orientalism

Arab citizens of Israel seen dancing in the village of Baqa al-Gharbiyye. (Moshe Pridan)

When Israel planned ‘fantasy’ tours to Arab villages under martial law

New documents reveal how Israel’s leaders prepared to celebrate the country’s 10-year anniversary: by bringing tourists to participate in orientalist ‘fantasy’ tours to Arab villages, then under military rule. If you’re a young Jewish person, chances are you or someone you know has gone on a Birthright trip. If you have gone on Birthright, chances are…

By Edo Konrad July 23, 2018

Palestinian Muslim worshippers pray overnight during Laylat al-Qadr, outside the Dome of the Rock in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, July 13, 2015. Layal al-Qadr, falls on the 27th day of the fasting month of Ramadan, marking the night Muslims believe the first verses of the Koran were revealed to the Prophet Mohammed through the archangel Gabriel. Activestills.org

The obsession with exposing the ‘Muslim mindset’

After a decade of poor reportage, chaos in the region, and right-wing rule under Netanyahu, the Jewish Israeli public has hardened in its attitudes toward Islam. By Daniel Amir Zvi Yehezkeli is Israel’s Arabist par excellence. After over a decade as head of the Israel Channel 10’s Arab desk, Yehezkeli has become a trusted figure in Israel’s…

By +972 Magazine March 5, 2018

Sadiq Jalal al-Azm seen during a lecture series at University of California, Los Angeles's Department of Near Eastern Studies in 2006. (Bgadsby)

Goodbye to the Syrian intellectual who sought to liberate his homeland

Sadiq Jalal al-Azm, who passed away last week, was a Syrian intellectual of the highest order. He placed a mirror in front of both the Arab world and its tendency to blame the West for all its ills. By Dror Ze’evi The Arab states are in trouble. Their citizens are unable to break through the…

By +972 Magazine December 18, 2016

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File photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looking out over the Egyptian border. (Ariel Jerozolimski/POOL/FLASH90)

What is Israel’s place in the Middle East?

It’s time for Israel to recognize that it can coexist with its neighbors without fear or feelings of superiority. Academia can lead the way. By Assaf David The perception of Israel as a foreign entity in the Middle East, hence a fortress under threat, is shared by all major purveyors of knowledge and discourse in the…

By +972 Magazine September 6, 2016

The Israel-Palestine Lorde diaries, Chapter 6: Crossing over

It’s time for the local Lorde tribute to go over the Line, in more than one way. Read the previous chapters of The Israel-Palestine Lorde Diaries here. On Boxing Day we traveled down to Bethlehem. We were five: my girlfriend Ruthie, three members of her research team (she is a doctoral student of social psychology)…

By Yuval Ben-Ami February 1, 2015

Baby Oriental (YouTube screenshot)

Now trending: Orientalism for babies

Most of the world is not familiar with post-colonial theory, and this album’s success is due to the audience’s naiveté. But forget politics; let me hug a baby and sing songs of nostalgia, anew. By Ilana Shazur Whoever chose the name “Baby Oriental 2” likely never heard of the term Orientalism. Had they heard of it,…

By Cafe Gibraltar June 4, 2014

Where is the ‘inevitable’ Bedouin Intifada Israel guaranteed?

In 2004, Israeli officials were up in arms about an impending Bedouin Intifada. But the Bedouin didn’t rebel and now, despite plans to expel tens of thousands of them from their homes in the West Bank and the Negev, things remain relatively quiet. Why? As Israel steps up its expansionist policies both inside and outside…

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat February 9, 2012

Israeli propaganda film: “Dark” Oriental Jews and “light” of civilization

A newly discovered Israeli propaganda film from the 1950’s reveals the depths of racism applied to Oriental Jewish children who came to Israel – and how it was justified by militarism and the need for disciplined soldiers Last weekend, Lihi Yona published here a post describing and explaining her self-identification as an Arab Jew. Although…

By Dimi Reider September 20, 2011