NAKBA
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There is always a time between the concepts of the present and forever which is inscribed in our remembrance. It is the beauty of memory which enables us to transcend and live within this truth. “Rest in My Shade” (Interlink Books, 2018) explores this reality through an illustrated poem about roots and Palestinian collective memory.…
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Bashir Abu-Manneh’s detailed study “The Palestinian novel: From 1948 to the present” (Cambridge University Press, 2016) combines the historical processes of Palestinian memory and postcolonial and literary theory in a manner which brings the various narratives and experiences of Palestinians to the fore. There is a unifying factor identified by the author – dispossession –…
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Far from accentuating the glorification that is synonymous with Mahmoud Darwish and his beautiful poetry, the new biography “Mahmoud Darwish: literature and the politics of Palestinian identity” by Muna Abu Eid (I.B. Tauris, 2016) is a competent exercise in revealing the intricacies of Palestinian collective memory combined with the complex persona of the man himself.…
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The interlinked histories of Jaffa and Tel Aviv are dissected and analysed diligently in Sharon Rotbard’s White City Black City: Architecture and War in Tel Aviv and Jaffa (Pluto Press 2015). Colonial narratives have stipulated the supremacy of Tel Aviv’s recent history, demonstrating how geography can be altered by history, namely through both conservation and…
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Contemporary perspectives of class struggle, the anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggle in Palestine have been thoroughly discussed in Ran Greenstein’s book, “Zionism and its Discontents: A century of radical dissent in Israel/Palestine”. Presenting an analysis of prominent movements involved in the challenge to the Zionist settler-colonial project, the book discusses four main political movements within their…
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“The contemporary military urbanisation is about spatial engineering and reorganisation via complex surveillance and control and in many cases via the lethal devastation of cities.” Nurhan Abujidi’s defining introduction to “Urbicide in Palestine: spaces of oppression and resilience” (Routledge, 2014) sets the foundation from which hegemonic dictates regarding destruction are unravelled, revealing complex and intertwining…
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Ilan Pappé makes a succinct statement in the introduction to his latest book: “Indeed, Israel is one of a few states considered by many to be at best morally suspect or at worst illegitimate. What is challenged, with varying degrees of conviction and determination, is not the state itself but rather the idea of the…
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The initial idea for a series of paintings related to Palestine occurred after finishing “The narration of burnt olive trees”, which is the first in the series themed “Impressions of Palestinian memory in watercolor.” However, it is the last painting which I believe defines this collection, or contribution, as a writer and artist, to Palestinian…
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Denationalisation is the fundamental problem of Palestinians. The systematic annihilation of fundamental freedoms for Palestinians has resulted in an ongoing process of changes in demography, geography and social structure. “Unfree in Palestine: Registration, Documentation and Movement Restriction” (Pluto Press, 2013) delves into the historical processes of population repression, demonstrating how the concept of denationalisation is…
RAMONA WADI 