Israel/Palestine 66196_Paul.indd196_Paul.indd i 118/12/198/12/19 33:15:15 PPMM 66196_Paul.indd196_Paul.indd iiii 118/12/198/12/19 33:15:15 PPMM Israel/Palestine Border Representations in Literature and Film Drew Paul 66196_Paul.indd196_Paul.indd iiiiii 118/12/198/12/19 33:15:15 PPMM Edinburgh University Press is one of the leading university presses in the UK. We publish academic books and journals in our selected subject areas across the humanities and social sciences, combining cutting-edge scholarship with high editorial and production values to produce academic works of lasting importance. For more information visit our website: edinburghuniversitypress.com © Drew Paul, 2020 Edinburgh University Press Ltd Th e Tun – Holyrood Road 12 (2f) Jackson’s Entry Edinburgh EH8 8PJ Typeset in 11/15 Adobe Garamond by IDSUK (DataConnection) Ltd, and and printed and bound in Great Britain A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 1 4744 5612 8 (hardback) ISBN 978 1 4744 5614 2 (webready PDF) ISBN 978 1 4744 5615 9 (epub) Th e right of Drew Paul to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No. 2498). 66196_Paul.indd196_Paul.indd iivv 118/12/198/12/19 33:15:15 PPMM Contents List of Figures vi Note on Translation and Transliteration viii Acknowledgements ix 1 Introduction: Excess, Illusion and the Border 1 I Expanding Borders 2 Return to the Border: Commitment, Utopia and the Inescapable Green Line 45 3 Sayed Kashua, the Palestinian Hebrew Novel and the Failure of Coexistence 77 II Deceptive Borders 4 Border Crossings and Stray Narratives of Return 107 5 Does the Camera Lie? Or, How to Document the Wall 134 6 The Illusion of the One-way Mirror: Filming the Checkpoint in Divine Intervention 158 7 Conclusion: Physical and Fictional Borders 186 Bibliography 192 Filmography 205 Index 206 66196_Paul.indd196_Paul.indd v 118/12/198/12/19 33:15:15 PPMM Figures 5.1 A shot in Mur depicting the construction of a concrete segment of the wall 143 5.2 A long shot of the wall is pictured during a conversation with a Palestinian farmer 143 5.3 A Palestinian sneaks through a section of the wall, as an Israeli general touts its impenetrability via voiceover 146 5.4 An injury suff ered by Burnat in 5 Broken Cameras is depicted with a shaky, fl ickering image 150 5.5 Th e fi ve cameras used by Burnat to document the Bilʿin protests 151 5.6 A soldier shines a fl ashlight into Burnat’s camera to blind it 153 6.1 E. S. enters the checkpoint in Divine Intervention 159 6.2 A post-wedding celebration at an Israeli military checkpoint in Rana’s Wedding 166 6.3 Israeli soldiers move in choreographed unison as detained Palestinians wait at the checkpoint 169 6.4 E. S. and his girlfriend silently watch the checkpoint from the parking lot 170 6.5 Th e checkpoint watchtower collapses as the woman passes through 172 66196_Paul.indd196_Paul.indd vvii 118/12/198/12/19 33:15:15 PPMM figures | vii 6.6, 6.7 E. S. and his girlfriend exchange glances in a shot/reverse shot sequence 175 6.8 An Israeli soldier follows the balloon as it approaches the checkpoint 179 6.9 Th e camera captures both the balloon and the car as they move towards Jerusalem 180 66196_Paul.indd196_Paul.indd vviiii 118/12/198/12/19 33:15:15 PPMM Note on Translation and Transliteration I have followed the transliteration guidelines of the International Journal of Middle East Studies for Arabic, and the Library of Congress guidelines for Hebrew. I omit diacritical marks on names of persons, places and titles, in Hebrew. For א and ע in Arabic and the ء and ﻉ with the exception of the author and place names I have used the most common English spelling. For the instances in which I use my own translations, I have cited the Arabic or Hebrew original. Otherwise, I use and cite the English translations of literary works. viii 66196_Paul.indd196_Paul.indd vviiiiii 118/12/198/12/19 33:15:15 PPMM Acknowledgements Writing is a largely solitary and sometimes lonely aff air, but this book would not have come to fruition without the support of many friends and col- leagues. Th is project has gone through several iterations and drafts, and I want to thank the colleagues and friends from the University of Texas who have collaborated with me and supported me in various ways, from informal conversations to reading drafts and giving feedback at various stages in the process, among them Blake Atwood, Zeina Halabi, Michal Raizen, Benjamin Koerber, Johanna Sellman, Anna Ziajka-Stanton and Angela Giordani. My work has be en made possible by excellent mentors and