ToC: Israel Affairs, 23.2 (2017)

Israel Affairs 23.2 (2017)

Table of Contents

Articles

Book Reviews

New Article: Adwan et al, Portrayal of the Other in Schoolbooks

Adwan, Sami, Daniel Bar-Tal, and Bruce E. Wexler. “Portrayal of the Other in Palestinian and Israeli Schoolbooks: A Comparative Study.” Political Psychology 37.2 (2016): 201-17.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pops.12227

 

Abstract

The present study examined how Israelis and Palestinians present their narratives related to their conflict in school textbooks used by the state educational system and the ultraorthodox community in Israel and by all Palestinian schools in Palestinian National Territories. The focus was on how each side portrays the Other and their own group. The content analysis was based on a developed conceptual framework and standardized and manualized rating criteria with quantitative and qualitative aspects. The results showed in general that (1) dehumanizing and demonizing characterizations of the Other are rare in both Israeli and Palestinian books; (2) both Israeli and Palestinian books present unilateral national narratives that portray the Other as enemy, chronicle negative actions by the Other directed at the self-community, and portray the self-community in positive terms with actions aimed at self-protection and goals of peace; (3), there is lack of information about the religions, culture, economic and daily activities of the Other, or even of the existence of the Other on maps; (4) the negative bias in portrayal of the Other, the positive bias in portrayal of the self, and the absence of images and information about the Other are all statistically significantly more pronounced in Israeli Ultra-Orthodox and Palestinian books than in Israeli state books.

 

 

 

New Article: Alayan, The Holocaust in Palestinian Textbooks

Alayan, Samira. “The Holocaust in Palestinian Textbooks. Differences and Similarities in Israel and Palestine.” Comparative Education Review 60.1 (2016): 80-104.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/684362

 

Abstract

The article explores how the Holocaust is represented in history textbooks for Palestinian pupils in the Palestinian and Arab-Israeli curricula from a pedagogical perspective. Since no mention of the Holocaust was found in Palestinian Authority textbooks, the study seeks to explain why this is so, while examining representations of the Holocaust in the Arab (Palestinian) Israeli textbooks. It pursues four principal objectives: (1) to investigate the extent to which Israeli and Palestinian history textbooks discuss the Holocaust, (2) to examine how it is portrayed, (3) to contextualize these portrayals in relation to collective memories of other events (e.g., the Nakba), and (4) to consult with Israeli and Palestinian curriculum policy makers regarding the inclusion or omission of the Holocaust from the curriculum.

 

 

 

Toc: Conflict, Security & Development 15.5 (2015): Special Issue on Israel-Palestine after Oslo

Conflict, Security & Development 15.5 (2015)

Table of Contents

Israel-Palestine after Oslo: mapping transformations and alternatives in a time of deepening crisis

Mandy Turner & Cherine Hussein
pages 415-424

Articles

Securitised development and Palestinian authoritarianism under Fayyadism

Alaa Tartir
pages 479-502

 

Articles

Cherine Hussein
pages 521-547

 

Creating a counterhegemonic praxis: Jewish-Israeli activists and the challenge to Zionism
Mandy Turner
pages 549-574

Analysis

Report: Hever, How Much International Aid to Palestinians Ends Up in the Israeli Economy?

Hever, Shir. “How Much International Aid to Palestinians Ends Up in the Israeli Economy?” Aid Watch, September 2015.
 
URL: http://www.aidwatch.ps/sites/default/files/resource-field_media/InternationalAidToPalestiniansFeedsTheIsraeliEconomy.pdf (PDF)

 

Extract
The strong correlation between aid and the balance of payments deficit discussed in this article indicates that, regardless of how one chooses to measure the relationship between aid and the trade deficit, the inescapable conclusion is that the majority of aid money finds its way sooner or later into the Israeli economy. As exports to the OPT account for approximately 5% of total Israeli exports (BOI, 2014:54-55), and the majority of these exports are financed by international aid, one can conclude that international aid to Palestinians contributes billions of dollars to the Israeli GDP and makes it possible for Israel to afford the continued military occupation. The findings here indicate that at least 78% of aid money is used to import from Israel, thereby covering at least 18% of the costs of the occupation for Israel.
The question arises of whether the Israeli government would end the occupation if aid ceased? Would the Israeli authorities rebuild the Civil Administration to assume their responsibilities under IHL in place of international donors? Or would they remain indifferent to a mass humanitarian disaster that could cost the lives of thousands of Palestinians? The tremendous moral implications of these questions indicate that aid is not something to be toyed with when so many lives are at stake. Nevertheless, the dependence of the Israeli authorities on international aid to the Palestinians as a mechanism to finance the ongoing military occupation gives donors important leverage to put pressure on Israel. This leverage carries with it political responsibilities. Donors cannot close their eyes to the fact that their donations are enabling the occupation and have funded grievous violations of international law. They are not themselves the occupiers of the Palestinians in the OPT, but decades of acquiescing to Israeli demands and conditions on the disbursement of aid have turned them into accomplices to Israel’s crimes.

