Artistic Resistance in the Holy Land: ‘48 Palestinian Fiction and Hip-Hop DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Miriam Rudavsky Bourgeois Graduate Program in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures The Ohio State University 2019 Dissertation Committee: Naomi Brenner, Advisor Alexander Kaye Johanna Sellman Ryan Skinner Copyright by Miriam Rudavsky Bourgeois 2019 ABSTRACT This dissertation examines two literary works and two rap songs by Palestinian citizens of Israel (‘48 Palestinians) that challenge the Jewish state: Emile Habibi’s satirical novel Saeed The Pessoptimist (1974); DAM’s rap song “Innocent Criminals” (2000); MWR’s rap song “Ashanak Arabi” (2001); and Sayed Kashua’s semi-autobiographical novel Dancing Arabs (2002). Habibi and Kashua participated in Israel’s mainstream literary scene: their two novels were read by contemporary Israeli readers and published by Israeli presses. The rappers of MWR and DAM participated in an underground ‘48 Palestinian rap scene in Israel: aside from MWR’s short-lived radio popularity, the selected rap songs were not consumed by mainstream Israeli listeners, played on Israeli radio, or produced by Israeli record labels. How can we account for these discrepancies? I suggest they are more reflective of attitudes within Israeli society than differences between the works themselves. As a result, factors such as genre (rap or literary text); candor (explicit or implicit critique); and language (Hebrew or Arabic) allow the artists to accomplish different things through their art. With a horizontal form of analysis that replaces more traditional hierarchical genre analysis with an emphasis upon the similar rhetorical force of both oral and written communications, I maintain that the “low” art of rap contains as much depth, substance, and nuance as the “high” art of written fiction. ii DEDICATION Dedicated to Brandon iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Great debts are owed to many who have guided me on this academic journey: to the professors at OSU and UChicago who taught me many things, especially to my advisor Naomi Brenner; and also to Mohammad El-Haj Ahmad, who generously helped me translate Palestinian rap into English. I could not have completed this journey without the love and support of my family, and in return I offer my love and undying gratitude: to my Rudavsky-Brody family, especially to Grandma Sarah and Grandpa Joe; Savi and Savta; Mom and Dad (I am forever grateful, and for the fresh bread, veggies, and perfectly grilled salmon); and Nathaniel and Sara; to my Bourgeois family, especially to my Mother and Father-in-Love and my two new brothers; as well as to my extended Rudavsky-Brody and Baptiste- Jacquot families for their collective pride, beauty, and encouragement. To the friends near and far who have supported me, encouraged me, and rooted for me throughout this process: to Charlotte; Lara; Anna, and Natalie; and to those at OSU who have had my back: Maya A., Shahreena S., and Genie G. Last and certainly not least, to Horace and Sappho who are always on patrol; and to my husband Brandon Bourgeois– for whom my greatest debt and gratitude is reserved, and to whom the entire project is dedicated– for his loving sacrifices, his support, his wisdom, and his cat songs. Brandon– my debts to you and my love cannot be expressed in words. iv VITA June 2005…………………………………………………… Columbus School for Girls June 2009……………………………………………… B.A., The University of Chicago June 2013……………………………………………… M.A., The Ohio State University 2013 to present…………………………….. G.A.A., Center for the Study & Teaching of Writing, The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS “Instituting and Assessing Asynchronous Online Writing Groups: Supporting Writer Success Through a Self-Directed Model”, with Genie Giaimo, ROLE, Forthcoming, May, 2019. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Near Eastern Languages and Cultures v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv VITA ................................................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER ONE. Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER TWO. Political Pawn to Political Prisoner: Emile Habibi’s Saeed the Pessoptimist ...................................................................................................................... 30 CHAPTER THREE. “Stop being silent, Arabs!”: MWR’s “Ashanak Arabi” .................. 