Cynthia Enloe's Bananas, Beaches, And Bases

Elias Chocour’s novel, Blood Brothers, represents his point of view on the contemporary Palestinian position regarding the holy land of Israel. The book traces the transformation of Chocour’s life, from a Melkite Christian Palestinian boy into a powerful spiritual leader and innovative agent in facilitating better race relations in the region. He shows how Palestinian’ needs were left out during the formation of the State of Israel, and how their plight is highly misunderstood, and often grossly distorted because of ignorance. Chocour’s depiction of the problem facing non-Jews is highly illuminating, and Blood Brothers will dispel many illusions and fallacies that cloud the facts surrounding the

Nationalism can be defined as political feelings, principles, and efforts, or the desire for the political liberation of a particular country. The nationalist movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the establishment of a Jewish state in Israel is known as Zionism. This ideology was the driving force behind the Jewish expulsion of the Palestinians from their villages in1948. Through the eyes of an unnamed Israeli soldier, S. Yizhar describes this purge as it ensued in one Palestinian town in his autobiographical novella, Khirbet Khizeh. The contradictory themes of proud justification and shame or guilt because of the actions done in the name of Zionism, influence, and ultimately characterize the speaker’s identity, developing his divided loyalties as a Jew in Palestine.

Any reference to conflict turns history into a reservoir of blame. In the presence of conflict, narratives differ and multiply to delegitimize the opponent and to justify one’s own action. Narratives shape social knowledge. The Israeli Palestinian conflict, both Jews and Muslims, view the importance of holding the territories through religious, ideological, and security lenses, based on belief that Palestine was given by divine providence and that the land belongs to either the Israelis or Palestinian’s ancestral home. Understanding these perspectives is required for understanding Palestinians’ and especially Israel’s strategy and role in entering the Oslo peace process. Despite

The essay States, by Edward Said, describes the trouble for Palestinians to find their identity due to the loss of their homeland. He also describes the situation of the Palestinians and the isolation that they feel through photographs that he had taken. Said has many different pictures throughout this essay and each of them play a part in supporting the main point of this essay. Said believes that, without a homeland, the Palestinians cannot have an identity and the Palestinians should not be content with being exiles forever. So the purpose of the pictures is to support and further strengthen this idea. The photographer wants the viewer to understand the struggle that the Palestinians are going through.

However, attempting to understand my identity in postmodern Palestine, I felt the disconnect between the Palestinian’s

Ever since, Palestinians have had to adapt to new places and cultures in order to survive, which makes it more difficult for them to preserve their own. Said presents several examples of transculturation throughout the essay. For instance, the use of the Mercedes, even though Said describes it in negative terms, the use of the Mercedes has come in handy for Palestinians. Enduring one disaster after another, Palestinian identity is arduous to preserve in exile. It is a struggle of having no country. Our country is a big part of who we are. As we are born, we are destined to become a part of it. It becomes part of our identity. Things that we grew up with meant something to us. We usually treasure things that became part of our lives. Even unconsciously, we take hold of it. Home brings us memories, memories that we want to hold on up to our last breath.

In the 1990s there began a significant shift in social movements in Israel and Palestine. The history of this region has been marked by violence, inequality, and oppression for a long time. The complicated relationships between the two main powers in this area have developed over time and a variety of groups on both sides of the conflict have reacted with by calling for peace. The first intifada had a huge impact on who had the ablity to voice their concerns to fight the injustices occurring in this region. It was during this popular uprising that women’s movements first began to gain traction in both Israel and Palestine. These movements were often defined by traditional and constricting ideals of femininity, however over time they began to branch out with a more grassroots approach. Women’s movements in Israel have many similarities to those in Palestine and the Occupied Territories, however there are some significant differences that separate the women involved in each of these groups and the causes they choose to support. Gender equality is a complex issue with many implications for the modern peace movement in Israel and Palestine, and it is crucial to note both the ways in which these groups face similar challenges while also acknowledging the very different issues faced by Israeli and Palestinian women.

Throughout Edward W. Said’s essay, “States”, he discusses the past of the Palestinians and expresses the struggles that arose and still occur. Palestinian nationalism was once an independent force in the Middle East. Yet, when the Palestinian’s homeland came to an end, destruction and dispossession began. Various wars emerged leaving the Palestinians to suffer. During this time period of violence, Palestine was being destroyed. In the process, Israel began to take over. Said tries to get readers to see what people don’t see about the hardships that came with being Palestinian. He writes about the destruction of their culture, land, value, homes, and their way of living due to violence.

