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461. The Vicissitudes of the 1948 Historiography of Israel

Author:
Ilan Pappe
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Arguing that history writing is a dialectical process fusing ideological agenda and political developments with historical evidence, the author analyzes the two major transitions experienced by the Israeli historiography of the 1948 war: from the classical Zionist narrative to the “New History” of the late 1980s, and from the latter to the emergence of a “neo-Zionist” trend as of 2000. While describing the characteristics of these trends, the author shows how they are linked to concurrent political developments. Most of the article is devoted to an examination of the neo-Zionist historians who have emerged in recent years, based on their previously untranslated Hebrew works.
Topic:
Development and History
Political Geography:
Israel

462. Ephrat: Spiritual Wayfarers, Leaders in Piety: Sufis and the Dissemination of Islam in Medieval Palestine

Author:
Diana Abouali
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Spiritual Wayfarers, Leaders in Piety: Sufis and the Dissemination of Islam in Medieval Palestine, by Daphna Ephrat. Cambridge, MA: Center for Middle Eastern Studies of Harvard University, Harvard University Press, 2008. xi + 201 pages. Bibliography to p. 218. Index to p. 223. $19.95 paper. Diana Abouali is assistant professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literatures at Dartmouth College.
Topic:
Islam
Political Geography:
Middle East, Asia, and Palestine

463. Misselwitz and Rieniets: City of Collision: Jerusalem and the Principles of Conflict Urbanism

Author:
Craig Larkin
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
City of Collision: Jerusalem and the Principles of Conflict Urbanism is an anthology of essays, maps, and photographs tackling the complexities and dynamism of Jerusalem's contested urban spaces. This ambitious but engaging edited volume offers a trilateral perspective (Israeli, Palestinian, and international) and a multidisciplinary approach (architecture, urbanism, geography, art, and anthropology) probing the city's fault lines, fissures, and urban connections. Visually impressive and graphically innovative, the thirty essays deal with relevant spatial and social themes, yet without offering the depth of critical analysis that might have been expected from its experienced contributors. The essays serve as mere snapshots, case studies, or brief theoretical outlines, which require further exploration, development, and, in some places, greater cogency. Despite well-organized chapters based on spatial dialectic themes (enclave/exclaves, barriers/links, etc.), it is the illuminating maps and diagrams that lend the book cohesion and distinction.
Topic:
International Relations and Development

464. Kanaaneh: Surrounded: Palestinian Soldiers in the Israeli Military

Author:
Nahla Abdo
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
In Surrounded: Palestinian Soldiers in the Israeli Military , Rhoda Ann Kanaaneh, a visiting scholar at New York University's Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, discusses a contested area in the lives of Palestinians in Israel: Arabs—albeit a minority—joining the Israeli military. Considering the preexisting rigid national/ ethnic conflict and contradictions between Palestinian and Jewish citizens within a state that defines itself as Jewish, the author skillfully asks why some Palestinian Arabs voluntarily join the Israeli military. Although the phenomenon of Arab soldiering in Israel represents only a minority of this group, it remains worth exploring and this is what Kanaaneh undertakes in this book.
Topic:
Military Strategy
Political Geography:
New York, Israel, and Arabia

465. Avnery: Israel's Vicious Circle: Ten Years of Writings on Israel and Palestine

Author:
Michael Warschawski
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Israel's Vicious Circle: Ten Years of Writings on Israel and Palestine, by Uri Avnery. London: Pluto Press, 2009. x + 215 pages. Notes to p. 224. Index to p. 230. $29.95 cloth. Michael Warschawski is an author, journalist, and cofounder of the Alternative Information Center, a joint Palestinian-Israeli activist organization.
Political Geography:
Israel and Palestine

466. Burg: The Holocaust is Over: We Must Rise from Its Ashes; and Peleg: Israeli Culture between the Two Intifadas: A Brief Romance

Author:
Simona Sharoni
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
The Holocaust Is Over: We Must Rise from Its Ashes, by Avraham Burg. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. vii + 242 pages. Notes to p. 246. Index to p. 253. $26.95 hard; $16.00 paper. Israeli Culture between the Two Intifadas: A Brief Romance, by Yaron Peleg. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2008. 148 pages. Bibliography to p. 151. Index to p. 156. $60.00 hard. Simona Sharoni, associate professor of gender and women's studies and chair of the Gender and Women's Studies Department at the State University of New York, is the author of Gender and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Politics of Women's Resistance (Syracuse University Press, 1995)
Topic:
Politics
Political Geography:
New York and Israel

467. Stein: Itineraries in Conflict: Israelis, Palestinians, and the Political Lives of Tourism

Author:
Tom Selwyn
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Itineraries in Conflict: Israelis, Palestinians, and the Political Lives of Tourism, by Rebecca L. Stein. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2008. x + 152 pages. Notes to p. 178. Bibliography to p. 204. Index to p. 219. $79.95 cloth; $22.95 paper. Tom Selwyn is professorial research associate in the Department of Anthropology, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, where he teaches the anthropology of tourism.
Political Geography:
Africa, Israel, London, and Palestine