60 CHAPTER FOUR. DAM’s “Innocent Criminals” and Kashua’s Dancing Arabs ............ 95 CHAPTER FIVE: Conclusion ........................................................................................ 131 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................... 140 vi CHAPTER ONE. Introduction Each of the following three chapters focuses on artistic works of resistance by Palestinian citizens of Israel (‘48 Palestinians1)– two literary writers and two rap groups2– who, in their prominent and public engagements with Israeli society, challenge the state of Israel: satirical novel Saeed The Pessoptimist by writer, left-wing politician, and journalist Emile Habibi (1921-1996), published in Arabic in 1974 and translated into Hebrew in 1984; rap song “Innocent Criminals” (2000) by rap group DAM (est. 1999), released in Hebrew in 2000; rap song “Ashanak Arabi” by rap group MWR (est. 1999), released in Arabic in 2001; and semi-autobiographical novel Dancing Arabs (2002), by writer, journalist, and director Sayed Kashua (b.1975), published in Hebrew in 2002. Palestinians who became citizens of Israel in 1948 are a small but integral segment of Israel’s population.3 1. I objectively refer to the Palestinians who became citizens of Israel in 1948 as ‘48 Palestinians. As a group, ‘48 Palestinians have identified variously as Israeli Arabs, Israeli Palestinians, ‘48 Palestinians, or Palestinians. See Bligh (2003); Khalidi (1997), 151-152, 156; Peleg & Waxman (2011), 49-51; Rekhess (2007), 2, 3-6; Tessler & Grant (1998), 97-113. 2. As ‘48 Palestinian rap participates in an underground art scene, much of the secondary source material that I use comes from interviews with the rap artists quoted in articles and several books. I additionally draw on footage of the artists, including candid interviews, from three documentary films: Anat Halachmi’s (2003), ‘Arutzim Shel Za’am (Channels of Rage)’; Jacqueline Salloum’s (2008), Slingshot Hip-Hop; and Noisey (2015), Hip Hop in the Holy Land. Lastly, as the rap scene changes so quickly, and many of these manifestations are as yet undocumented in scholarship, I often turn to the artists’ official social media accounts as primary source material. 3. According to a recent statement that Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) issued prior to the release of the upcoming 2018 census, ‘48 Palestinians currently make up around 20% of Israel’s population (Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 2017). 1 However many ‘48 Palestinians deal with perceived discrimination in Israeli society: ‘48 Palestinian communities are often isolated, and many ‘48 Palestinian voices are under- represented within academic and popular discourse. The four works express resistance by challenging the state’s dominant ideology. Resistance (challenge to the state) can take various forms, such as armed struggle, picketing, rioting, political negotiation, or subversive art (the focus of this dissertation). I closely analyze the rhetorical and stylistic aspects of the selected works of written text and spoken word over an approximately thirty-year period from 1974 to the aftermath of the Al-Aqsa (Second) Intifada (2000-2005),4 in order to analyze their different styles of resistance against the Jewish state. I selected these specific works of rap and written text first and foremost because they depict the artists’ similarly ambiguous identities, across different genres and over almost three decades. As perceived second-class citizens often living at the margins of Israeli society, these artists critique the state. Yet notably, they also showcase willingness to participate in the state and strive to improve their status in Israeli society. Their critical and often ambiguous engagements with the state of Israel raise important questions about the roles of ‘48 Palestinians and Israeli Jews in Israeli society, especially their engagements with rap music and literary works. Theoretical Framework Turning now to the theoretical framework, I begin with an examination of why many ‘48 4. See Kimmerling & Migdal (2003), 448-456; Shapira (2012), 447-449. 2 Palestinians consider themselves to be second-class citizens of Israel. ‘48 Palestinians were granted citizenship in Israel’s Proclamation of Independence (May 14, 1948).5 As non-Jews, they could even be elected to public office. However, a dominant perspective among ‘48 Palestinians is that citizenship for Israel’s Palestinians is not equivalent to that for its