 

 

New Book: Pardo, Normative Power Europe Meets Israel

Pardo, Sharon. Normative Power Europe Meets Israel: Perceptions and Realities. Lanham and Boulder: Lexington Books, 2015.

 

0739195662

 

The book draws on some of the scholarship in perception studies and “Normative Power Europe” theory. The study of perceptions, although dating back to the mid-1970s, is gaining renewed currency in recent years both in international relations, in general, and in European Union studies, in particular. And yet, despite the significance of external perceptions of the European Union, there is still a lack of theoretical forays into this area as well as an absence of empirical investigations of actual external role conceptions. These lacunae in scholarly work are significant, since how the European Union is perceived outside its borders, and what factors shape these perceptions, are crucial for deepening the theory of “Normative Power Europe.” The book analyzes Israeli perceptions towards “Normative Power Europe,” the European Union, and NATO through five themes that, the book argues, underscore different dimensions of key Israeli conceptions of “Normative Power Europe” and NATO. The book seeks to contribute to the existing research on the European Union’s role as a “normative power,” the Union’s external representations, and on Israeli-European Union relations more broadly.

 

Table of Contents

  • Introduction: Normative Power Europe Meets Israel
  • Chapter 1: Normative Power Europe in Israeli Eyes
  • Chapter 2: The Seventh Would-Be Member State of the European Economic Community
  • Chapter 3: Normative Power Europe and Perceptions as Cultural Filters: Israeli Civic Studies as a Case-Study, with Natalia Chaban
  • Chapter 4: When a Lioness Roars: The Union’s Guidelines Prohibiting the Allocation of Funds to Israeli Entities in the Occupied Territories
  • Chapter 5: An Elusive Desire: Israeli Perceptions of NATO
  • Conclusion: Normative Power Europe as Israel’s Negative “Other”

Sharon Pardo is Jean Monnet chair ad personam in European studies in the Department of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
 

New Article: Voltolini,Non-State Actors and Framing Processes in EU Foreign Policy

Voltolini, Benedetta. “Non-State Actors and Framing Processes in EU Foreign Policy: The Case of EU–Israel Relations.” Journal of European Public Policy (early view; online first).

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2015.1085429

 

Abstract

This article investigates the role of non-state actors (NSAs) in European Union (EU) foreign policy, focusing on how they contribute to the emergence and codification of new frames that underpin EU external policies. It argues that changes in EU foreign policy are the result of interactions among a frame entrepreneur, often played by an NSA, and policy-makers in situations of cognitive uncertainty and when a policy window opens. The empirical evidence is based on the case of EU–Israel relations: a non-governmental orgaization (NGO) called MATTIN Group acted as frame entrepreneur and contributed to the emergence and codification of a new frame of understanding of EU–Israel relations, redefining them on the basis of a legal paradigm. This clarifies the territorial scope of bilateral agreements and ensures that the bilateral relations are constructed and implemented in accordance with EU legal framework and its commitments under international law.

 

 

New Article: Høigilt, Popular Resistance and Double Repression in the West Bank

Høigilt, Jacob. “Nonviolent Mobilization between a Rock and a Hard Place. Popular Resistance and Double Repression in the West Bank.” Journal of Peace Research 52.5 (2015): 636-48.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022343315572497

 

Abstract

Recent research on contentious politics in the Middle East emphasizes the importance of repression and its effect on social movements, often manifested in demobilization and so-called ‘nonmovements’. This case study of West Bank Palestinian activism seeks to go beyond such outcomes. The current, youthful nonviolent Palestinian grassroots activism in the West Bank is persistent, despite repeated violent repression. Focusing on the interplay between context, practices, and networks, this article shows how an increasingly vocal and visible popular resistance movement has asserted itself despite facing double repression – from the occupying Israeli state and the Palestinian National Authority. In a highly repressive context characterized by widespread demobilization, especially among young people, the impetus for mobilization is not perceived opportunity, but rather existential threats. The analysis focuses on how long-term repression from the external occupier and the internal elite contributes to forming specific kinds of contentious practices and networks among young Palestinian grassroots activists. By deploying new and creative contentious tactics they partly succeed in challenging the Israeli occupation without risking sanctions from the internal Palestinian elite. They are also able to criticize this elite implicitly, bringing popular pressure to bear on it. However, while the strategic use of nonviolence has provided these activist environments with a degree of resilience in the face of repression, they are unable to mobilize on a wide scale as long as the Palestinian political elite does not support them.