468. Blanford: Killing Mr. Lebanon: The Assassination of Rafik Hariri and Its Impact on the Middle East

Author:
Amer Mohsen
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Following the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri, a mythology was instantly created around his person and legacy. Used extensively in the political campaign that became known as the “Cedar Revolution,” television programs, documentaries, and songs idolizing the ex-prime minister also started to fill the Lebanese airwaves and canonize Hariri as an unadulterated symbol of Lebanese nationalism, independence, and modernity. Nicholas Blanford's Killing Mr. Lebanon: The Assassination of Rafik Hariri and Its Impact on the Middle East , far from casting a critical eye on this mode of history-writing, reproduces elements of this mythology.
Political Geography:
New York and Middle East

469. Cohen and Katz: Palestinian Arab Music: A Maqam Tradition in Practice

Author:
Kathleen Hood
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Palestinian Arab Music: A Maqam Tradition in Practice, by Dalia Cohen and Ruth Katz. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2006. xi + 334 pages. Appendices to p. 484. Notes to p. 500. Bibliography to p. 508. Index to p. 518. $134.00 cloth; $65.00 paper. Kathleen Hood received her PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing in the music of the Near East, and is the author of Music in Druze Life: Ritual, Values, and Performance Practice (Druze Heritage Foundation, 2007).
Political Geography:
California, Arabia, and Chicago

470. The Reconquista of Palestine: From the 1947 United Nations Partition Resolution to the First Zionist Congress of 1897

Author:
Walid Khalidi
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Challenging the widely accepted premise that the 1948 war was a war of Jewish self-defense, the author demonstrates that the 1947 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) partition resolution was fundamentally a green light for the Yishuv's fully mobilized paramilitary organizations (supported by the resources of the World Zionist Organization) to effect the long-planned establishment of a Jewish state by force of arms. He further argues that as a national movement, Zionism was inherently conquest-oriented from the moment of its birth in Basel in 1897 and that it most closely resembles—in the alchemy of its religious and secular motivation and its insatiable land hunger, irredentism, and indifference to the fate of the “natives”—the Iberian Reconquista of the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries.
Topic:
United Nations

471. Remembering Shafiq al-Hout (1932-2009)

Author:
Rashid Khalidi
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Shafiq al-Hout was one of the original founders of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1964, a member of its Executive Committee in 1966–68 and 1991–93, the long-time PLO representative in Lebanon, a prolific and talented writer and journalist, and an orator with rare gifts. He was born in Jaffa to a Palestinian family that originated in Lebanon, but lived most of his life in Beirut. Shafiq al-Hout never returned to Palestine after his family was forced to flee Jaffa for Beirut by boat in April 1948, but he always yearned for a return with dignity. He was deeply marked by the cosmopolitanism for which those two seaside cities are known.
Political Geography:
Lebanon

472. Arafat and the Journey of the Palestinian Revolution: An Interview with Shafiq al-Hout

Author:
Ahmad Khalifeh and Mahmoud Soueid
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Shafiq al-Hout, founding member of the PLO and the Palestine National Council, former PLO spokesman, and longtime (1965–93) Palestinian representative in Lebanon known in recent years as an outspoken critic of Oslo and a passionate defender of the Palestinian right of return, died in Beirut on 2 August 2009 at the age of seventy-seven. To mark the passing of a figure known for his integrity and adherence to principle, JPS decided to translate a long interview al-Hout gave to our sister publication, Majallat al-Dirasat al-Filastiniyya (MDF), a month after the death of Yasir Arafat. While the interview focuses on Arafat and his leadership, it also illuminates, through specific incidents witnessed over a long and complicated relationship, the roots of problems that continue to plague the Palestinian national movement to this day, including the fatal confusion/overlap between Fatah and the PLO and Arafat's progressive monopolization of power. It also gives a sense of al-Hout's personality, his characteristic honesty, clear-sightedness, and fairness, his humor and passion, and goes a long way toward explaining why this inveterate “independent,” who never belonged to any Palestinian organization, remained respected and admired by Palestinian leaders across the political spectrum. The interview was conducted in Beirut on 12 December 2004 by Mahmoud Soueid, director of the Institute for Palestine Studies in Beirut, and Ahmad Khalifeh, managing editor of MDF. The full interview was published in issues 60–61 (Autumn 2004–Winter 2005) of MDF.
Political Geography:
Palestine

473. A Palestinian State in Two Years: Interview with Salam Fayyad, Palestinian Prime Minister

Author:
Salim Tamari, Khalid Farraj, and Camille Mansour
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
Salam Fayyad was appointed prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA) on a “national emergency” basis following the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, inaugurating the de facto system of parallel governments still in place—one headed by Fayyad in the PA-dominated West Bank, the other by Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza. Born in a village near Tulkarm in the West Bank, Fayyad received his MBA and doctorate in economics in the United States. He worked for many years with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), including as the Palestine representative from 1995 until 2002, when Yasir Arafat appointed him finance minister. In that capacity, he earned the respect and trust of the international community for the leading role he played in PA financial and other reforms, gaining a reputation for straight dealing and getting things done. A political independent with an aversion to factional politics, he served as finance minister in the short-lived Hamas-dominated national unity government formed in March 2007.

