASIGoI @meaindia1 @AICTE_INDIA
William Dalrymple retweeted
Also, note: Israel is in illegal occupation (as the ICJ confirmed) of millions more Palestinians, but refuses to give them the right to vote, or to withdraw from Palestinian territory. There's a word for that
Rob, the hypocrisy is touting that Arab citizens can vote as a sign of democracy and inclusivity while treating their chosen representatives—even those who sat in the government only a few years ago—as unacceptable even as outside supporters of an alternative coalition…when the alternative is a government that includes racists and extremists and a national security minister who was convicted of supporting a terrorist organization; parties that want to annex the West Bank, settle Gaza, and expel Palestinians; and non-Zionist Haredi parties whose constituents largely refuse to serve in the military even in wartime. Obviously opposition leaders have every right to judge such a coalition as the “lesser evil”—but if that’s their choice, it is hard to point to Arab citizens’ right to vote as evidence of their meaningful political inclusion. I did not say this was an easy decision but if it's the one they make it would be a telling one.
William Dalrymple retweeted
To all those bragging about Israeli "democracy," how can Israel ban people from the West Bank if it's not part of Israel?
If it is part of Israel, why are the 3.5M Palestinians there denied the right vote while ~900,000 Israeli thieves ("settlers") there can vote? 🤔
Not so complicated after all. It's called Apartheid.
William Dalrymple retweeted
Israel allows 2 million Palestinians with Israeli citizenship (who did not become refugees in 1948) to vote and run for office while it denies that right to 6+ million it has kept under a brutal illegal occupation for nearly 60 years.
That is not democracy. It is Apartheid.
Israel’s Arab citizens, men and women, are turning out in historic numbers to vote. They can vote, run for office, and serve in the Knesset, rights denied to many Arabs and women across much of the Middle East.
Our critical ally in the fight against terror, Israel, is the only democracy in the region, and today shows it.
William Dalrymple retweeted
Israel killed 1,574 Palestinians since 2025 ‘ceasefire’, Gaza ministry says
Live updates⤵️
middleeasteye.net/live-blog/…
William Dalrymple retweeted
In 10 days, four teachers and 12 students were murdered by genocidal Israeli forces in #Gaza.
William Dalrymple retweeted
Israeli strikes in Gaza killed 21 people this week, Health Ministry says haaretz.com/gaza/2026-10-29/…
William Dalrymple retweeted
Aerial footage documents the vast extent of destruction in Jabalya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip.
William Dalrymple retweeted
“The Israeli army allows in chocolates and cola, but won't let through fresh vegetables, chicken, or flour. They’re running a starvation policy."
Gaza residents accuse Israel and traders of creating an “engineered famine” by only letting in unhealthy products and junk food.
William Dalrymple retweeted
Until Iraq 2003, Suez was unquestionably one of Britain's greatest foreign policy disasters.
William Dalrymple retweeted
It is terror and paralysis and in effect mass incarceration of a population that is not even a footnote to Israel’s election. Search for Israel’s ‘soul’ there.
William Dalrymple retweeted
Getting around the West Bank the past few days has been a matter of spending hours in choked roads to travel a few kilometres, or simply waiting for the Israeli army to release you to leave your town or village. All while armed settlers drive around on their own roads and exits.
William Dalrymple retweeted
It’s wildly jarring to see media commentary about an election about Israel’s ‘soul’ from a locked down West Bank where Israeli army closures have sealed off towns and villages, settlers roam freely and terrorise Palestinians, schools are shut, commerce choked, and roads blocked.