 

 

New Book: Voltolini, Lobbying in EU Foreign Policy-Making: The Case of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Voltolini, Benedetta. Lobbying in EU Foreign Policy-Making: The Case of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Routledge/UACES Contemporary European Studies. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2016.

 

voltolini

 

This book examines lobbying in EU foreign policy-making and the activities of non-state actors (NSAs), focusing on EU foreign policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It sheds light on the interactions between the EU and NSAs as well as the ways in which NSAs attempt to shape EU foreign policies. By analysing issues that have not yet received systematic attention in the literature, this book offers new insights into lobbying in EU foreign policy, EU relations surrounding the conflict and the EU’s broader role in the peace process.

The book will be of key interest to scholars and students of political science, international relations, EU politics, EU foreign policy-making, Middle East studies and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

 

Table of Contents

  • Introduction: ‘Embedded’ lobbying in EU foreign policy
  • 1 Exploring lobbying in EU foreign policy-making
  • 2 The EU and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict: An overview of declarations, policies and actors
  • 3: Who’s who? Mapping non-state actors in EU policies towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
  • 4: Trade relations between the EU and Israel: Lobbying on the territorial scope of the EU–Israel Association Agreement
  • 5 The Goldstone Report: To endorse or not to endorse it?
  • 6 Framing the EU–Israel Agreement on pharmaceutical products: Cheaper medicines, territorial scope or policy coherence?
  • 7 Using the national level to lobby the EU
  • 8 Conclusions

 

Benedetta Voltolini is Lecturer in International Relations at the Department of Political Science, Maastricht University, the Netherlands.

 

 

New Article: Becker, Water Pricing in Israel

Becker, Nir. “Water Pricing in Israel: Various Waters, Various Neighbors.” Global Issues in Water Policy 9 (2015): 181-99.

 

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16465-6_10

 

Abstract

Israel manages its water scarcity by a relatively unique combination of quantitative and pricing tools. As a semiarid climate country, efficient water pricing might prove to have much more potential welfare implications. The chapter contains a summary of the theoretical background of the different water pricing policies and reforms that have been recently implemented. The summary will then be accompanied by an effort to explain the rationale of the reforms. The chapter covers water pricing schemes in the various sectors and links them into one consistent policy vision. Currently, water pricing in Israel is more closely connected to the true scarcity value of this natural resource. Yet the goals and targets faced by water planners in Israel do not allow water prices to be the only allocation mechanism, and as such, a mixture of quantities and prices will be explored. The challenges faced now by the water regulators are new and contain pricing of different water sources (treated wastewater, desalinated water, etc.) for a variety of uses, including those that are characterized as nonmarket in nature (e.g., in-stream value) and those that should be based on basin cooperation among different countries (e.g., the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, and, potentially, Syria and Lebanon in the future).

Reviews: Allen, The Rise and Fall of Human Rights

Allen, Lori. The Rise and Fall of Human Rights. Cynicism and Politics in Occupied Palestine, Stanford Studies in Human Rights. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2013.

 

pid_20486

 

Reviews:

  • Wright, Fiona. “Review.” Journal of Legal Anthropology 1.3 (2013): 396-398.
  • Seidel, Timothy. “ReviewH-Net Reviews, February 2014.
  • Barbosa, Gustavo. “Review.” Critique of Anthropology 34.3 (2014): 372-374.
  • Hurwitz, Deena R. “Review.” Middle East Journal 68.1 (2014): 173-175.
  • Kelly, Tobias. “Review.” Allegra – A Virtual Lab of Legal Anthropology, August 11, 2014.
  • Smith, Charles D. “Review.” American Historical Review 119.4 (2014): 1399-1400.
  • Baruch, Pnina Sharvit. “Review.” Middle Eastern Studies 50.4 (2014): 679-682.
  • Hajjar, Lisa. “Review.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 47.1 (2015): 175-176.

New Article: Byman, Five Bad Options for Gaza

Byman, Daniel. “Five Bad Options for Gaza.” Washington Quarterly 37.4 (2014): 37-53.