474. Arab Views (cartoons from al-Hayat)

Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This section aims to give readers a glimpse of how the Arab world views current events that affect Palestinians and the Arab-Israeli conflict by presenting a selection of cartoons from al-Hayat, the most widely distributed mainstream daily in the Arab world. JPS is grateful to al-Hayat for permission to reprint its material.
Political Geography:
Israel and Arabia

475. From the Hebrew Press

Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This section includes articles by Israeli journalists and commentators that have been selected for their frank reporting, insightful analyses, or interesting perspectives on events, developments, or trends in Israel and the occupied territories.
Topic:
Development
Political Geography:
Israel

476. Photos from the Quarter

Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This small sample of photos, selected from hundreds viewed by JPS, aims to convey a sense of the situation on the ground in the occupied territories during the quarter.

477. Quarterly Update on Conflict and Diplomacy : 16 May - 15 August 2009

Author:
Michele K. Esposito
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This quarter marked the rocky opening of a new chapter in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process as the freshly elected Israeli and U.S. administrations set to work, laying out approaches toward the peace process that were markedly different from their predecessors' and nearly diametrically opposed to each other. A major policy clash between U.S. pres. Barack Obama and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu over settlements overshadowed most of the quarter. The other striking feature of the quarter overall was the extremely low level of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Though Israel's siege of Gaza (in place since 6/07) continued, the Gaza cease-fire held without major violations. In the West Bank, Israel scaled back routine military operations and facilitated Palestinian movement between major population centers, particularly in the north, improving trade and quality of life. At the opening of the quarter, however, Israeli-Palestinian cross-border violence in Gaza was moderate and rising while in the West Bank violence remained low. Israel's siege of Gaza, intended to pressure the Hamas government there, entered its 24th month, hampering efforts to maintain basic services and repair infrastructure and other damages from Israel's Operation Cast Lead (OCL) offensive targeting the Strip, which ended on 1/18/09 (see JPS 151 for background). Israel allowed an average of 106 truckloads/day of humanitarian goods and commodities into Gaza through Kerem Shalom crossing 6 days/week (far less that the 500 truckloads/day the UN estimated were necessary to meet Gazans' basic needs); limited fodder and seed through Qarni crossing; enough fuel through the Nahal Oz crossing to maintain emergency services and run Gaza's electricity plant at 69% capacity, as well as some cooking gas. Only a very limited number of medical cases, employees of international organizations, and VIPs were allow to transit through the Rafah and Erez crossings. Restrictions on Palestinian movement and access in the West Bank remained tight, with more than 630 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) checkpoints and roadblocks dividing the territory into 3 cantons, and Palestinian access to Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley strictly limited. As of 5/15, at least 7,516 Palestinians (including 50 Israeli Arabs and 19 unidentified Arab cross-border infiltrators), 1,090 Israelis (including 348 IDF soldiers and security personnel, 214 settlers, 528 civilians), and 64 foreign nationals (including 2 British suicide bombers) had been killed since the start of the al-Aqsa intifada on 9/28/00. Netanyahu and Obama Face Fundamental Differences As the quarter opened, the newly elected Obama and Netanyahu administrations were fully staffed and briefed, and Obama was ready to move forward with campaign pledges to take early action to revive the peace process. His hope was to meet personally with the main players in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to discuss his developing policy initiatives, as well as regional and bilateral issues, before making a major address to the Muslim world on 6/4 in fulfillment of another campaign promise. Late last quarter, he had met with Jordan's King Abdallah, tapping him as his intermediary with the Arab states (see Quarterly Update in JPS 152). Scheduled next were White House meetings with PM Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority (PA) pres. Mahmud Abbas, and Egyptian pres. Husni Mubarak (whose envoys were mediating Palestinian national unity talks, and cease-fire and prisoner release negotiations between Israel and Hamas). Netanyahu was scheduled to visit first, 5/18–19. Since its 3/31/09 inauguration, his government had been engaged in a comprehensive review of Israeli policy, with the intention of issuing its formal government platform timed with the Washington visit (see Quarterly Update in JPS 152). Even while the review was underway, however, Netanyahu had laid out a number of strong base-line positions including: (1) stating that containing the threat from Iran was more important than achieving peace with the Palestinians and Arab states; (2) demanding a halt to Iran's nuclear program and Palestinian recognition of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state as preconditions for resuming final status talks with the Palestinians; (3) refusing to express support for a 2-state solution, preferring an “economic peace” aimed at improving Palestinian quality of life and allowing a greater measure of self-rule, while maintaining ultimate Israeli security control; (4) vowing continued Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem; and (5) pledging that a united Jerusalem would remain under sole Israeli control. The Obama administration, meanwhile, had repeatedly expressed (1) “vigorous” support for a 2-state solution and implementation of the 2003 road map plan, including an immediate and complete halt to Israeli settlement construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank; and (2) the strong belief that progress toward Israeli-Palestinian peace would put added pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear program, meaning these 2 goals should be pursued in parallel. The U.S. had also strongly urged the Arab states (via King Abdallah) to make gestures to Israel, ideally dropping demands for the Palestinian refugees' right of return and taking preliminary steps toward normalization, to encourage Israel to come