The London School of Economics and Political Science Talking through Difference: Everyday Ethics Across Borders in an Israeli-Palestinian Community Liat Tuv A thesis submitted to the Department of Anthropology of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, January 2018 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 74,599 words. Statement of use of third party for editorial help I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Richard Knight. !2 of 209! Abstract At the centre of one of the most well-known and seemingly intractable societal conflicts in modern history, a movement of Jewish and Palestinian Israelis has tried over the decades to work towards equality, a shared society, and positive inter-group relationships. Within this movement is the community of Wahat al-Salam - Neve Shalom (‘Oasis of Peace’ in Arabic and Hebrew), where 30 Jewish families and 30 Palestinian families have chosen to live together and run educational outreach projects to share their theories about peace and equality with others in Israel-Palestine. Key to this moral endeavour is dialogue, which really means being able to talk through difference; villagers believe in talking with each other despite the political and social barriers that may stand in their way, and making those very socio-political differences into objects of discussion. This thesis, based on 17-months fieldwork in Wahat al-Salam - Neve Shalom, explores three puzzles with implications for the mission of the community as well as anthropological theory. First, what kind of language ideologies underlie the idea of talking as a tool for peace? Second, what concept of difference do community members have, given the potentially negative implications of either emphasizing or downplaying difference? Third, what motivates people in social movements to live their ethical ideals in the everyday? Given the highly politicised context in which the villagers live, and the moral objectives they live by, even seemingly banal linguistic choices can affect relationships. Friendships across difference can be formed, strengthened, or fall apart as the result of verbal and non-verbal interactions — energising those involved when they go well and producing feelings of discomfort or embarrassment when they do not. In sum, this thesis suggests that everyday ethical approaches to difference draw on a mixture of political awareness and sensitivity, explicit theories about the way to engage with others, and the internal dynamics of interactions. These internal dynamics bring up moments of ambiguity that require reflection but also provide the potential for people to challenge their differences and how best to deal with them. !3 of 209! Contents Acknowledgements 6 Introduction 7 Introducing the Oasis 12 Methodology and Ethical Considerations 20 A Volunteer Anthropologist 20 A Jewish-Israeli in a Jewish-Palestinian Community 23 A Note on Language 24 Working in a Much-Studied Field-Site 25 Chapter I: Living with the Conflict 29 Two Narratives 29 A Context of Inequality 33 ‘Hollowed-out’ Citizenship 34 Language Asymmetry 37 A Militarised Society 41 Addressing the Conflict — Different Approaches in the Peace Movement 43 Conclusion: A Peace Village in Context 51 Chapter II: Ethical Life in an Intentional Community 52 An Intentional Community 52 Commemorating the Nakba 60 From ‘Moral Education’ to Everyday Ethics of Difference 67 Chapter III: From Dialogue to Action 72 Strategic Meetings 73 Talk into Action and Talking for Talking’s Sake 77 Expressing Unity through Difference 83 “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies”: A Rally 89 Conclusion 94 !4 of 209! Chapter IV: Between Translation and Repetition 96 Translating in Practice: A Film-Screening and Discussion at WASNS 97 Acts of Translation to Promote Equality 101 The Difficult Position of Translator 104 The Dilemma of Substance or Form 109 Chapter V: From Bilingualism to Code-Switching 112 The Place of Arabic in WASNS 114 Code-switching at a Village Celebration 119 Code-switching as a Source of Humour 122 Phatic Communication and Language of the Heart 126 Chapter VI: Dialogue without Words 131 Dialogue through Dance 135 Dance as Interaction Ritual 139 Friendship as an Alternative Dialogue 143 Productive Ambiguity: Wordless Encounters and the Ethics of Friendship 147 Chapter VII: Dark Humour as a Shared Language 151 WASNS Friendships: Growing Up ‘Together with the Village’ 154 Mockery in Joking Friendships 156 The Ambiguity of ‘Dark’ Humour: Considering a ‘Failed’ Joke 160 Coping with Conflict: The 2014 Gazan-Israeli ‘War’ 163 Humour as Way to Talk Through Difference? 