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Palestinian, Jewish Voices Music Jointly Challenge Israel's Past
Baroud, Ramzy
http://dissidentvoice.org/2017/04/palestinian-jewish-voices-must-jointly-challenge-israels-past/Date Written: 2017-04-26 Publisher: Dissident Voice Year Published: 2017 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX20642 Baroud analyzes how Israel has appropriated the Palestinian narrative of Al-Nakba to rewrite history and place the occupation of Palestine in a positive light. Abstract: - Excerpt: Israel has resorted to three main strategies to suppress Palestinian calls for justice and human rights, including the Right of Return for refugees. One is dedicated to rewriting history; another attempts to distract from present realities altogether and a third aims at reclaiming the Palestinian narrative as essentially an Israeli one. The rewriting of history happened much earlier than some historians would assume. The Israeli hasbara machine went into motion almost simultaneously with Plan Dalet (Plan D), which saw the military conquest of Palestine and the ethnic cleansing of its inhabitants. But the actual discourse regarding the "Nakba" -- or the ‘Catastrophe' -- that has befallen Palestinian people in 1947-48 was constituted in the 1950s and 60s. In an article entitled: "Catastrophic Thinking: Did Ben-Gurion Try to Rewrite History?" Shay Hazkani revealed the fascinating process of how Israel's first Prime Minister, Ben Gurion, worked closely with a group of Israeli Jewish scholars to develop a version of events to describe what had taken place in 1947-48: the founding of Israel and the destruction of Palestine. Ben-Gurion wanted to propagate a version of history that was consistent with Israel's political position. He needed 'evidence', to support that position. The 'evidence' eventually became 'history', and no other narrative was allowed to challenge Israel's take on the 'Nakba'. Subject Headings |