to quick final status agreements on all tracks (see Quarterly Update in JPS 152). The strong and conflicting positions of the 2 administrations raised concerns that the Obama-Netanyahu meeting would be tense and could mark the opening of a serious diplomatic dispute. As Netanyahu prepared to depart for Washington, Israeli DM Ehud Barak (5/16) and Pres. Shimon Peres (5/17) gave public assurances that Netanyahu would abide by Israel's previous agreements with the Palestinians, including the 2003 road map—which they each described as calling for “2 peoples living side by side in peace and security.” Peres also stated that progress toward this end would ultimately depend on the outcome of Palestinian national unity talks (i.e., the PA's ability to curb Hamas) and “greater Palestinian efforts to ensure Israel's security.” In fact, the 2003 agreement had not called for 2 peoples but 2 states living side by side. While the U.S. did not publicly challenge Israel's new formulation, the lack of official acknowledgement (much less welcoming) of Israel's “assurances” indicated the administration's awareness of Israel's attempt to reinterpret the road map's goal and its unwillingness to paper over core differences with an ambiguous formulation. Ultimately, Israel did not issue a formal government platform, which allowed Netanyahu a greater margin to avoid public clashes on sensitive issues. The 5/18 talks went forward as planned, with visible policy gaps but no outward tension. Statements issued afterward by Obama and Netanyahu were bland, stressing shared goals of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons (see Iran section below) and pursing peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Netanyahu stated that he was ready to reopen talks with the Palestinians “immediately” regarding limited self-rule, provided the Palestinians first recognized Israel as a Jewish state and agreed to “allow Israel the means to defend itself” (i.e., to retain parts of the West Bank as buffer zones). Obama publicly restated support for the creation of a Palestinian state; reiterated outstanding Israeli responsibilities under existing treaties, including stopping settlement expansion and removing restrictions on Palestinian movement and access; called on Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza; and said that Arab states had “to be more supportive and be bolder in seeking potential normalization with Israel.” The U.S. and Israel agreed to set up 3 working groups that would meet periodically to discuss progress toward: (1) peace with the Palestinians, (2) normalization with Arabs states, and (3) curbing Iran. Netanyahu went on to hold talks with Secy. of State Hilary Clinton (5/18), Defense Secy. Robert Gates (5/19), and leaders of Congress (5/19) that outwardly seemed unremarkable. Only after Netanyahu returned home did details emerge of the heated nature of the Washington talks (e.g., Washington Post [WP] 5/24, New York Times [NYT] 5/29, Ha'Aretz [HA] 6/11). In the 2-hour closed-door meeting, Obama reportedly pressed Netanyahu to support the creation of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu nuanced his position, stating that Palestinian statehood was still the ultimate goal but far in the future because Palestinian institutions and the Palestinian economy needed to develop, and Palestinian education and discourse needed time to evolve to the point of promoting coexistence. Obama pressed Netanyahu to fulfill 2003 road map obligations to halt settlement construction and remove all unauthorized settlement outposts. Netanyahu agreed to consult with his government on taking steps to remove outposts, but said he must allow expansion of authorized West Bank settlements to accommodate natural growth. He agreed to send DM Barak to Washington on 6/1 with a formal Israeli counterproposal on settlements. Netanyahu aides later revealed (HA 6/11) that the PM was “'stunned' . . . to hear what seemed like a well-coordinated attack against his stand on settlements . . . from congressional leaders, key lawmakers dealing with foreign relations, and even from a group of Jewish members” of Congress, describing their statements against settlement expansion as “harsh and unequivocal.” Historically strongly pro-Israel rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) confirmed (5/23) that he had told Netanyahu that the mood on settlements in Washington had changed, stating that for Obama to secure “a substantive down payment on the normalization of relations with Israel” from the Arab states, Israel would have to address settlements “in a serious manner.” Another congressional aide, speaking anonymously, said Jewish lawmakers had felt “it was their responsibility to make [Netanyahu] very, very aware of the concerns of the administration and Congress.” Adding to Israel's unease, Secy. of State Clinton stated in an interview with al-Jazeera on 5/19, immediately after Netanyahu's departure: “We want to see a stop to settlement construction, additions, natural growth—any kind of settlement activity. That is what the president has called for.” Her statements reportedly (NYT 5/29) surprised Israeli officials who thought Obama would keep the settlement dispute private until Netanyahu consulted with his government. By contrast, Abbas's first meeting with Obama in Washington on 5/28, just when U.S-Israel relations were particularly tense over the settlement issue (see below), was described by U.S. officials privy to the talks as much more amicable. Obama praised the PA's stand against forming a unity government with Hamas until it renounced violence and recognized Israel's right to exist; reiterated strong U.S. support for a 2-state solution as being in the interests of the Palestinians, Israel, and the U.S.; and applauded the PA's “great progress” improving security in coordination with U.S. security envoy Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, though he stressed that Palestinians still had much more to do to meet their requirements of improving security as laid out under the 2003 road map. Afterward, Obama publicly reiterated that Israel must build momentum for peace by halting all settlement activity and alleviating restrictions on Palestinian travel and commerce. Abbas also met with Secy. Clinton and Obama's national security adviser (NSA) Gen. James Jones. Meanwhile, Mubarak cancelled (5/20) his scheduled to visit Washington on 5/26 after the sudden death of his 12-year-old grandson. Since Obama had already announced that he would give his major address to the Muslim world in Cairo (see below), where the two could consult on the sidelines, the cancellation was not seen as a problem.
Political Geography:
Washington, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

