COLONIAL NARRATIVES
Between Myths and Realities (Part 1)
Teach-In Session 08 - November 28, 2023
TEACHING RESOURCES
This teach-in is useful for deconstructing and challenging recurring colonial myths. Our speakers examine colonial myths in detail while simultaneously juxtaposing them against actual statements made by original founders, the historical record, and enduring policies/practices of the state of Israel. From founding myths, to settlements, to propensity for making/rejecting peace, and beyond, this conversation documents the gap between myths and realities of Israel’s decades-long occupation and dispossession of Palestinians.
Yousef Munayyer is Head of Palestine/Israel Program and Senior Fellow at Arab Center Washington DC. He also serves as a member of the editorial committee of the Journal of Palestine Studies and was previously Executive Director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Some of his published articles can be found in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, Boston Globe, Foreign Policy, Journal of Palestine Studies, Middle East Policy, and others. Dr. Munayyer holds a PhD in International Relations and Comparative Politics from the University of Maryland.
Bassam Haddad (Moderator) is Founding Director of the Middle East and Islamic Studies Program and Associate Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He is the author of Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience (Stanford University Press, 2011) and co-editor of A Critical Political Economy of the Middle East (Stanford University Press, 2021). Bassam is Co-Founder/Editor of Jadaliyya Ezine and Executive Director of the Arab Studies Institute. He serves as Founding Editor of the Arab Studies Journal and the Knowledge Production Project. He is co-producer/director of the award-winning documentary film, About Baghdad, and director of the acclaimed series Arabs and Terrorism. Bassam serves on the Board of the Arab Council for the Social Sciences and is Executive Producer of Status Audio Magazine and Director of the Middle East Studies Pedagogy Initiative (MESPI). He received MESA's Jere L. Bacharach Service Award in 2017 for his service to the profession. Currently, Bassam is working on his second Syria book titled Understanding the Syrian Calamity: Regime, Opposition, Outsiders (forthcoming, Stanford University Press).
Bassam Haddad (Moderator) is Founding Director of the Middle East and Islamic Studies Program and Associate Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He is the author of Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience (Stanford University Press, 2011) and co-editor of A Critical Political Economy of the Middle East (Stanford University Press, 2021). Bassam is Co-Founder/Editor of Jadaliyya Ezine and Executive Director of the Arab Studies Institute. He serves as Founding Editor of the Arab Studies Journal and the Knowledge Production Project. He is co-producer/director of the award-winning documentary film, About Baghdad, and director of the acclaimed series Arabs and Terrorism. Bassam serves on the Board of the Arab Council for the Social Sciences and is Executive Producer of Status Audio Magazine and Director of the Middle East Studies Pedagogy Initiative (MESPI). He received MESA's Jere L. Bacharach Service Award in 2017 for his service to the profession. Currently, Bassam is working on his second Syria book titled Understanding the Syrian Calamity: Regime, Opposition, Outsiders (forthcoming, Stanford University Press).
FULL TEACH-IN
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CONTENTS
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"Even equality before the law is considered an existential threat to the Israeli state." - Yousef Munayyer
TEACHING GUIDE
In this teach-in, Yousef Munayyer and Bassam Haddad examine recurring colonial myths in some detail, while simultaneously juxtaposing them against actual statements made by original founders, the historical record, and enduring policies/practices of the state of Israel. The primary myths examined include:
(1) “The West Is A Good Faith Mediator” Our speaker challenges the traditional notion that Western states, such as the U.S., have served as unbiased mediators aiming to meet the needs of Palestinians and Israelis equally. Munayyer highlights the double standards Palestinians have historically faced in comparison to Israel as well as the contradictory policies supported by the U.S. that serve to harm the overall peace process.
(2) “Arabs As Rejectionists” Of the many harmful narratives weaponized against Palestinians and Arabs more generally are those that aim to position Arabs as rejectionist adversaries who cannot be negotiated with due to their inclination to reject deals offered to them. This myth is deconstructed delving into the unjust and inequitable offers made to Palestinians and Arabs historically, adding the critical context needed to understand such rejections.
(3) “Hamas Can't Be Negotiated With” Challenging the myth that Hamas can’t and has not been negotiated with, we highlight the group’s prominent record of participating in both negotiations as well as elections. Moreover, our speaker goes further back in history to discuss how such a strategy of painting Palestinian groups as ones that cannot be negotiated with extends to the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization).
(4) “Palestinian Calls For Freedom Are Genocidal” Statements calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine such as “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free” have become increasingly labeled as genocidal. This myth can be challenged by breaking down the actual sentiment behind such statements which are far from genocidal but rather liberatory and find their origins in the historical occupation of Palestine.
(5) “Antisemitism Smears Are In Good Faith” At a time when accusations of antisemitism are increasingly leveled at individuals and groups critical of Zionism and Israel, the claim that antisemitism smears are made in good faith is problematic. The ways in which Israel has come to weaponize antisemitism are broken down with an emphasis placed on how it strategically the accusation to evade international pressure while justifying its occupation of Palestine.