 

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0163660X.2014.1002153

 

Excerpt

Because of the flaws, limits, or political impossibility of some of these options, the status quo may be the best of a bunch of poor choices. Nevertheless, given the problems with Israel’s current approach and the paucity of good alternatives, some changes are necessary. The analysis suggests the importance of helping moderate Palestinians govern more competently and become politically stronger: currently they are on the path to political irrelevance. In addition, the world should offer pragmatists in Hamas political opportunities, giving them another path to success beyond violence. Finally, options that offer small changes in the status quo deserve consideration. Such steps would, over time, enable Israel to take more risks and allow everyone to move beyond the current stalemate

 

New Book: Zelkovitz, Students and Resistance in Palestine

Zelkovitz, Ido. Students and Resistance in Palestine. Books, Guns and Politics. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2015.

 

9781138802971

 

URL: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781138802971/

 

Exploring the Palestinian Student Movement from an historical and sociological perspective, this book demonstrates how Palestinian national identity has been built in the absence of national institutions, whilst emphasizing the role of higher education as an agent of social change, capable of crystallizing patterns of national identity.

Focussing on the political and social activities of Palestinian students in two arenas – the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian diaspora, Students & Resistance covers the period from 1952-2000. The book investigates the commonality of the goal of the respective movements in securing independence and the building of a sovereign Palestinian state, whilst simultaneously comparing their development, social tone and the differing challenges each movement faced.

Examining a plethora of sources including; Palestinian student magazines, PLO documents, Palestinian and Arabic news media, and archival records, to demonstrate how the Palestinian Student Movements became a major political player, this book is of interest to scholars and students of Palestinian History, Politics and the Arab-Israeli Conflict.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

1 The Rise of a New Generation: Palestinian Students and the Experience of Nakba

2 From Struggle to Accommodation: The General Union of Palestine Students and PLO

3 The Politics of Survival: The GUPS in Times of Crisis

4 Between Cairo and Beirut: The GUPS in the Aftermath of the 1973 War

5 The 1980s: Military Challenges and Paradigm Shift

6 The Emergence of the Palestinian Higher Education System

7 Between Academic Freedom and Military Supervision: The Palestinian Universities and the National Struggle

8 The Palestinian Student Movement in the West Bank and Gaza: A Sociopolitical Account

9 The Palestinian Student Movement Between Two Intifadas

ToC: Journal of Palestine Studies 44.1 (2014)

Table of Contents Alert
University of California Press is happy to notify you that the new issue of Journal of Palestine Studies is now available. The online issues of this journal are hosted on JSTOR on behalf of University of California Press.
Journal Cover Journal of Palestine Studies
Vol. 44, No. 1, Autumn 2014
SPECIAL ISSUE: OPERATION PROTECTIVE EDGE

Cover
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1
Front Matter
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1
Table of Contents
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1

FROM THE EDITOR

The Dahiya Doctrine, Proportionality, and War Crimes
Rashid I. Khalidi
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 5-13.

ANALYSIS OF THE WAR

Politicide in Gaza: How Israel’s Far Right Won the War
Max Blumenthal
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 14-28.
Another Freedom Summer
Robin D.G. Kelley
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 29-41.
The Psychosis of Permanent War
Chris Hedges
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 42-51.
The Twelve Wars on Gaza
Jean-Pierre Filiu
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 52-60.
The Implications of Joining the ICC after Operation Protective Edge
Victor Kattan
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 61-73.
Photos
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 74-75.

AN OFFICIAL PERSPECTIVE

Interview with Hanan Ashrawi: Oslo, the PA, and Reinventing the PLO
Rashid Khalidi
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 76-87.
Photos
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 88-90.

DISSECTING THE DISCOURSE

Blaming the Victims
Diana Buttu
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 91-96.
Crisis Moments: Shifting the Discourse
Yousef Munayyer
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 97-105.
Interview with Noura Erakat: Framing the Palestinian Narrative
Nehad Khader
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 106-117.
Photos
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 118-119.

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

After the Smoke Clears: Gaza’s Everyday Resistance
Laila El-Haddad
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 120-125.
Interview with Dr. Basil Baker: Quick Death under Fire, Slow Death under Siege
Nehad Khader
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 126-132.
A Response to Elie Wiesel
Sara Roy
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 133-134.
Photos
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 135-136.

CENTENNIAL PERSPECTIVE

Palestine and Palestine Studies: One Century after World War I and the Balfour Declaration
Walid Khalidi
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 137-147.

