Laleh Khalili - Heroes and Martyrs of Palestine: The Politics of National Commemoration

Heroes and Martyrs of Palestine

The history of the Palestinians over the last half century has been one of turmoil, a people living under occupation or exiled from their homeland. Theirs has been at times a tragic story, but also one of resistance, heroism, and nationalist aspiration. Laleh Khalilis fascinating and unsettling book is based on her experiences in the Lebanese refugee camps, where ceremonies and commemorations of key moments in the history of the struggle are a significant part of their political life. It is these commemorations of the past, according to Dr Khalili, that have helped to forge a sense of nationhood and strategies of struggle amongst the disenfranchised Palestinian people, both in Lebanon and beyond. She also analyzes how, in recent years, as discourses of liberation and rights have changed in the international community, and as the character of local institutions has evolved, there has been a shift in the representation of Palestinian nationalism from the heroic to the tragic mode. This trend is exemplified through the commemoration of martyrs and their elevation to tragic yet iconic figures in the Palestinian collective memory.

LALEH KHALILI is Lecturer in Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

Cambridge Middle East Studies 27

Editorial Board

Cambridge Middle East Studies has been established to publish books on the nineteenth- and twentieth-century Middle East and North Africa. The aim of the series is to provide new and original interpretations of aspects of Middle Eastern societies and their histories. To achieve disciplinary diversity, books will be solicited from authors writing in a wide range of fields, including history, sociology, anthropology, political science, and political economy. The emphasis will be on producing books offering an original approach along theoretical and empirical lines. The series is intended for students and academics, but the more accessible and wide-ranging studies will also appeal to the interested general reader.

A list of books in the series can be found after the index.

Heroes and Martyrs of Palestine

The Politics of National Commemoration

Laleh Khalili

University of London

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Cambridge University Press
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Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

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Laleh Khalili 2007

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First published in print format 2007

ISBN-13 978-0-511-33875-5 mobipocket
ISBN-10 0-511-33875-9 mobipocket
ISBN-13 978-0-521-86512-8 hardback

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For John

He who writes his story
inherits the land of that story
Mahmud Darwish

Acknowledgments

This book began as my doctoral dissertation, and I am grateful to my supervisors and mentors Lisa Anderson, Ira Katznelson, Rashid Khalidi, Anthony Marx, and Charles Tilly for the inspiration and support they provided and the difficult questions they asked. I thank Asad AbuKhalil, Lori Allen, Frances Hasso, Roger Heacock, Isabelle Humphries, Laura Junka, Omar El-Khairy, Muhmmad Ali Khalidi, Peter Lagerquist, Adrienne Le Bas, Abeer Najjar, Shira Robinson, Wadie Said, Rosemary Sayigh, Yezid Sayigh, Jihane Sfeir, Gershon Shafir, Tamir Sorek, Linda Tabar, and Jennifer Zakaria who have read all or portions of the manuscript, made brilliant suggestions, caught embarrassing errors, and tightened the argument therein. John Chalcraft has read more versions of this study than anyone should have to, and each time, his incisive critiques have been crucial in making the book better. At some essential level, this work has been inspired by my parents, Dr. Khadijeh Tamaddon and the late Dr. Hedi Khalili, whose sense of justice and humanity I hope to pass on to their granddaughter, May.

In Ramallah, without Annemarie Jacir I would not have been able to see and experience what I did, or understand what I saw and experienced. In Beirut, Olfat Mahmoud helped me secure lodging and research permissions in the Burj al-Barajna camp, for which I am deeply indebted to her. I thank Ralph Bodenstein, Ruth Campbell, Motaz Dajani, Roula Al-Haj, Nasri Hajjaj, Jens Hanssen, Mona Harb, Bernhard Hillenkamp, Kirsten and Samah Idriss, Muhammad Ali Khalidi, Souheil al-Natour, Jim Quilty, Salah Salah, Jihane Sfeir, and Mayssoun Sukkarieh for their support in various stages of research. At the Institute for Palestine Studies, the patience and friendly assistance of the librarians Mona Nsouli, Jihane Salhab, and Yusif Nana allowed for a most pleasant and fruitful research experience. I am grateful to the Jafet Library Archives at the American University of Beirut and to Ambassador Afif Safieh for granting permission to use the poster that graces the cover of this book. My heartfelt thanks are also due to Marigold Acland at Cambridge University Press who has seen this book through various stages of publication. To all the Palestinian men, women, and children who contributed to this study and who cannot be named, I owe infinite gratitude. I would like to especially acknowledge my guide, comrade, and sister, Kholoud Hussein. Over the past five years, she has invited me to her house in Burj al-Barajna, helped me with my questionnaires, interviews, and interpretations, laughed and cried and gossiped with me, and become an aunt to my May. Kholoud, I am humbled by your strength, independence, intelligence, and good humor.

This book is dedicated to John for being the love of my life, the feminist father of our daughter, and my partner in intellectual debates, political activism, Mediterranean travels, and savouring silliness and laughter.

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