(1) “The West Is A Good Faith Mediator” Our speaker challenges the traditional notion that Western states, such as the U.S., have served as unbiased mediators aiming to meet the needs of Palestinians and Israelis equally. Munayyer highlights the double standards Palestinians have historically faced in comparison to Israel as well as the contradictory policies supported by the U.S. that serve to harm the overall peace process.
(2) “Arabs As Rejectionists” Of the many harmful narratives weaponized against Palestinians and Arabs more generally are those that aim to position Arabs as rejectionist adversaries who cannot be negotiated with due to their inclination to reject deals offered to them. This myth is deconstructed delving into the unjust and inequitable offers made to Palestinians and Arabs historically, adding the critical context needed to understand such rejections.
(3) “Hamas Can't Be Negotiated With” Challenging the myth that Hamas can’t and has not been negotiated with, we highlight the group’s prominent record of participating in both negotiations as well as elections. Moreover, our speaker goes further back in history to discuss how such a strategy of painting Palestinian groups as ones that cannot be negotiated with extends to the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization).
(4) “Palestinian Calls For Freedom Are Genocidal” Statements calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine such as “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free” have become increasingly labeled as genocidal. This myth can be challenged by breaking down the actual sentiment behind such statements which are far from genocidal but rather liberatory and find their origins in the historical occupation of Palestine.
(5) “Antisemitism Smears Are In Good Faith” At a time when accusations of antisemitism are increasingly leveled at individuals and groups critical of Zionism and Israel, the claim that antisemitism smears are made in good faith is problematic. The ways in which Israel has come to weaponize antisemitism are broken down with an emphasis placed on how it strategically the accusation to evade international pressure while justifying its occupation of Palestine.
- How do colonial narratives shape and perpetuate power dynamics between the colonizer and the colonized reflected in the media today in the case of Palestine? Discuss with examples from the teach-in.
- How has the BDS movement, emerging after the 2004 ICJ ruling on illegal Israeli settlements, challenged Zionist narratives and Western complicity? Compare it to South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle. Analyze the backlash against BDS - what does this reveal about power structures and threats to the status quo?
- Examine the narratives surrounding the refusal of "generous peace deals" by Palestinians. What factors might contribute to the perception of these deals as "generous" or not? How do power dynamics and historical context shape Arabs to be "rejectionists"? Consider sayings such as "Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity".
- Discuss the impact of deconstructing and challenging colonial narratives on the ongoing struggle for Palestinian freedom and self-determination. How might this process contribute to a more just and equitable resolution of the Israeli occupation and apartheid?
- How does the international community respond differently to expansionist Zionist ideologies versus Palestinian liberation movements? What factors contribute to these disparate reactions? Consider Israeli state actions and policies aligned with the concept of "Greater Israel," and what have been their tangible impacts on Palestinian lives and land. How does this physical reality contrast with the way Palestinian calls for freedom (From the River to the Sea) are often characterized as existential threats?
- Decolonial Mapping Project: Students research and create alternative maps of historic Palestine that challenge colonial cartography. These maps should depict Palestinian villages, towns, and communities that were erased or renamed after the Nakba due to the creation of Israeli settlements or other means of erasure.
- Oral History Archive: Students may research second-hand/recorded interviews with Palestinian elders, refugees, or community members that record first-hand accounts of displacement, resistance, and life under occupation. These oral histories can be compiled into a digital archive or exhibition to counter erasure and preserve counter-narratives to colonial narratives highlighted in the teach-in.
- Deconstructing Narratives on Demographics Case Study: Students investigate specific instances or policies of demographic engineering by Israeli forces (e.g., forced expulsion, house demolitions, revocation of residency rights, segregated roads and infrastructure). They analyze the motives, impacts, and how these practices reinforce colonial narratives of demographics and immigration in Palestine.
SEGMENTS
"The West as a Good Faith Mediator"Munayyer addresses the narrative that the West has always served as good faith mediator between Palestine/Arabs and Israel given its record of hypocrisy in treatment of the different parties involved.
"Palestinian calls for freedom are genocidal"What is behind the Zionist narrative that Palestinian chants for freedom such as "From the river to the sea" are genocidal? What are the actual just and equitable sentiments behind the calls? Find out more.
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Narratives on Arabs as "Rejectionists" (From 47 Onwards)What is the origin of the myth that Arabs are "rejectionist" adversaries and what larger Zionist and colonial ambitions does this narrative serve? Our speaker offers a critical explanation.
"Anti Semitism Smears are in Good Faith"Our guest discusses how the claim that antisemitism smears are made in good faith is problematic and how Israel has weaponized antisemitism.
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"Hamas can't be negotiated with"Munayyer deconstructs the myth that Hamas can't and has never been negotiated with with a history and evidence that proves otherwise.
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SOUNDBITES
On Arab Rejections of the "Fair" 1947 Offer |
On the 1947 Partition from the Palestinian Perspective |
On Failing Negotiations and the Rise of BDS |
Map: United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine
