From the Arab Other to the Israeli Self: Palestinian Culture in the Making of Israeli National Identity and Culture (original) (raw)

This book examines the role played by Arab-Palestinian culture and people in the construction and reproduction of Israeli national identity and culture, showing that it is impossible to understand modern Israeli national identity and culture without taking into account its crucial encounter and dialectical relationship with the Arab-Palestinian indigenous 'Other'. Based on extensive and original primary sources, including archival research, cookbooks and a variety of cultural products – from songs to dance steps – From the Arab Other to the Israeli Self sheds light on an important cultural and ideational diffusion that has occurred between the Zionist settlers – and later the Jewish-Israeli population – and the indigenous Arab-Palestinian people in Historical Palestine. By examining Israeli food culture, national symbols, the Modern Hebrew language spoken in Israel, and culture, the authors trace the journey of Israeli national identity and culture, in which Arab-Palestinian culture has been imitated, adapted and celebrated, but strikingly also rejected, forgotten and denied. From the Arab Other to the Israeli Self provides a pathbreaking, probing and critical look into the processes of mobilization and articulation of elements of Palestinian culture in the construction of Israeli identity. This is an accessible, yet insightful and thought-provoking contribution to an under-researched area that I unreservedly recommend to anyone who wants to understand the complexity of identity politics in this contested land.

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