colleagues throughout my graduate education. Tarek El-Ariss, who showed me the dynamism that is possible in this fi eld of study, and whose boundless enthusiasm for my project and belief in my potential as a scholar have inspired me to push myself fur- ther than I ever knew possible. Karen Grumberg helped me (re)discover my love for literature in the fi rst class I ever attended as a graduate student and has been a vital source of encouragement and knowledge ever since. I would not be here without Kristen Brustad’s unfailing support, from the fi rst day of beginning Arabic to the present, and her passion for and knowledge of all things Arabic is an inspiration. Mahmoud al-Batal’s infectious enthusiasm and energy, both in the classroom and outside of it, is a model that I aspire to emulate. ix 66196_Paul.indd196_Paul.indd iixx 118/12/198/12/19 33:15:15 PPMM x | israel /palestine After leaving Texas, my new institutional home, the University of Tennessee, has provided me with a solid foundation for building an academic career. Th e Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures and Department Head Adrian Del Caro have provided con- sistent and unwavering support for my work and my development as a scholar. I would like to thank the University of Tennessee Graduate School for supporting my research through a Professional Development Award, Alan Rutenburg from the Offi ce of Research and my fellow newly arrived humanities faculty colleagues who helped craft this project into a viable book proposal, and the College of Arts and Sciences for its repeated sup- port of my work. At MFLL I have found wonderful interlocutors who have given me guid- ance and feedback throughout this process. My colleague, friend and faculty mentor, Maria Stehle, has been a voice of wisdom and calm when I needed it the most and has guided me through the processes of book publication and adjusting to the demands of being an assistant professor. Douja Mamelouk immediately welcomed me and made me feel like an equal partner in what was then a nascent Arabic programme. Nicole Wallenbrock has become a consistent collaborator and dear friend who constantly pushes me to think in new ways. Chris Holmlund welcomed me to Knoxville before I even arrived, and she has continued to do so with many martinis and dinners at her house. She has been a steadfast advocate for me both at UT and in the larger world of Cinema Studies. I arrived at UT at an auspicious time for Middle East Studies, as an infl ux of faculty sparked a new energy. My colleagues in Arabic and Middle East Studies have built a dynamic and growing community of scholars here, and I thank them for all of their sup- port: Phillip Stokes, Elodie Dabbagh-Buehler, Amel Djouadi, Erin Darby, Tina Shepardson, Krista Wiegand, Alison Vacca, Manuela Ceballos, Lillie Gordon and Matt Buehler. Th e editing team at Edinburgh University Press have been a pleasure to work with at all stages of the publication process, and I would especially like to thank Adela Rauchova for her early and enthusiastic interest in my project, and Kirsty Woods for hers. I would like to thank Jose Duarté and Timothy Corrigan for publishing my chapter, ‘Th e Palestinian Road(block) Movie: Interrupted Journeys in Elia Suleiman’s Divine Intervention’ in their 66196_Paul.indd196_Paul.indd x 118/12/198/12/19 33:15:15 PPMM acknowledgements | xi edited volume, Th e Global Road Movie (Bristol: Intellect, 2018, pp. 104–17). A revised version appears as Chapter 6 of this book. I also thank the editors of Scritture Migranti for permission to reprint an earlier version of Chapter 4, which appeared as ‘One House, Two Shadows: Th e Rupture of Return in Con- temporary Palestinian Literature’ (Scritture Migranti 6, 2012, pp. 107–30) in 2013. While I have only realised it after the fact, at some point in the last fi ve years, Knoxville became home. I would like to thank the friends I have made at the University of Tennessee who have provided community, solidarity and friendship of the best kind, through countless coff ees and late-night work sessions, spin classes, gym sessions, dinners, happy hours, trips, and more: Patrick Grzanka, Joe Miles, Bernie Issa, Dustin Manning, Sarah Eldridge, Lillie Gordon, Jessi Grieser, Christopher Ojeda, Gerard Cohen-Vrignaud, Jason Stinnett and Harrison Meadows. I am also grateful for many friends who have opened my eyes to Knoxville and helped me build a life here: Drew Sparks, Oren Yarborough, Mark Marlow, Ben Roach, Hana Akimoto, Jeremy Mills, Jonathan Repass, and many others.