RECENT BOOKS

Review: The Battle for Justice in Palestine
The Battle for Justice in Palestine by by Ali Abunimah
Review by: Richard Falk
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 148-150.
Review: 40 Years of Israeli Occupation: 1967–2007
40 Years of Israeli Occupation: 1967–2007 by by Hiltrud Awad; Hilmi S. Salem; Suhail Khalilieh; Jad Issac
Review by: Ahmad El-Atrash and Lubna Shaheen
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 150-152.
Review: Arab Christians in British Mandate Palestine: Communalism and Nationalism, 1917–1948
Arab Christians in British Mandate Palestine: Communalism and Nationalism, 1917–1948 by Noah Haiduc-Dale
Review by: George Emile Irani
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 152-154.
Review: UNRWA and Palestinian Refugees: From Relief and Works to Human Development
UNRWA and Palestinian Refugees: From Relief and Works to Human Development by edited by Sari Hanafi; Leila Hilal; Lex Takkenberg
Review by: Benjamin Schiff
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 154-156.
Review: Zionism and Land Tenure in Mandate Palestine
Zionism and Land Tenure in Mandate Palestine by by Aida Asim Essaid
Review by: Michael R. Fischbach
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 156-158.
Review: Unfree in Palestine: Registration, Documentation and Movement Restriction
Unfree in Palestine: Registration, Documentation and Movement Restriction by by Nadia Abu-Zahra; Adah Kay
Review by: Roger Heacock
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 158-160.
Review: Memories of Absence: How Muslims Remember Jews in Morocco
Memories of Absence: How Muslims Remember Jews in Morocco by by Aomar Boum
Review by: Sami Shalom Chetrit
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 160-163.
SELECTIONS FROM THE PRESS
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 164-190.
PALESTINE UNBOUND
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 191-203.
UPDATE ON CONFLICT AND DIPLOMACY
Ben White
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 204-237.
DOCUMENTS AND SOURCE MATERIAL
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 238-272.
JPS Responds to Israel’s Prime Minister
Journal of Palestine Studies Autumn 2014, Vol. 44, No. 1: 273-274.

Conference program: MESA, Washington, DC (22-25 Nov, 2014)

Israel Studies events at the annual conference of MESA, Washington, DC, November 22-25. For full program click here (PDF).

 

AIS–Association for Israel Studies Reception

Saturday, 11/22

Reception, 8:30-10:30pm, McKinley (M)

 

(3681) Settler-Colonialism and the Study of Zionism: Erasure, Transfer and Assimilation

Sunday, November 23, 11am-1pm

Organized by Arnon Degani

Sponsored by Palestinian American Research Center (PARC)

Chair: Gabriel Piterberg, UCLA

 

Discussant: Lorenzo Veracini, Swinburne Inst for Social Research

Susan Slyomovics, UCLA–“The Object of Memory” and Settler Colonialism Studies 16 Years Later

Honaida Ghanim, Palestinian Forum for Israeli Studies–Judaization and De-Indigenization: Settler-Colonialism in East Jerusalem

Areej Sabbagh-Khoury, Mada Al-Carmel–The Zionist Left and Settler-Colonialism in Marj Ibn ‘Amer: Land, Population and Property

Arnon Degani, UCLA–Non-Statist and Bi-Nationalist Zionism as Settler-Colonial Agendas

 

(3756) Rule of Experts?: Revolutions, Doctrines, and Interventions in the Middle East

Sunday, November 23, 2m-4pm

Organized by Osamah Khalil

 

Seth Anziska, Columbia University–Israel, the United States and the 1982 War in Lebanon

 

(3925) World War One and Its Aftermath

Sunday, November 23, 2m-4pm

Chair: Weston F Cook, Jr, UNC Pembroke

 

Roberto Mazza, Western Illinois U–Cemal Pasha, Zionism and the Alleged Expulsion of the Jews from Jaffa in April 1917

 

(3792) Israel Studies in the Arab World

Sunday, November 23, 4:30m-6:30pm

Organized by Johannes Becke

Discussant: Elie Podeh, Hebrew U of Jersusalem

 

Hassan A. Barari, U Jordan–Israelism: Arab Scholarship on Israel, a Critical Assessment

Mostafa Hussein, Brandeis U–Israel Studies in the Arab World Between Two Dictums: ‘Whosoever Learns People’s Language Avoids Their Plot’ and ‘Know Your Enemy’

Johannes Becke, U Oxford–Hebrew in Beirut: Studying Israel in the Last Arab Frontline State

