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….
Tag: ZIONISM
BOOK REVIEW: Hamas and the Media – politics and strategy
Wael Abdelal’s informative treatise, “Hamas and the Media: politics and strategy” draws upon the issue of counter-hegemony to portray the relevance and importance of resistance media, in this case, the role which the media has played to further the politics of Hamas. The counter-hegemonic narrative is paramount in this study. As the author describes, the…
BOOK REVIEW:White City Black City. Architecture and War in Tel Aviv and Jaffa
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…
How the MLI is normalising Israel through selective narratives
The Shalom Hartman Institute’s Muslim Leadership Initiative (MLI) barely manages to conceal its agenda. Launched in 2013, it has strived to marginalise Palestinians through its programme that emphasises fabrications of “conflict” to justify the prevailing Zionist colonial narrative. The institute’s choice of manipulation tactics lies in how to apply selectivity and disseminate the results to…
BOOK REVIEW Zionism and its Discontents: A Century of Radical Dissent in Israel/Palestine
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…
BOOK REVIEW: Indigenous (In)justice: human rights law and Bedouin Arabs in the Naqab/Negev
Within Israel’s imperialist-supported colonial expansion, the issue of Bedouin in the Naqab remains largely on the periphery, despite its centrality to the wider context of ramifications pertaining to the colonising of land and the Palestinian indigenous population. The lack of visibility is evident in the historical portrayal of hostile narratives – a trend recurring in…
Reject UN ‘solidarity’ and stand with the Palestinians
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s statement marking International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People could not debase itself much further. Guterres calls for “all actors… to take bold steps and restore faith in the promise of UN General Assembly Resolution 181,” also known as the UN Partition Plan for Palestine. In other words, he…
BOOK REVIEW: Urbicide in Palestine. Spaces of Oppression and Resilience.
“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…
BOOK REVIEW: The Idea of Israel – a History of Power and Knowledge
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…
BOOK REVIEW: Unfree in Palestine. Registration, documentation and movement restriction
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 