Frequently, issues such as human rights violations occur around the world that people are not aware of. It is therefore a great importance to seek knowledge ourselves beyond mass media outlets and our own governments. Previous research suggests, the history of the Palestinian conflict goes back generations. In 1918 when World War 1 had ended, the British gained control of the Palestinian territory. The UN had no intention of displacing or changing anything within the land, but they decided that the Jews needed a safe place to reside after the holocaust. Therefore, many Jews immigrated to Palestine after the Balfour Declaration was issued in 1917. It stated that Palestine welcomed Jews into their homeland (Said, 1999). The fall of the Ottoman empire encouraged the number of immigrants to that in 1947, the total number of Jews in the area was “650,000” (Avineri, 1981; Said, 1999). The Palestinians were surely grateful for the number of people immigrating to their land because they needed their

Since biblical times Jewish communities lived in Arab lands, in Persia, India, East and North Africa and indeed in Palestine. However more modern times have seen them as a nomadic people, living in various countries but never truly finding a land to call there own. In the late 19th and early 20th century an idea began to gain solidarity and momentum, that of Zionism. The idea of Zionism, to create a Jewish state, is arguably one of modern society’s most polarizing and influential movements. Zionism has influenced political, religious, and social groups in a variety of ways that culminated in the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.(Cohen, week 10)

Collins and Lapierre create both a monumental historical work and an exciting page-turner in their book O Jerusalem. The book begins in 1947 at the announcement of the United Nation’s decision to partition the British mandate of Palestine into both a Jewish state and an Arab Palestinian state. The book ends with a ceasefire the following year. Using hundreds of personal interviews, unpublished diaries, papers, and photographs, the authors chronologically tell this tale through the eyes of the people that lived through this tumultuous time. The authors break this massive book into four parts. These four sections are roughly divided by the announcement of the partition, the rising conflict, the actual conflict, and its conclusion.

The War of 1967 concluded with Israeli control of Jordanian territories that included Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. In “Young Palestinian Voices from East Jerusalem,” Road AbuZayyad claims how the Israeli government’s influence and control in East Jerusalem affected the lives of the Palestinians living in the region. In “The Birth of Core Issues: The West Bank and East Jerusalem Under Israeli Administration,” Moshe Elad recounts how issues, predominantly concerning the Arab and Jewish conflict, arose with the implementation of an Israeli Administration after the War of 1967. The articles share how the Israeli control of East Jerusalem cultivated the conflict, however, each article has a focus on different aspects of the Israeli government that created the Arab and Jewish conflict. While Elad discusses how the Israeli Administration increased Arab-Israeli conflict, Abuzayyad focuses on how Israelization, the capture of territory and enforcement of Jewish law, created these conflicts. Additionally, in this paper, I will summarize each of the articles and evaluate them based on their organization, quality of evidence, and perspective. While AbuZayyad effectively establishes his thesis through the use of relevant personal accounts, experiences, and descriptions, Elad evaluates the administration through a historical perspective but fails to adequately prove his thesis due to his lack of relevant evidence and convoluted structure.

As suitors flock to Amal’s house through any means possible, Guela fights “them all to the bitter end and [emerges] victorious from every battle” (26). The exaggerated depiction of how Guela guards her daughter’s sexuality emphasizes the dominance of male desire, which can be likened to the desire of Zionists to occupy the state. For one, the different methods of “attack” employed by young men, whether violent or polemic, reflect the same methods utilized by Zionists to obtain positions of power over and within the state. As a lawyer, she takes on the task of defending “the underdogs, especially the Arabs” against the encroachment of colonizers (20). Consequently, Guela’s protective presence extends beyond the realm of her daughter, and thus the similarities between Amal and the Israeli state abound.

A daily existence in Hell, pitifully dependant, Palestine clings to futility; while Israel terrified about security, digs its boots in pursuing expansion. Reframed through a Constructivist lens this could become: Capturing ideas; resilient; resourceful and intertwined, Palestinians maximise restorative

Darwish found the force of words at an early stage and composed fierce poems of resistance and love of land. Darwish's poem "Identity Card" 1964 has an exceptional hold back "write down, I am an Arab!" This reiteration frames a cry that takes shape, from one perspective, the association between the Palestinian identity and land, and then again, the Palestinian resistance against Israeli endeavors to delete the Palestinian identity in the occupied land. The Palestinian identity has dependably been at the heart of the Israel-Palestine struggle not just on the grounds that it inseparably connects Palestinians with their country but since it is additionally a method for resistance. It is a steady indication of what was detracted from the Palestinians and an image of the continuous clash with Israel for their privilege of presence.