Hebatalla Taha, U Oxford–The Politics of ‘Normalisation’: The Israeli Academic Centre in Cairo

Amr Yossef, American U Cairo–Egyptian Israelists: The View from Israel

 

(3886) Social Media, the Digital Archive, and Scholarly Futures

Sunday, November 23, 4:30m-6:30pm

Organized by Ted Swedenburg

Chair/Discussant: Elliott Colla, Georgetown U

 

Rebecca L. Stein, Duke U–The Perpetrator’s Archive: Israel’s Occupation on YouTube

 

 

(4006) Special Session

Abandoned Yet Central: Gaza and the Resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Sunday, November 23, 4:30m-6:30pm

Organized by Sara Roy

Chair: Sara Roy, Harvard University

 

Chris Gunness, UNRWA, Office of the Commissioner General, Jerusalem

Paul Aaron, Political Analyst and Consultant, Gaza Community Mental Health Program

Bill Corcoran, American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA)

Ilana Feldman, George Washington University

Brian Barber, University of Tennessee

Susan Akram, Boston University School of Law

 

This session will present an overview of the past summer’s violent clashes between Israeli and Hamas forces and the ensuing destruction in Gaza. Representatives from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) will provide an “on-the-ground” analysis of the destruction and human toll of the 50-day war. Scholars will further place the recent violence in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and examine the prerequisites for a sustainable resolution of the conflict.

 

 

 

(3737) Religious Inclusivity and Civilizational Identity: Expanding Iranian Identities Along Religious, Ethnic, and Gender Lines

Monday, November 24, 8:30am-10:30am

Organized by Lior Sternfeld

Chair/Discussant: Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi, U Toronto

 

Lior Sternfeld, U Texas Austin–Iran is My Homeland, Jerusalem is My Qiblah: Iranian Jews Between Zionist and Iranian Identities

 

(3643) Israel, the United States and a Changing Middle East

Monday, November 24, 11am-1pm

Organized by Robert O. Freedman

Sponsored by Association for Israel Studies

Chair/Discussant: Robert O. Freedman, Johns Hopkins U

 

Eyal Zisser, Tel Aviv U–Israel and the Arab World – Who’s First – Syria, Egypt or Lebanon?

Ilan Peleg, Lafayette Col–Israel, Netanyahu & the Palestinians: Is the Third Term the Charm?!

Rami Ginat, Bar Ilan U–The Israeli-Egyptian-American Strategic Triangle: A Reassessment in Light of the Arab Uprising

Joshua Teitelbaum, Bar-Ilan U–Israel and the Gulf Cooperation Council: New Opportunities for Cooperation?

Uzi Rabi, Tel Aviv U–Iran and Israel: Post 2013 Elections

 

 

(3697) Bridging the Rupture of 1948: The “Decolonization” and Erasure of Mandate Palestine

Monday, November 24, 2:30pm-4:30pm

Organized by Jeffrey D. Reger and Leena Dallasheh

Sponsored by Palestinian American Research Center (PARC)

Chair: Zachary Lockman, New York U

Discussant: Shira Robinson, George Washington U

 

Jeffrey D. Reger, Georgetown U–Uprooting Palestine: Olive Groves, Mass Dispossession, and Peasant Resistance, 1945-1955

Hilary Falb Kalisman, UC Berkeley–Learning Exile: Palestinian Students and Educators Abroad, 1940-1958

Leena Dallasheh, Rice U–Defying the Rupture, Affirming Presence: Palestinians in Nazareth Surviving 1948

Rephael Stern, Princeton U–Israel’s Postcolonial Predicament and Its Contradicting Jurisdictional Claims in 1948

 

 

(3917) Perilous Peacemaking: Israeli-Palestinian Relations Since Oslo

Monday, November 24, 5pm-7pm

Chair: Timothy Schorn, U South Dakota

 

Elie Podeh, Hebrew U Jerusalem–Missed Opportunities in the Arab-Israeli Conflict: The Case of the Arab Peace Initiative (2002-2014)

Maia Carter Hallward, Kennesaw State U–Choosing to Negotiate Under Sub-Optimal Conditions: The 2013 Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations

Gabriele Mombelli, U Florence–The Palestinian National Authority Security Sector: An Operational Overview

Karam Dana, U Washington–Twenty Years after Oslo: What Do Palestinians Think?

Andrew Barwig, Department of State–“New Blood” in Israel’s Knesset: Elite Circulation and Parliamentary Resilience

 

 

 

(3867) Urbanism and the Politics of the Mandate Period, Local versus Imperial Interests

Tuesday, November 25, 11am-1pm

Organized by Harrison Guthorn

Chair: Elizabeth F. Thompson, U Virginia

 

Noah Hysler Rubin, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design–Planning Palestine: British and Zionist Plans for Tiberius and Nathanya

 

(3893) Public Opinion in the Middle East

Tuesday, November 25, 11am-1pm

Organized by Yael Zeira

 

Devorah Manekin, Arizona State U–Carrots and Sticks: Policy Instruments and Public Opinion in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

 

(3919) Palestinian Resistance: Spaces and Standpoints

Tuesday, November 25, 11am-1pm

Chair: Timothy Schorn, U South Dakota

 

Timothy Seidel, American U–Narrating Nonviolence: Postcolonial Interrogations of Resistance in Palestine

Maya Rosenfeld, Hebrew U Jerusalem–The Movement of Palestinian Political Prisoners and the Struggle Against the Israeli Occupation: A Historical Perspective

Sharri Plonski, SOAS U London–Transcending Bounded Space: The Struggle for Land and Space by the Palestinian Citizens of Israel

Julie Norman, McGill U–Prisoners Dilemma?: Prison-Based Resistance and the Diffusion of Activism in Palestine

Maryam Griffin, UC Santa Barbara–Movement as/and Non-Movement in Palestine

 

(3949) Transnational Cultural Production

Tuesday, November 25, 1:30pm-3:30pm

Chair: Zeynep Seviner, U Washington

 

Isra Ali, Rutgers, State U of New Jersey–Adaptation: Cultural Alliances and Television Production in Israel and the United States

Robert Lang, U Hartford–Ari Folman’s Waltz with Bashir: Whose Trauma?

New Book: Peters and Newman, eds. The Routledge Handbook on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Peters, Joel and David Newman, eds. The Routledge Handbook on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. London and New York: Routledge, 2013.

 

URL: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415778626/

9780415778626

Abstract

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most prominent issues in world politics today. Few other issues have dominated the world’s headlines and have attracted such attention from policy makers, the academic community, political analysts, and the world’s media.

The Routledge Handbook on the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict offers a comprehensive and accessible overview of the most contentious and protracted political issue in the Middle East. Bringing together a range of top experts from Israel, Palestine, Europe and North America the Handbook tackles a range of topics including:

  • The historical background to the conflict
  • peace efforts
  • domestic politics
  • critical issues such as displacement, Jerusalem and settler movements
  • the role of outside players such as the Arab states, the US and the EU

This Handbook provides the reader with an understanding of the complexity of the issues that need to be addressed in order to resolve the conflict, and a detailed examination of the varied interests of the actors involved. In-depth analysis of the conflict is supplemented by a chronology of the conflict, key documents and a range of maps.

The contributors are all leading authorities in their field and have published extensively on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict/peace process. Many have played a leading role in various Track II initiatives accompanying the peace process.

 

Table of Contents

Part 1: Competing Nationalisms

1. The Origins of Zionism Colin Schindler

2. The Palestinian National Movement: from self-rule to statehood Ahmad Samih Khalidi

Part 2:Narratives and Key Moments

3. Competing Israeli and Palestinan Narratives Paul Scham

4. The 1948 War: The Battle over History Kirsten E. Schulze

5. The First and Second Palestinian Intifadas Rami Nasrallah

6. The Camp David Summit: a Tale of Two Narratives Joel Peters

 

Part 3: Seeking Peace

7.The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process: 1967-1993 Laura Zittrain Eisenberg

8. Peace Plans: 1993-2012 Galia Golan

Part 4: Issues

9.Palestinian Refugees Rex Brynen

10. Jerusalem Michael Dumper

11. Territory and Borders David Newman

12. Water Julie Trottier

13. Terrorism Magnus Norell

14. Religion Yehezkel Landau

15. Economics Arie Arnon

16. Unilaterlaism and Separation Gerald M. Steinberg

17. Gaza Joel Peters

Part 5: Domestic Actors

18.The Palestine Liberation Organization Nigel Parsons

19. The Palestinian Authority Nigel Parsons

20. Hamas Khaled Hroub

21. Palestinian Civil Society Michael Schulz

22. Gush Emunim and the Israeli Settler Movement David Newman

23. The Israeli Peace Movements Naomi Chazan

Part 6: International Engagement

24. Palestinian Citizens of Israel Amal Jamal

25. The United States: 1948- 1993 Steven L. Spiegel

26. The United States: 1993-2010 Steven L. Spiegel

27. Russia Robert O. Freedman

28. Europe Rosemary Hollis

29. The Arab World P. R. Kumaraswamy

30. The Jewish Diaspora and the Pro-Israel Lobby Dov Waxman

Chronology Steve Lutes

New Article: Azarov, Perils and Prospects of the Palestinian UN Bid

Azarov, Valentina. “An International Legal Demarche for Human Rights? Perils and Prospects of the Palestinian UN Bid.” International Journal of Human Rights 18.4-5 (2014): 527-44.