168 Conclusion 175 Conclusion 177 On Dialogue 178 On Difference 182 On Ethics 186 Looking Ahead 189 References 191 !5 of 209! Acknowledgements First and foremost I would like to thank all the villagers of Wahat al-Salam - Neve Shalom, for hosting me, and making me feel like part of the community. I will be forever grateful to all who invited me into their homes, their lives, and their friendship groups. I would also like to thank the many volunteers I encountered and befriended during my time in the village; they played a more crucial role in my fieldwork than I had anticipated. The village was always a safe and accepting place to talk about, and process, the often upsetting context we found ourselves in. I have such admiration for all the labour involved in keeping a place like WASNS going. At LSE, I would first like to thank my supervisors Rita Astuti and Mathijs Pelkmans. Their thorough feedback on my drafts always pushed me to better frame my ideas, so too their excellent recommendations for further reading. I am grateful for the time and effort they both devoted to critiquing and discussing the drafts, especially at the most difficult moments in the writing process. I am also grateful to my cohort at the writing-up seminar, and to all who attended the Friday Seminar I gave on dark humour, for such insightful questions that helped me clarify certain theories, and gave me new ideas. I would like to thank all my family and friends in Israel-Palestine for all their support while I was out there. In particular, I would like to thank my uncle, Adi Toov, who not only introduced me to WASNS in the first place but was always looking out for events, articles, books, or contacts that could be useful. I am also indebted to my late grandfather Michael Rosenblatt, who always supported my academic ventures and was keen to follow and support the progress of my PhD. Sadly, he died before I began my fieldwork, and could not see this final work. This thesis is dedicated to him. Last, but definitely not least, I would like to thank my partner Richard Knight for his diligent copy-editing, numerous visits to the village, and general moral support. I would like to thank Margaret Francis for her moral support also. !6 of 209! Introduction “The idea of Wahat al-Salam - Neve Shalom is to stand as an example, for the rest of [Israel-Palestine] and the world, that peace is possible if we – you know – respect our differences, learn about our differences, and not fight out our differences, and if we come together to have a dialogue and find a peaceful way.” – The village of Wahat al-Salam - Neve Shalom as explained by one of its villagers, Rita Boulos, in a recent news-report1 Israelis and Palestinians are engaged in one of the world’s most bitter, intractable, and internationally divisive conflicts. Decades of societal strife, and military occupation of the Palestinian territories, have entrenched inequality between the two peoples. Within the state of Israel the conflict causes strained relations and inequalities between Jewish and Palestinian Israelis. Over years of conflict, a movement of Jewish and Palestinian Israelis has tried to work towards ending inequality, promoting a shared society, and fostering more-positive inter-group relationships. This mission is complicated by the great degree of segregation in Israeli society, and put under great additional strain during occasional episodes of open warfare. This thesis examines the experiences of a group of Jewish and Palestinian Israelis within the peace and social justice movement, a group that jointly founded a village in which they could live out their ideals. The village, which was also the site of my fieldwork, is known as Wahat al-Salam - Neve Shalom (meaning ‘Oasis of Peace’ in Arabic then Hebrew), or WASNS (pronounced wasnas) for short. The villagers of WASNS are attempting to “live with the conflict” (WASNS website’s FAQ) – to mitigate its consequences on their lives – by talking. The villagers are committed to talking through difference; by which I mean both talking despite differences but also making difference a topic of conversation itself. Their plight poses three puzzles with challenges for both for the mission of the community and theoretical anthropological principals. Firstly, what kind of ideas about language do people need to have for it to make sense for them to emphasise 1 The report on i24 News – an Israeli-American 24-hour news network – was broadcast in June 2017 and centred on a communal Iftar meal at the village.