478. Settlement Monitor

Author:
Geoffrey Aronson
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This section covers items—reprinted articles, statistics, and maps—pertaining to Israeli settlement activities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. Unless otherwise stated, the items have been written by Geoffrey Aronson for this section or drawn from material written by him for Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories (hereinafter Settlement Report), a Washington-based bimonthly newsletter published by the Foundation for Middle East Peace. JPS is grateful to the foundation for permission to draw on its material.
Political Geography:
Washington, Middle East, Israel, and Gaza

479. Chronology : 16 May - 15 August 2009

Author:
Michele K. Esposito
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This section is part of a chronology begun in JPS 13, no. 3 (Spring 1984). Chronology dates reflect Eastern Standard Time (EST). For a more comprehensive overview of events related to the al-Aqsa intifada and of regional and international developments related to the peace process, see the Quarterly Update on Conflict and Diplomacy in this issue. 16 MAY As the quarter opens, Israeli-Palestinian cross-border violence in Gaza is moderate and rising, while, in the West Bank, violence remains low. Israel's siege of Gaza, intended to pressure the Hamas government there, enters its 24th month, hampering efforts to maintain basic services and repair infrastructure and other damages fr. Israel's Operation Cast Lead (OCL, 12/27/08–1/18/09; see JPS 151). Israel allows an average of 106 truckloads/day of humanitarian goods and commodities into Gaza through Kerem Shalom crossing 6 days/week (far less than the 500 truckloads/day the UN estimates are necessary to meet Gazans' basic needs); limited fodder and seed through the Qarni crossing; and enough fuel through the Nahal Oz crossing to maintain emergency services and run Gaza's electricity plant at 69% capacity, as well as some cooking gas. Only very limited numbers of medical cases, employees of international organizations, and VIPs are allowed to transit through the Rafah and Erez crossings. Restrictions on Palestinian movement and access in the West Bank remain tight, with some 630 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) checkpoints and roadblocks dividing the territory into 3 cantons, and strictly limiting Palestinian access to Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley. Today, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron. (OCHA 5/20; PCHR 5/21) 17 MAY IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire on the al-Bura area e. of Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries. (OCHA 5/20; PCHR 5/21) 18 MAY Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu begins a 2-day visit to Washington to discuss the peace process, Iran, bilateral relations, and Middle East regional affairs, holding his 1st mtg. with U.S. pres. Barack Obama at the White House. Obama privately presses for a total Israeli settlement freeze and endorsement of a 2-state solution, with Netanyahu demurring. The leaders emerge showing no signs of tensions, instead stressing shared goals of preventing Iran fr. developing nuclear weapons and achieving peace btwn. Israel and the Palestinians. (HA, IFM, WP, WT 5/18; NYT, WP, WT 5/19; NYT, WJW 5/21; WP 5/24; NYT 5/29; JPI 6/4; HA 6/11; see also NYT, WP 5/17) (see Quarterly Update for details) In the West Bank, the IDF makes a rare daytime incursion into al-Khadir nr. Bethlehem, raiding 2 secondary schools while classes are in session, holding the students for several hours while searching for a wanted person; no arrests are made. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-'Arub refugee camp (r.c.) and 3 villages nr. Hebron. (OCHA 5/20; PCHR 5/21) A 5th round of Palestinian national unity talks (5/16–18) ends in Cairo without any progress. (Xinhua–New China News Agency 5/18; NYT 5/20) (see Quarterly Update for details) 19 MAY Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, damaging a house in Sederot but causing no injuries. Late in the evening, IDF warplanes make at least 7 air strikes on Gaza, hitting at least 4 smuggling 196 Journal of Palestine Studies tunnels on the Rafah border (3 Palestinians working in tunnels are reported missing); a workshop in al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City, destroying it and heavily damaging a nearby marble factory, causing no casualties; a Hamas outpost nr. the border fence with Israel, causing no reported injuries; and a group of armed Palestinians in al-Zaytun neighborhood in Gaza City, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem. (OCHA, WT 5/20; PCHR, WT 5/21) Palestinian Authority (PA) pres. Mahmud Abbas dissolves PA PM Salam Fayyad's government and reappoints it, replacing 8 independent technocrats with Fatah members, none of whom are elected members of the Palestinian Council. (MNA 5/19; NYT, WT 5/20; NYT 5/21) (see Quarterly Update for details) 20 MAY Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah coast, detaining 2 fishermen. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire on Palestinian farmers working their fields nr. Bayt Hanun, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and neighboring Balata r.c., nr. Bethlehem and Jenin. Palestinians report that over the previous wk., the IDF has bulldozed Palestinian land in Abu Dis, Azariyya, and al-Sawahara to expand the Container checkpoint southeast of Jerusalem, which obstructs travel btwn. the n. and s. West Bank; has confiscated 300 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) of land southwest of Jenin, giving residents 45 days to evacuate. (PCHR 5/21; OCHA, PCHR 5/28) 21 MAY Israel removes the tiny unauthorized settlement outpost (4 families) of Maoz Ester nr. Ramallah in what is seen by some Israelis (Israel Radio 5/21) as Netanyahu “throwing a bone” to Obama, who urged Netanyahu in their 5/18 mtg. to halt settlement construction. Hrs. later settlers begin to rebuild on the site, which has been evacuated and rebuilt twice before. (Israel Radio News 5/21; NYT, WT 5/22; OCHA, PCHR 5/28) 22 MAY Overnight, the IDF sends troops into Gaza to engage a group of armed Palestinians laying a roadside bomb nr. the border fence, fatally shooting 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs.; the deaths bring to 22 the number of Gazans killed by the IDF since the 1/18/09 cease-fire. Later in the day, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine detonates a roadside bomb on the Gaza border fence as an IDF patrol passes, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin (firing live ammunition and stun grenades at homes, injuring a Palestinian woman); fires tear gas at stone-throwing Palestinians demonstrating against the separation wall construction in Bil'in; fires live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists taking part in weekly nonviolent protests against the separation wall in Ni'lin (injuring 10 Palestinians, 2 with live ammunition). Jewish settlers burn 10s of d. of Palestinian crops nr. Yitzhar settlement nr. Nablus, block firefighters fr. reaching the scene. A Jewish settler is found dead nr. Eli settlement btwn. Ramallah and Nablus; the circumstances of his death are unclear. (NYT, WP 5/23; OCHA, PCHR 5/28) 23 MAY Israeli warplanes drop boxes of leaflets across Gaza announcing that the IDF is expanding its self-declared “buffer zone” fr. 150 to 300 meters along most of the Gaza border, making more agricultural land inaccessible; 1 box hits a house, injuring a child. In the West Bank, the IDF shoots, seriously wounds an unarmed Palestinian teenager who strays nr. Shavei Shomron settlement nr. Nablus; patrols in Nur Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 3; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Elkana settlement nr. Salfit vandalize a Palestinian home and intimidate the residents. (OCHA, PCHR 5/28; OCHA 6/1) 24 MAY In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in Issawiyya outside East Jerusalem; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., Nablus. (OCHA, PCHR 5/28) 25 MAY In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, neighboring al-'Arub r.c., and Tubas. In Jerusalem, several Jewish settlers attempt to access the al-Aqsa Mosque compound but are blocked by Palestinians; the IDF intervenes, violently beating several Palestinians, arresting 2 Palestinian teenagers, and extracting the settlers. Nr. Hebron, at least 20 Jewish settlers fr. Bet Yatir and Ma'on attack Palestinian shepherds nearby, moderately injuring 4. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar stone Palestinian cars traveling nearby. (OCHA, PCHR 5/28) 26 MAY Israeli naval vessels approach within 500 m of Rafah beach, arrest 2 fishermen on 1 of 12 small boats in the area. The UN reports that in the previous wk. an 8-yr.-old Palestinian boy in Gaza was injured by unexploded IDF ordnance (UXO); 7 Palestinians were killed in tunnel-related incidents (6 in collapses, 1 electrocuted); and unidentified Palestinians fired “several” rockets and mortars into Israel causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night patrols in 4 villages nr. Jenin; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., Balata r.c., in Nablus, and nr. Bethlehem and Hebron. A Jewish settler violently beats a Palestinian woman waiting for a taxi nr. Zatara checkpoint outside Nablus; IDF soldiers manning the checkpoint observe the beating for 15 min. before intervening and ordering the settler to leave the area. (OCHA, PCHR 5/28) 27 MAY Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishermen off the Bayt Lahiya coast, detaining 2 boats and arresting 4 fishermen. Overnight, in the West Bank, the IDF removes 2 settler tent outposts nr. Hebron; settlers vow to reoccupy and expand the sites. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Aqabat Jabir r.c. nr. Jericho, Balata r.c., and Nablus, and nr. Hebron, Jenin, and Tubas. (NYT, PCHR, WP 5/28; OCHA, PCHR 6/4) U.S. special envoy George Mitchell meets with Netanyahu's senior advisers in Britain to follow up on the issues discussed in the 5/18 Obama-Netanyahu mtg. The Israelis offer a partial settlement freeze that would allow continued construction to accommodate natural growth, but the U.S. continues to demand a stop to all settlement activity. (NYT 5/28; WP 6/2) (see Quarterly Update for details)
Political Geography:
Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

