UNIVERSITY OF LONDON Abstract of Thesis Author (full names) John Maher.................................................................................. Title of Thesis Slouching Towards Jerusalem: Reactive Nationalism in the Irish, Israel and Palestinian Novel, 1985-2005............................................................................ Degree PhD The Irish, Israeli and Palestinian novels have, individually, been the subject of considerable evaluation over the years. Nevertheless, very little work of a comparative nature has been carried out on the three literatures. A comparative study would provide a useful insight into the artistic articulation of the respective conflicts and the role of nationalism within those conflicts. The place of nationalism in the respective societies is an extremely important one. The thesis looks at the phenomenon of reactive nationalism - as opposed to top- down elite nationalism - in a selection of Irish, Israeli and Palestinian novels. Conclusions are reached as to the representation of reactive nationalism in the novels. The method followed is a comparative one, framed by an overview of nationalist theory, literary and cultural studies and involving close reading. Nationalism is considered under various tropes: land, the image of the enemy, love and war, religion and language. Land is seen as fundamental to both conflicts. The image of the enemy is seen to mutate, over time. Love and war are considered as existing in a symbiotic, if asymmetric, relationship. The contrasting weighting of religion, in both conflicts, is reflected in the selected novels. Finally, the nationalist trope of language is considered, particularly in the light of the phenomenon of the revival of Hebrew, before the foundation of the State of Israel. Reactive nationalism is shown, by virtue of its pragmatic nature, to be a less than useful tool for long - term projects such as state - building and language revival. Language is considered, in the end, as a territorializing factor at least as formidable as land tenure. The cultural survival of both the Israeli and Palestinianethnics is seen to be reflected in the linguistic and literary hegemony of the novels drawn from their societies. ProQuest Number: 10731697 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731697 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. 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Date of Acceptance Slouching Towards Jerusalem Reactive Nationalism in the Irish, Israeli and Palestinian Novel, 1985-2005 John Maher School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirement of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2009 Abstract The Irish, Israeli and Palestinian novels have, individually, been the subject of considerable evaluation over the years. Nevertheless, veiy little work of a comparative nature has been carried out on the three literatures. A comparative study would provide a useful insight into the artistic articulation of the respective conflicts and the role of nationalism within those conflicts. Given the particular complexity of the Irish and Israeli - Palestinian situations, the place of nationalism in the respective societies is an extremely important one. Nevertheless, it is the ‘top - down’ nationalism of the elites rather than the more pragmatic reactive nationalism which tends to be highlighted in both situations. The thesis looks at the phenomenon of reactive nationalism in a selection of Irish, Israeli and Palestinian novels. Conclusions are reached as to the representation of reactive nationalism in the novels. The method followed is a comparative one, framed by an overview of nationalist theory, literary and cultural studies and involving close reading. Nationalism is considered under various tropes: land, the image of the enemy, love and war, religion and language. Land is seen as fundamental to both conflicts. The image of the enemy is seen to mutate, over time. Love and war are considered as existing in a symbiotic, if asymmetric, relationship. The contrasting weighting of religion, in both conflicts, is reflected in the selected novels. Finally, the nationalist trope of language is considered, particularly in the light of the phenomenon of the revival of Hebrew, before the foundation of the State of Israel. Reactive nationalism is shown, by virtue of its pragmatic nature, to be a less than useful tool for long - term projects such as state - building and language revival. Language is considered, in the end, as a territorializing factor at least as formidable as land tenure. The cultural survival of both the Israeli and Palestinian ethnies is seen to be reflected in the linguistic and literary hegemony of the novels drawn from their societies. iv Table of Contents Declaration ii Abstract iii Table of contents iv Note on Translation and Transliteration vi Acknowledgements vii Introduction 2 Chapter 1 Nationalism and Reactive Nationalism Notions of Nationalism 19 Discourses of Nationalism 20 Irish Nationalism: An Overview 28 Israeli and Palestinian Nationalism: An Overview 35 The Phenomenon of Reactive Nationalism in Ireland and Israel / Palestine 45 Reactive Nationalism in Irish Literature 56 Reactive Nationalism in Palestinian Literature 61 Reactive Nationalism in Israeli Literature 66 The Novel and Reactive Nationalism 70 Chapter 2 Land as Language Same People, Same Place 72 The Centrality of Land in Nationalist Conflicts 73 Land in the Israeli and Palestinian Conflict: nun1? (to inherit) 75 Land in the Republican and Loyalist Traditions 78 A.B. Yehoshua: Giving Voice to the Arab Within 80 Pat McCabe: Roisin Dubh as Transvestite Border Queen 83 Yayhia Yakhlif: Establishing the Borders of the State 88 Said Kashua: The Anomie Within 92 Glenn Patterson and Post - Conflict Criminality 98 After the Ball is Over 102 Chapter 3 The Image of the Enemy The Need for an Enemy 106 The Image of the Enemy and Reactive Nationalism 107 Eshkol Nevo’s al-Awdah: A Slight Return for ‘Some Farmers’ 110 Those Who Remain Behind’: the Catholics of ’22 as the Arabs of ’48 119 The Morning after Optimism: Sahar Khalifeh 128 The Image Reacts to Reality 137 V Chapter 4 Love and War A Little Light Existential Angst 140 Reactive Nationalism Expressed through Violence 143 Reactive Nationalist Violence in Literature 146 Edna O’Brien’s North/South Axis: The Context 147 The Gombeen Man meets the Good Goy : Love and War in Eli Amir’s Yasmin 156 Contextualising the Conflict: The Western Galilee in the Light of Other Clearances 162 Gate o f the Sun : Ilyas Khouri’s War of 1948 Narrative 168 War’s Old Sweet Song 175 Chapter 5 Religion Is Religion a Country? 178 The Role of Religion in the Israeli - Palestinian Conflict 179 Religion and the Northern Ireland Conflict 183 Religion and the Novel 184 Dying for Ireland, Killing for Ulster: Eoin McNamee’s Resurrection Man 186 Of Israelites, Jews and Israelis: Chaim Sabatto’sAdjusting Sights 195 Jabal Nebu: Mythology wrapped in Allegory 204 Religion as a Chronotope of Culture 208 Chapter 6 Language is Land Language as Homeland and Hinterland 212 Love, Money, Laughter and the Decline of the Irish Language 216 Irish Nationalism and the Decline of the Irish Language 218 Contrasting Language Revivals, Hebrew and Irish 222 Literature, Language and Life: Padraig O’Conaire and Chaim Yosef Brenner 228 Early Twentieth Century Hebrew Novel - Haim Yosef Brenner: Breakdown and Bereavement 229 Padraig O’Conaire’s NovelDeoraiocht (Exile): Language and Life in the Diaspora 233 Literature and Language in the Laboratory of Life: Aharon Megged 238 The Demilitarised Zone of Language: Sami Michael’sDoves in Trafalgar 240 The Gaelic Rump Republic: Micheal O’Conghaile’s Sna Fir. 244 The Histoiy o f the Bni Balut Family: Muhammad Ali Taha’s Galilee 249 Israel, Palestine and Ireland: Two Weddings and a Funeral 253 Conclusion 261 Bibliography 275 vi Note on Translation Where published translations, in Irish, Arabic or Hebrew are used, these are accredited accordingly. All remaining translations, from Irish, Arabic or Hebrew, are by the researcher. Note on Arabic Transliteration The transliteration style used here is that of the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies - i.e. a modified Encyclopaedia of Islam system where: qaf= q jim = j There is no underlining of Roman double-letter equivalents I of