Remembering Past (S), Imagining Futures: the Politics of Hope In
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Remembering Past(s), Imagining Futures: The Politics of Hope in Palestine By Noa Tova Shaindlinger A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations University of Toronto © Copyright by Noa Shaindlinger 2016 Remembering Past(s), Imagining Futures: The Politics of Hope in Palestine Noa Shaindlinger Doctor of Philosophy Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations University of Toronto 2016 Abstract Using hope as a category of experience, this dissertation explores the ways Palestinians and their Israeli-Jewish allies undermine urban spatial expropriations under Israeli-settler-colonialism. Focusing on the city of Jaffa, I analyze the ways in which the Israeli state and the Tel Aviv municipality succeeded in ‘burying’ histories of mass expulsions, organized violence and appropriations of private and public spaces. I then follow the fortunes of Palestinians – those who remained in Jaffa and became a minority under regimes of neoliberalization and Judaicization, and those who were expelled, found themselves de-nationalized and precarious refugees, some confined to decrepit camps, while others pursued opportunities for meaningful political engagement and armed struggle. The dissertation ends with a powerful gesture towards a future that undermines the colonial present and its attendant sense of hopelessness: I explore how both Palestinians and Israeli-Jews engage with the ideas of reconciliation and “living together” in the “Jaffa of tomorrow.” My focus on hope as a category of experience hinges on two main intersecting axes: temporality and place. Just as political identities are rooted in the refugee camp experience and informed by the quotidian and the present, on the one hand, and memory and absence on the other, so, I argue, is Palestinians’ understanding of the local. Rather than accepting normative assertions that ii define the local as a bounded place that is both community-making and exclusive of those outside of it, I wish to suggest that locality, and attachment to it, is much more multi-directional, dispersed in time and space. This understanding brings to our line of sight those people who are geographically external to place, in this case Jaffa, but have nonetheless powerful attachment to it. In many ways, then, Palestinians are fighting for the right to belong against submerged histories of ethnic cleansing and entrenched colonial denial of their attachments to places they were expelled from. iii Acknowledgments This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of Hamed al-Sa’id, a refugee from Jaffa, who died in exile, in Balata camp, and to all the Palestinian refugees who have suffered the pangs of longing for the homeland. This project would not have been completed without the immense help I have received from Palestinians in Jaffa and in Nablus, in particular all the refugees, young and old, that I met at the camps and who shared their personal histories with me. “Tell them we are still here, in these overcrowded and crumbling camps. Don’t let the world forget about us,” they pleaded with me time and again. This project was carried out, then, with an eye to echo the voices of the refugees, to demand the world does not abandom them to their fate and side with their oppressors. In Balata, I am particularly thankful to the al-Sa’id family, my generous hosts and most intimate interlocutors and compansions; to Muhammad ‘Ayash for spending so much of his precious time introducing me to countless people and sitting in on interviews; to the staff of the Yafa Cultural Centre and the young men who kept me company each morning, greeting me with coffee and cigarettes. This dissertation would not have been written if it were not for the mentorship and guidance of Jens Hanssen, a diligent and caring supervisor, who, with lots of tough love helped me through writer’s blocks and other hurdles, constantly challenging and demanding better from me. I hope some day I will do unto others what he has done for me. Amira Mittermaier introduced me to anthropological thinking and to rigorous ethnographic methodologies, and continued to challenge me, offering her critique of my chapters, forcing me to rethink that which I had taken for granted or at face value. Ato Quayson welcomed me to the Diaspora and Transnational Studies collaborative program, introducing me to a whole body of scholarship I previously was iv not familiar with, and constantly asking me questions, challenging my analytical framework to make it more resilient. Alejandro Paz offered exensive review of my completed project, providing me with several excellent new trajectories for my book manuscript. Serving as an external reviewer, Julie Peteet has been supportive of my research from the first time I presented from it at the AAAs through the defence process, pressing me on a few of my most fundamental questions. In Palestine, I owe a debt of gratitude to many for their hospitality, companionship and assistance: Haim Schwarczenbrg, Chen Misgav, Lizi Sagie, Neria Biala, Tamar Freed, Ronnie Barkan, Yudit Ilani, Sami Abu Shehadeh, Iris and Yoav Bar, Shosh Kahn, Tali Shapira, Halleli Pinson, Moran Barir, Ami Asher and so many others. Daniel Monterescu who has been a friend and a scholarly collaborator while in the field, and my cheerleader during the long write-up period. Eitan Bronstein Aparicio and Eleonore Merza-Bronstein for the many hours of discussing the Nakba, the right of Return, and the response of Israelis. The entire staff at Zochrot, especially ‘Umar al-Ghubari and Liat Rosenberg, for bringing me into the fold and allowing me to participate and to ask so many questions. To my friends at Badil for their companionship and insight, as well as all the wonderful people we met in Cape Town, especially Heidi Grunebaum and Aslam Levy. Salman Abu Sitta was an immense help providing me with raw statistical data about the refugees. Back in Toronto, I must thank my friends for their continued support over the years: Susan Benson-Sokmen, Oscar Jarzmik, Mathew Gagne, Ian Costa and Usman Hamid. I would have never made it through those long years of writing if it weren’t for your friendship. To the wonderful and dedicated administrative staff at NMC, especially Anna Sousa, who works tirelessly behind the scenes and making sure our graduate experience is a pleasant and productive v one. This research was supported through generous funding from SGS at the University of Toronto, OGS (Ontario Graduate Scholarship), SSHRC (the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) doctoral awards, Charles and Andrea Bronfman Award for Israeli Studies and Friends of Hebrew University Travel Grant. Finally, many heartfelt thanks to my family: my parents, Klara and Hillel, and my sister Liron for their continued support, material included, for repeatedly picking me up and dropping me off at the airport, and for hosting me for so long while doing fieldwork. To my feline companions Sookie, Shlomo and Jon Snow for the most welcome distractions and for keeping me sane. vi Table of Contents Remembering Past(s), Imagining Futures: The Politics of Hope in Palestine ......................................... i Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................... x List of Figures .................................................................................................................................... xi Introduction: Who’s Afraid of the Right of Return? .............................................................................1 Salvaging Hope......................................................................................................................................3 The Right of Return and International Law ....................................................................................... 15 Zionist conceptions of “Return” ........................................................................................................ 18 The Return in the context of Palestinian State-Building ................................................................... 24 The Right to Belong............................................................................................................................ 30 Fieldwork ........................................................................................................................................... 33 The Outline of the Dissertation ......................................................................................................... 38 Chapter One: Jaffa from the Blushing “Bride of Palestine” to the Shamed “Mother of Strangers” ...... 43 Jaffa: A Hub of Modernity .................................................................................................................. 44 The Zionist Colonial Logic of Separation ............................................................................................ 49 The White City and “Mixing” ............................................................................................................