Body Politic/s: Palestine and the Politicization of Being
Coming from a family that has personally been impacted by forced migration and ethnic cleansing, I have always been quite interested in mass atrocity prevention and education. In line with these personal and academic interests, a peer and I constructed and taught a student form titled “GOVT420: Rethinking the Palestinian State” in the Spring of 2023, with the explicit purpose of highlighting often overlooked Palestinian narratives regarding Israeli occupation.
In examining both archival and contemporary media representations of Palestinian identity, there appears to be a staunch discrepancy between the nature in which Israeli and Palestinian voices are presented, and the agency provided in crafting these images. In the limited instances where Palestinian voices and narratives are featured, it seems that they are always related to Israeli occupation.
Exhibit Purpose?
In an exhibit titled “Body Politic/s,” I want to explore this lack of Palestinian representation within Wesleyan’s special collections and archives, focusing particularly on the lack of Palestinian perspectives/narratives, and the absence of apolitical materials on Palestine. I argue that through featuring Palestinian voices and perspectives solely in relation to the ongoing conflict with Israel, the archive perpetuates the politicization of Palestinian identity in a manner not reflected in the materials related to Israel. Through the perpetual framing of Palestinian ‘being’ as a political act, what is often lost is the human identity of those who are being subjugated under the greater political concept that is Israeli occupation.
In order to consider the significance of this (the politicization of Palestinian identity), one need look no further than modern day. Through the perpetual framing of Palestinian ‘being’ as a political act, what is often lost is the human identity of those who are being subjugated under the greater political concept that is Israeli occupation. It is this framing which fosters the dehumanization of Palestinian suffering and plight, for it is this framing that encourages onlookers to interpret the murder of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by IDF soldiers (for example) as a political issue rather than a human rights one. Furthermore, this over politicization of Palestinian identity can be seen as one of the main reasons why apolitical framings of Palestinian identity are hard to come by, for the forced marriage of Palestinian ‘being’ and politics has come to transform mundane expressions of personhood into political acts. In this way, such politicization can act as a self-reinforcing prophecy, encouraging the fusion of Palestinian identity with the political and which then in turn forcibly politicizes all forms of Palestinian existence. This becomes troublesome when considering how such ideas can come to impact how institutions come to interact with Palestine generally. Unlike with other topics, the mere spotlighting of anything ‘Palestinian’ is perceived by many as a political endorsement, where merely awarding a Palestinian writer (for example) is seen as some sort of anti-Israeli political act, which in turn can derail efforts to highlight Palestinian personhood and ‘being’ outside of sanctioned scenarios (i.e. conferences, debates, etc).
Central to this exhibit is the question of what is warranted as ‘significant enough’ to be featured in the archive as it pertains to Palestine: Must it be political in some way? Must it be related to Israel in some way?
Essential Objects: Purposes and Considerations
‘Editorial: Israel/Palestine, May 22, 2009’: Collection: Roy Lisker papers (2001), Old Box 50, Folder 30
Perhaps the most potent of the materials I have encountered, this piece centers around a call for East Asian immigration to Israel, and notably supports the prohibition of immigration to Israel from those states that have ‘established histories’ of antisemitism, especially those Muslim majority and Arab states. Outlining a strategy, the editorials author argues for Israel to encourage Palestinian integration for it would not need to worry about “sabotage from the Islamic world” with “a population that is 50% or more oriental.” This strategy also calls for strict quotas on the number of Christians and Muslims who should be allowed to apply for citizenship in Israel. In wrapping up the editorial, the author makes his point succinctly, “What I’m suggesting is that, if the non-Muslim immigrant population is Israel remains an overwhelming majority, there is nothing to fear from the Palestinians, who are human beings with ‘inalienable rights’ as the famous slave holder Thomas Jefferson put it.” The purpose in highlighting this item in the archive is to call into question the stark differences between the nature of the items related to Palestine and Israel, encouraging those viewing it to wonder how a piece of similar tone would be received if it were pro-Palestinian in its views, and if such a piece would be incorporated into the archives at all? Why is it that similar pieces cannot be found in relation to Palestine?
‘Students for Israel protest Said’s arrival,’ Feb. 22, 2002: Collection: Students for a Free Palestine: Cabinet 5, Drawer C*
This Argus article discusses the only instance (that I could find) of a Palestinian speaker being invited to campus, Edward Saïd. Invited by Students for a Free Palestine, Saïd’s lecture was met with protests from Students for Israel, who asserted Saïd had lied about his Palestinian heritage (he was allegedly an “Egyptian Arab”) and family’s history of becoming refugees at the hands of the Israeli state. This piece is important as it showcases the negotiation of Palestinian ‘being,’ and in turn underlines the political associations and implications associated with Palestinian identity. If Palestinian identity did not carry extra associations, why would it be necessary to negate the veracity of Saïd’s claims to Palestinian heritage?
If you are interested, the entirety of Edward Saïd’s 2002 lecture at Wesleyan, by miraculous circumstances, can be listened to below!
Additionally, students reactions to Saïd’s lecture can be found in the Argus selections below.
