Table Of Contenti
Palestinian Culture and the Nakba
The Nakba not only resulted in the loss of the homeland, but also caused
the dispersal and ruin of entire Palestinian communities. Even though the
term Nakba refers to a singular historic event, the consequence of 1948 has
symptomatically become part of Palestinian identity, and the element that
demarcates who the Palestinian is. Palestinian exile and loss have evolved into
cultural symbols that at once help define the person and allow the person to
remember the loss. Although accounts of the Palestinians’ experience of the
expulsion from the land are similar, the emblems that provoke these particular
memories differ. Certain mementos, memories or objects help in commemor-
ating the homeland.
This book looks at the icons, narratives and symbols that have become
synonymous with Palestinian identity and culture and which have, in the
absence of a homeland, become a source of memory. It discusses how these
icons have come into being and how they have evolved into sites of power
which help to keep the story and identity of the Palestinians alive. The book
looks at examples from Palestinian caricature, film, literature, poetry and
painting, to see how these works ignite memories of the homeland and help
reinforce the diasporic identity. It also argues that the creators of these narra-
tives or emblems have themselves become cultural icons within the collective
Palestinian recollection.
By introducing the Nakba as a lived experience, this book will appeal to
students and scholars of Middle East Studies, Cultural Studies, Literature
and Media Studies.
Hania A.M. Nashef is an associate professor at the American University of
Sharjah, UAE.
ii
Routledge Advances in Middle East and Islamic Studies
For a full list of titles in the series: www.routledge.com/
middleeaststudies/series/SE0728
19 Chaos in Yemen
Societal Collapse and the New Authoritarianism
Isa Blumi
20 Rethinking Israeli Space
Periphery and Identity
Haim Yacobi and Erez Tzfadia
21 Navigating Contemporary Iran
Challenging Economic, Social and Political Perspectives
Edited by Eric Hooglund and Leif Stenberg
22 Music, Culture and Identity in the Muslim World
Performance, Politics and Piety
Edited by Kamal Salhi
23 Dissident Writings of Arab Women
Voices Against Violence
Brinda Mehta
24 Higher Education Revolutions in the Gulf
Globalization and Institutional Viability
Fatima Badry and John Willoughby
25 Knowledge Production in the Arab World
The Impossible Promise
Sari Hanafi and Rigas Arvanitis
26 Palestinian Culture and the Nakba
Bearing Witness
Hania A.M. Nashef
ii i
Palestinian Culture and
the Nakba
Bearing Witness
Hania A.M. Nashef
iv
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Hania A.M. Nashef
The right of Hania A.M. Nashef to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Nashef, Hania A. M., author.
Title: Palestinian culture and the Nakba : bearing witness / Hania A.M. Nashef.
Other titles: Routledge advances in Middle East and Islamic studies ; 26.
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019. |
Series: Routledge advances in Middle East and Islamic studies ; 26
Identifiers: LCCN 2018015351 | ISBN 9781138500549 (hbk) |
ISBN 9781315143835 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Arts, Palestinian–History. |
Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949–Influence.
Classification: LCC NX573.7.A1 N37 2019 | DDC 709.5694–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018015351
ISBN: 978-1-138-50054-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-14383-5 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Out of House Publishing
v
In memory of my parents who survived the Nakba to tell the story
vi
vi i
Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Copyright acknowledgements x
Illustrations xi
Introduction 1
Notes to Introduction 11
Works cited 11
1 Hanthala: the immortal child 14
Introduction: the short life of the artist 14
Hanthala: birth of the eternal boy 15
Fatima: the quintessential Palestinian woman 19
Hanthala: the icon that transcends space 24
Hanthala: the courageous child 26
Hanthala: the child with a small imprint yet great resonance 36
Hanthala: the child who prefers not to 38
Hanthala: the child who connects Palestinians in exile 40
Conclusion: Hanthala, the secular prophetic child 42
Notes to Chapter 1 45
Works cited 47
2 Nazareth: icon of a lost homeland in Elia Suleiman’s
film trilogy 51
Introduction: the silent director 51
Chronicle of presence and non-presence: Chronicle of a
Disappearance 54
Charting the face; mapping the land 57
Arrested love at the checkpoint: Divine Intervention 68
The home: the last homeland 74
Conclusion: the little that remains 80
Notes to Chapter 2 82
Works cited 85
viii
viii Contents
3 Mahmoud Darwish: the storyteller of Palestine 89
Introduction: the night we fled 89
The moon and the raven along the trail of exile 91
The ghost, the phoenix and the trucks: links to the mother and
homeland 98
Al-bayt: twenty-five houses in exile 103
The horse: the flight to and fro 109
Conclusion: birth of a prophet 113
Notes to Chapter 3 115
Works cited 120
4 Ghassan Kanafani: the clock, the orange and what
remains of the homeland 126
Introduction: denied the ‘other room’ 126
The clock: marker of defeat and disjointed narratives 129
The stolen clock: symbol of death and waiting 133
The watch: breaking away from chronological time 135
The shriveled orange: “Land of Sad Oranges” 137
The lentil can: “A Present for the Holiday” 139
The basket: a haunting memory of loss 140
Conclusion: writing is the place to dwell 142
Notes to Chapter 4 142
Works cited 144
5 Ismael Shammout and Tamam al-Akhal: The Exodus and
The Odyssey 148
Introduction: pioneers of Palestinian art 148
Return to ruin: forty-eight years after the Nakba 152
Return to ruin: life is worth living 154
Return to ruin: the Nakba 163
Conclusion: rootedness in the land 175
Notes to Chapter 5 178
Works cited 181
Conclusion 185
Notes to Conclusion 187
Works cited 188
Index 189
ix
Acknowledgements
I extend special thanks to my family who encouraged and supported me
throughout this project.
I would also like to express my gratitude to Tamam al-Akhal for the
generous time she gave me in Amman, and to Khalid al-Ali for his time in
Manama. I am also grateful to Khalid for the cartoons in Chapter 1, Bilal
Shammout for sending me the images for Chapter 5, and to Elia Suleiman for
allowing me to use stills from his films.