480. Bibliography of Periodical Literature : Autumn 2009

Author:
Norbert Scholz
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:
Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:
This section lists articles and reviews of books relevant to Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Entries are classified under the following headings: Reference and General; History (to 1948) and Geography; Palestinian Politics and Society; Jerusalem; Israeli Politics, Society, and Zionism; Arab and Middle Eastern Politics; International Relations; Law; Military; Economy, Society, and Education; Literature and Art; Book Reviews; and Reports Received. Reference and General Abu Rakbih, Talal. “Arab Democracy: Controversies and Provisions” [in Arabic]. Siyasat, no. 6 (08): 9–23. Choueiri, Youssef M. “Pensée 2: Theorizing Arab Nationalism.” IJMES 41, no. 1 (Jan. 09): 13–15. Gelvin, James. “'Arab Nationalism': Has a New Framework Emerged?” IJMES 41, no. 1 (Jan. 09): 10–12. Halliday, Fred. “Pensée 3: The Modernity of the Arabs.” IJMES 41, no. 1 (Jan. 09): 16–18. Lawson, Fred H. “Pensée 4: Out with the Old, In with the New.” IJMES 41, no. 1 (Jan. 09): 19–21. Smock, David, and Qamar al-Huda. “Islamic Peacemaking since 9/11” [in Arabic]. MA 32, no. 364 (Jun. 09): 132–45. Zaytuni, Sharif. “Arab Islamic Contemporary Philosophy: Catastrophic Reality and Hopeful Change” [in Arabic]. MA 32, no. 365 (Jul. 09): 68–84. History (through 1948) and Geography Alon, Yoav. “'Heart-Beguiling Araby' on the Frontier of Empire: Early Anglo-Arab Relations in Transjordan.” BRIJMES 36, no. 1 (Apr. 09): 55–72. Al-Alwan, Muna. “The Orient 'Made Oriental': A Study of William Beckford's Vathek.” ASQ 30, no. 4 (Fall 08): 43–52. Anglim, Simon. “Callwell versus Graziani: How the British Army Applied 'Small Wars' Techniques in Major Operations in Africa and the Middle East, 1940–41.” Small Wars and Insurgencies 19, no. 4 (Dec. 08): 588–608. Galnoor, Itzhak. “The Zionist Debates on Partition (1919–1947).” IsS 14, no. 2 (Sum. 09): 74–87. Hillman, Susanne. “Of Snake-catchers and Swamp-drainers: Palestine and the Palestinians in Central European Zionist Discourse, 1891–1914.” HLS 8, no. 1 (May 09): 1–29. Jawhariyyeh, Wasif. “The Ottoman Childhood of Wasif Jawhariyyeh.” JQ, no. 37 (Spr. 09): 45–56. Lehmann, Matthias B. “Rethinking Sephardi Identity: Jews and Other Jews in Ottoman Palestine.” Jewish Social Studies 15, no. 1 (Fall 08): 81–109. Rosenberg-Friedman, Lilach. “The Nationalization of Motherhood and the Stretching of Its Boundaries: Shelihot Aliyah and Evacuees in Eretz Israel (Palestine) in the 1940s.” Women's History Review 17, no. 5 (Nov. 08): 767–85. Walton, Calder. “British Intelligence and the Mandate of Palestine: Threats to British National Security Immediately After the Second World War.” Intelligence and National Security 23, no. 4 (Aug. 08): 435–62. Witkon, Yael. “Freud in Zion: History of Psychoanalysis in Jewish Palestine/Israel 1918–1948.” International Journal of Psychoanalysis 89, no. 4 (Aug. 08): 909–12. Palestinian Politics and Society 'Abdallah, Samir, et al. (roundtable). “Toward an Effective Palestinian Agency to Protect Consumers” [in Arabic]. Siyasat, no. 6 (08): 83–100. Abu Daqqa, Muhammad. “Palestinian Representation between the PLO and the Palestinian Authority” [in Arabic]. Siyasat, no. 6 (08): 41–56. Abu Ghosh, Hisham. “Decisions and Unfinished Tasks of the Palestinian Central Council” [in Arabic]. Siyasat, no. 6 (08): 60–68. Abu Malluh, Musa. “The National Palestinian Authority: The Unfulfilled Presidency and its Effect on Legislative and Presidential Elections” [in Arabic]. Siyasat, no. 7 (Win. 09): 27–42. Abu Sitta, Salman. “The Implementation of the Right of Return.” PIJPEC 15–16, nos. 4–1 (08/09): 23–30 Abu Yusef, Wasel. “The Palestinian Cause: Present and Future” [in Arabic]. Siyasat, no. 6 (08): 57–59. Abujidi, Nurhan. “The Palestinian States of Exception and Agamben.” CAA 2, no. 2 (Apr. 09): 272–91. Allen, Lori. “Getting by the Occupation: How Violence Became Normal during the Second Palestinian Intifada.” CA 23, no. 3 (Aug. 08): 453–87. Al-'Awad, Walid. “The Danger of Division to the Palestinian National Project” [in Arabic]. Siyasat, no. 6 (08): 69–72. Badarne, Marie-Olivia. “'Flower by Flower, We Make a Garden': Palestinian Women Organising for Economic Justice.” Gender and Development 16, no. 3 (Nov. 08): 509–21. Birenbaum-Carmeli, Daphna, and Marcia C. Inborn. “Masculinity