*Please Note: This ‘object’ and its associated materials are a unique addition to the online version of this Exhibit.
‘the window’: Collection: David Schorr collection of student’s class work (2021), Box 2, Item 2
As the only piece of student work I could find related to Palestine, this booklet explores the IDF orchestrated assassination of a Palestinian Liberation Organization leader in Beirut, 1973. What makes this piece significant is less so what it contains and more so what it does not, and how that is reflected throughout special collections and the archive generally. Situated firmly upon an instance of Israeli interjection into the Palestinian ether, ‘the window’ is symbolic of a trend in the archive, where all Palestinian materials are in some way or form tied to the state of Israel. The intention in displaying this item is to encourages observers to ponder on what it means for one’s identity to be inextricably tied to the existence of another entity, and how this framing of Palestinian ‘being’ is contrasted by the numerous materials celebrating a unitary Israeli existence. Considering this, then, what would it mean for the archive to feature materials on Palestine untethered to the concept of Israel?
‘Israel, photographs, September 16-19, 1979’: Collection: Douglas J. Bennet papers (2009), Box 14, Folder 8
This significant of this collection of photos is manifold, with its title alone providing the grounds for an important question on naming. Featuring photos of former Wesleyan President Bennet in the midst of a greater a USAID trip to the Middle East, these photos of Bennet show him in various locations from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and the occupied West Bank however, Palestine is featured nowhere in the description of the photo collection. Indeed, I only came across these images through additional archive research I conduced on Israel, research I decided to do because I could not find a substantial amount of material related to Palestine. Why is it, then, that the archive would not include the label of Palestine for these images? Is this because it would not ‘look’ good for Bennet to have gone on a trip to Palestine? Perhaps the politicization of Palestine as an entity discouraged the labeling of the photos as having taken place in Palestine (jointly with Israel) for fears of it being interpreted as a declaration of support for Palestinian land aspirations (relating to the earlier theme of politicization I mentioned).
In Light of Recent Happenings
In light of recent imagery coming out of the Gaza Strip, many have found themselves taken aback at the scenes of exposed flesh and blood. Indeed, I implore you all to consider how these images may interact with the politicization of Palestinian identity. The following excerpts can provide food for thought.
“This [narrative] contest, which uses visual proof of damaged bodies and images of human suffering as primary tools, remains central to Palestinian nationalist representations. Through a focus on bodies and the blood, guts, and flesh to which so many are reduced by Israeli violence, the physical common denominators all human beings share are thrust before the world’s eyes. Palestinians are staging claims to a humanity shared in common with the international community and, therefore, to their status as deserving of human rights.” Allen, 162
“To whom must the [Palestinian] narrative be addressed? Who must be convinced in order for Palestinians to become human, normal, and socially acceptable? And according to what criteria?” Jawad, 35
“Being subject to international norms of Western-dominated political, economic, and humanitarian bodies is a process of conditioning subjects, a process of disciplining… In this notion, the subjects on display are to be ‘described, judged, measured, compared with others…to be trained or corrected, classified, normalized.’ Being under the examiner’s gaze is an exercise in being subject to power and domination.” Jawad, 30
Bibliography
Primary Sources:
Edward Said, Recorded Lecture: Recorded at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut (19 February 2002)
Wesleyan Argus Volume 137, Number 31 (February 22, 2002): See Permalink Here for Digital Access
Secondary Sources
Allen, Lori A. “Martyr bodies in the media: Human rights, aesthetics, and the politics of
immediation in the Palestinian intifada.” American Ethnologist 36, no. 1 (2009): 161-180.
Haslam, Nick, and Michelle Stratemeyer. “Recent research on dehumanization.” Current
Opinion in Psychology 11 (2016): 25-29.
Jawad, Rania. “Aren’t We Human? Normalizing Palestinian Performances.” The Arab Studies
Journal 22, no. 1 (2014): 28-45.
Marshall, David Jones. “‘All the Beautiful Things’: Trauma, Aesthetics and the Politics of
Palestinian Childhood.” In The Beginning of Politics, pp. 53-73. Routledge, 2016.
Said, Edward W. 2003. Orientalism. Penguin Modern Classics. London, England: Penguin
Classics.
Shadiqi, Muhammad Abdan, Hamdi Muluk, and Mirra Noor Milla. “Palestinian solidarity action:
The dynamics of politicized and religious identity patterns among student
activists.” Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia 22, no. 2 (2018): 118-128.
Yiftachel, Oren. “‘Ethnocracy’: The Politics of Judaizing Israel/Palestine.” Constellations 6, no. 3
(1999): 364-390.
Images:
Bennet Photo: Images from the Wesleyan Archives, Photo taken by me
Funeral Procession Photo: AP Photo (File)
Mural Photo: Al Jazeera/AFP/Getty Images
Roy Lisker Photo: Provided by Community Contributor ‘Rolande Duprey’ to The Hartford Courant
Artwork:
Abdel Rahmen al-Mozayen (Palestine), Jenin, 2002.
Sliman Mansour (Palestine), Woman Carrying Jerusalem, 1997