 

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13642987.2014.914028

 

Abstract

The Palestinian UN bid has the potential to enhance Palestinian claims for respect of human rights and international law and mobilise international opposition to Israel’s unlawful conduct. Participation in international organisations and ratification of treaties fortify Palestine’s legal and political status within the international legal order, enabling it to call for the non-recognition by third states of unlawful Israeli conduct in the context of their inter-state relations with Israel. The UN bid also facilitates access to international courts, including the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court, which may deter Israel’s unlawful conduct and contribute to the production of normative assessments of situations under Palestinian jurisdiction.

New Article: Marten, Patronage Politics, International Influence, and the Palestinian Authority Security Forces

Marten, Kimberly. “Reformed or Deformed? Patronage Politics, International Influence, and the Palestinian Authority Security Forces.” International Peacekeeping 21.2 (2014): 181-97.

 

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13533312.2014.910404

 

Abstract

A great deal of international attention and funding was given to reform and training of the Palestinian Authority Security Forces (PASF), starting with the Oslo Accords process in 1993 and accelerating with the advent of Fayyadism and the expulsion of the Palestinian Authority government from Gaza in 2007. Many donors and other supporters in the US, the EU, and Israel claimed this process as a success story, and indeed from 2008–2010 local conditions looked hopeful in the fragile, post-conflict West Bank proto-state. But soon unresolved political conflicts inside the West Bank encouraged patronage-based violence to reemerge within the security forces, and the fractured approach of the international community aggravated the situation. By 2013 reform had stalled. This article explores the history of patronage politics in the PASF and uses the Palestinian example to highlight the tensions inherent in contested visions of security, when international donors define success in terms of anti-terrorism rather than genuine domestic security governance.

New Article: Zelkovitz, The Palestinian Universities as Initiators of National Struggle, 1972–1995

Zelkovitz, Ido. “Education, Revolution and Evolution: the Palestinian Universities as Initiators of National Struggle 1972–1995.” History of Education 43.3 (2014): 387-407.

 

URL: www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0046760X.2014.889226

 

Abstract

Since the concept of nationalism first emerged on the world stage, universities have played a key role in its collective formation and dissemination to the masses. Established under challenging circumstances and subjected to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the wake of the 1967 war, Palestinian institutions of higher education have trodden a thin line between the training of human resources requisite to their national movement and compliance with the dictates of a military regime bent on curbing such aspirations. This research examines the various roles played by Palestinian universities in the ongoing struggle for national independence. Spanning from its inception to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, this collection of first-hand accounts, historical documents and critical analysis explores the evolution and adaptation of Palestinian higher education amidst three decades of social and political turmoil.

Dr. Ido Zelkovitz is research fellow at the Ezri centre for Iran and the Persian Gulf Studies and teaches in the Department of Middle Eastern History at the University of Haifa, Israel. Dr Zelkovitz will fulfill the position of a Schusterman Visiting Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Minnesota for the Academic Year of 2014/15.

New Article: Leech, Who owns ‘the spring’ in Palestine?

Leech, Philip. “Who Owns ‘The Spring’ in Palestine? Rethinking Popular Consent and Resistance in the Context of the ‘Palestinian State’ and the ‘Arab Spring’.” Democratization, published online April 29, 2014.

URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13510347.2014.899584

Abstract

The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) claim to embody the spirit of the “Arab Spring”, through its recent “state-building” agenda – including its elevation to “non-member observer status” at the United Nations – is disingenuous. This conclusion rests on three key arguments outlined in this article. First, this article identifies a continuation of broader patterns of authoritarianism represented by the PA’s lack of adherence to democratic practices, the deprivation of access for the Palestinian population to basic resources and the wider issue of the continued absence of Palestinian sovereignty. Second, it identifies the intensification of some authoritarian practices within Palestine, particularly in the areas of security and policing, for example by the use of force against protestors. Finally, this article identifies that civil-society groups and opposition supporters throughout 2011–2012 have more genuinely embodied evidence of resistance to authoritarianism in popular demonstrations against the PA.