and Marginality: Palestinian Men's Struggles with Infertility in Israel and Lebanon.” JMEWS 5, no. 2 (Spr. 09): 23–52. Bishara, Azmi. “In Memory of the Nakba” [in Arabic]. MA 32, no. 364 (Jun. 09): 7–11. Bistolfi, Robert. “Après Gaza: une nouvelle donne.” Confluences en Méditerranée, no. 68 (Win. 08): 185–91. Bjawi-Levine, Laure. “Childrens' Rights Discourse and Identity Ambivalence in Palestinian Refugee Camps.” JQ, no. 37 (Spr. 09): 75–85. Braverman, Irus. “'The Tree Is the Enemy Soldier': A Sociolegal Making of War Landscapes in the Occupied West Bank.” Law and Society Review 42, no. 3 (Sep. 08): 449–82. Cohen, Samy. “Les assassinats ciblés pendant la seconde Intifada: une arme à double tranchant.” Critique Internationale, no. 42 (Jan.–Mar. 09): 61–80. Crooke, Alastair. “Getting It Wrong: 'Extremism' and 'Moderation' in Islam after Gaza.” RUSI 154, no. 1 (Feb. 09): 30–35. Erekat, Saeb (interview). “The Question of Refugees Is the Essence of the Palestinian Question.” PIJPEC 15–16, nos. 4–1 (08/09): 114–19 Faitelson, Yakov. “The Politics of Palestinian Demography.” MEQ 16, no. 2 (Spr. 09): 51–59. Feldman, Ilana. “Refusing Invisibility: Documentation and Memorialization in Palestinian Refugee Claims.” Journal of Refugee Studies 21, no. 4 (Dec. 08): 498–516. Grey, Mary. “The Palestinian Nakba: Memory, Reality and Beyond.” HLS 8, no. 1 (May 09): 109–12. Habib, Jasmin. “Gender, Nationalism, and Resistance: Nahla Abdo and the Critical Politics of Palestine.” Review of Education, Pedagogy and Cultural Studies 30, no. 5 (Nov. 08): 437–63. Hercbergs, Dana. “What Palestinian Girls Want: 'Reading' Adolescence in Their Autograph Books.” IJMES 41, no. 2 (May 09): 181–83. Hijazi, Muhammad. “Democracy and Political Islam: The Case of Palestine” [in Arabic]. Siyasat, no. 6 (08): 24–40. Hogan, Elena N. “Notes on the Aftermath: Gaza, Summer 2009.” JPS 38, no. 4 (Sum. 09): 96–107. Jabra, Jabra I. “The First Well: A Bethlehem Boyhood.” JQ, no. 37 (Spr. 09): 14–26. Johnson, Penny. 'What Rosemary Saw: Reflections on Palestinian Women as Tellers of the Palestinian Present.” JPS 38, no. 4 (Sum. 09): 29–46. Kelly, Tobias. “The Attractions of Accountancy: Living an Ordinary Life during the second Palestinian Intifada.” Ethnography 9, no. 3 (Sep. 08): 351–76. Kuzar, Ron. “The Term Return in the Palestinian Discourse on the Right of Return.” Discourse Society 19, no. 5 (Aug. 08): 629–44. Liel, Alon. “Ten Principles for Solving the Refugee Problem.” PIJPEC 15–16, nos. 4–1 (08/09): 80–82. McCann, Paul. “The Role of UNRWA and the Palestine Refugees.” PIJPEC 15–16, nos. 4–1 (08/09): 83–89 Naffar, Salim. “The Palestine Liberation Organization: Between Legitimacy and Conspiracy” [in Arabic]. Siyasat, no. 7 (Win. 09): 79–83. Nassari, John. “Digitising Palestinian Identity: Technobiographies and the Problems of Representation.” Journal of Media Practise 9, no. 2 (Aug. 08): 113–25. Peteet, Julie. “Cosmopolitanism and the Subversive Space of Protests.” JQ, no. 37 (Spr. 09): 86–97. Pogrund, Benjamin. “Different Histories, Different Futures.” PIJPEC 15–16, nos. 4–1 (08/09): 90–95. Salah, Muhammad M. (interview). “The Palestinian Cause” [in Arabic]. SA, no. 132 (Spr. 09): 91–106. Sayigh, Rosemary (interview). “Speaking Palestinian: An Interview by Mayssun Soukarieh.” JPS 38, no. 4 (Sum. 09): 12–28. Soueidan, Mamun. “Is the Present Palestinian Crisis Legal or Political?” [in Arabic]. Siyasat, no. 6 (08): 73–82. Taqi, Samir. “Gaza and After” [in Arabic]. SA, no. 132 (Spr. 09): 109–22. JERUSALEM Bali, Hifnawi. “Jerusalem City in the Eyes of Travelers and Foreign Writers” [in Arabic]. al-Ma'rifa 48, no. 549 (Jun. 09): 130–52. Boullata, Issa. “My First School and Childhood Home.” JQ, no. 37 (Spr. 09): 27–43. Daqqaq, Omar. “Jerusalem in Contemporary Arab Poetry” [in Arabic]. al-Ma'rifa 48, no. 549 (Jun. 09): 31–54. Hammami, Rema, and Rula Halawani. “Lifta: The Cipher of the Landscape—A Photographic Essay.” JQ, no. 37 (Spr. 09): 98–103. Jacobson, Abigail. “A City Living through Crisis: Jerusalem during World War I.” BRIJMES 36, no. 1 (Apr. 09): 73–92. Jawhariyyeh, Wasif. “The Ottoman Childhood of Wasif Jawhariyyeh.” JQ, no. 37 (Spr. 09): 45–56. Khalidi, Asem. “The Mamilla Cemetery: A Buried History.” JQ, no. 37 (Spr. 09): 104–9. Shahid, Serene H. “A Jerusalem Childhood: The Early Life of Serene Husseini.” JQ, no. 37 (Spr. 09): 5–13. Shukair, Mahmoud. “Childhood Memories of Jerusalem and Ramallah.” JQ, no. 37 (Spr. 09): 57–74.