Disentangling Displacements: Historical Justice for Mizrahis and Palestinians in Israel.
Seminar talk with:
Dr. Itamar Mann, PI at the Minerva Center for the Rule of Law under Extreme Conditions, Faculty of Law, University of Haifa:
Disentangling Displacements: Historical Justice for Mizrahis and Palestinians in Israel.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020 between 14:15-15:45
(note – date was changed from original plan)
Abstract
Israel’s discursive strategy for legitimizing the displacement of Palestinians in 1948 involved describing it as part of a regional “population exchange”. This argument contributed to three critical characteristics of Israeli citizenship. First, it solidified an understanding of citizenship as a negation of persecution and a haven for would-be Jewish refugees. Second, it tied Mizrahi claims against states across the Middle East to Palestinian claims against Israel. Israel thus exploited Mizrahi refugee rights for its geostrategic interests — a fight against the claims of Palestinian refugees. This had detrimental material consequences for both groups. Third, this strategy contributed to the construction of Palestinians as an “exchangeable remainder”, and a demographic threat that could potentially pose a risk to the Jewish majority. Ultimately, Israel irrevocably entangled the displacement histories of three groups: Ashkenazi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, and Arab Palestinians. This Gordian knot remains with us today, and is reflected in a stratified Israeli society. But the vision this symposium offers us to consider, that of “historical justice”, demands that it be undone. The essay thus offers a way in which the refugee histories could perhaps one bay be disentangled: a program of reparations for Mizrahi and Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Draft paper is available, contact Itamar at: itamar.mann@gmail.com
or Michal at: minervaextreme@univ.haifa.ac.il
Room 1013, Terrace building, University of Haifa
Lecture will be available on YouTube