Youth and Conflict in Israel-Palestine: Storytelling, Contested Space and the Politics of Memory

209 Pages·2020·1.568 MB·English

by  Victoria Biggs

Youth and Conflict in
Israel-Palestine
ii
Youth and Conflict in
Israel-Palestine
Storytelling, Contested Space and the
Politics of Memory
Victoria Biggs
I.B. TAURIS
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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First published in Great Britain 2021
Copyright © Victoria Biggs, 2021
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For legal purposes the Acknowledgements on p.viii constitute
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For my parents, who always caved to child-me’s demand for more stories
vi
Contents
Acknowledgements viii
1 Once upon an intifada 1
2 Telling stories in tear gas 27
3 Language and the hidden landscape 43
4 Violence in the narration of self and other 77
5 Forbidden histories in contested spaces 113
6 Happily ever after? Telling endings 147
Notes 173
Bibliography 184
Index 193
Acknowledgements
Like all the best stories, this project was a collaborative effort. I would like to
thank Bertrand Taithe, Alison Jeffers, Peter Gatrell and Jenny Carson for their
guidance as the research was in progress; Jenny Hughes and Dawn Chatty for
posing challenging questions that helped to make this a better book; Sophie
Rudland, my editor, for both her thoughtful input on the manuscript and her
phenomenal patience with my aversion to deadlines; and Julien Malland (also
known as Seth Globepainter), who gave kind permission for me to use his
artwork for the cover.
The Council for British Research in the Levant gave me a generous visiting
research scholarship to support my fieldwork. Sima Salman and her mother
Hind provided equally generous allowances of tea and cake; this manuscript
came to life in their café and would not have been possible without all the limon
ma na’ana. My landlord Issa smoothed out many practical difficulties during
my years in Bethlehem (notwithstanding the time he sent an unannounced
Orthodox priest to ritually bless my apartment just as I was drifting into a nap
with no trousers on). My language teachers Marwa and Malka made sure I was
well prepared for fieldwork. Various people and organizations in Israel-Palestine
went out of their way to help me arrange it, particularly Toine and Rania at
Ṣumūd Story House; Abdelfatteh, Taghreed and Amira at Al-Rowwad Centre;
the youth work team at Neve Shalom/Wahat as-Salaam, staff at the Jerusalem
office of Kids4Peace; and Issa from Youth Against Settlements. I am especially
grateful to Myron Joshua for both his assistance with participant recruitment
and being a remarkably compassionate and astute listener whose questions
enriched my work.
Other friends and neighbours contributed to the research in different ways:
Shai Abraham, Sarah Ali, Majdi Amro, Rachel Barenblat, Olivier Catel, Nadja
Abia, Alison Conyers, Mitchell Cohen, Shahar Colt, Sameeha Elwan, Bayan
Haddad, Dalia Halaq, Shuli H., Fatma Kassem, Wala’ Qasieh, Brant Rosen, Jenny
Salameh, Zayneb al-Shalalfeh, Asmaa Shweiky, Hannah Spiegel, Elana Weiner
and Tsvia Zanger-Horesh. My heartfelt thanks to Shira Zeharia, my eleventh-
hour friend, for helping me to create a better ending.
Acknowledgements ix
Faith Cecelia Jacobs has my special gratitude for the limitless kindness,
patience and wisdom she showed to me even when her own circumstances were
very challenging. It is a source of grief that she died before she could see this
book, which owes so much to her support (and timely Marmite deliveries).
The return to England was made smoother through the unfailing
encouragement of my parents, and the kindness of Sobia Asad Zuberi, Miruna
Belea, Daisy Black, Danni and Johan Brennand, David Hearne, Simon R. and
Candace Simpson. My colleagues and mentors at the University of Sheffield,
Cathy Shrank and Mary Vincent, helped me to find my feet as an academic.
Their advice and support have been invaluable.
Most importantly of all, I would like to thank the young people from Israel
and Palestine for their generosity in telling me their stories, their curiosity and
their critiques of and insights into the project. It was a delight and an honour to
work with them.