According to Hedva Ben-Israel, moral judgment in the writing of modern history nearly disappeared during the second half of the nineteenth century, replaced by an ideal of absolute objectivity. But under the stress of the great political revolutions of the first half of the twentieth century, together with the impact of World War II, historians are now reevaluating the role and importance of moral judgment in modern historical scholarship.
At the time of this interview, Ben-Israel, a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1985-86), was professor of history at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
