Women and the Politics of Military Confrontation: Palestinian and Israeli Gendered Narratives of Dislocation [Paperback]

Nahla Abdo (Author), Ronit Lentin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1571814590 | ISBN-13: 978-1571814593 | Publication Date: April 15, 2002

As the crisis in Israel does not show any signs of abating this remarkable collection, edited by an Israeli and a Palestinian scholar and with contributions by Palestinian and Israeli women, offers a vivid and harrowing picture of the conflict and of its impact on daily life, especially as it affects women's experiences that differ significantly from those of men. The (auto)biographical narratives in this volume focus on some of the most disturbing effects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: a sense of dislocation that goes well beyond the geographical meaning of the word; it involves social, cultural, national and gender dislocation, including alienation from one's own home, family, community, and society. The accounts become even more poignant if seen against the backdrop of the roots of the conflict, the real or imaginary construct of a state to save and shelter particularly European Jews from the horrors of Nazism in parallel to the other side of the coin: Israel as a settler-colonial state responsible for the displacement of the Palestinian nation. Nahla Abdo is Professor of Sociology at Carleton University, Ottawa. She has published extensively on women and the state in the Middle East with special focus on Palestinian women. She contributed to the establishment of the Women's Studies Institute at Birzeit University and has found the Gender Research Unit at the Women's Empowerment Project/Gaza Community Mental Health Program in Gaza. Ronit Lentin was born in Haifa prior to the establishment of the State of Israel and has lived in Ireland since 1969. She is a well known writer of fiction and non-fiction books and is course co-ordinator of the MPhil in Ethnic Studies at the Department of Sociology, Trinity College Dublin. She has published extensively on the genedered link between Israel and the Shoah, feminist research methodologies, Israeli and Palestinian women's peace activism, gender and racism in Ireland.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...accomplishes what would have been remarkable at any time, and is even more so in the present political climate." -- The Women's Review of Books (2002)

"...powerful, moving, and revealing... a must for anyone interested in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict." -- Tamar Mayer, Professor of Geography, Middlebury College

"...this stunning collection of personal narratives [is] testament to the urgency of dialogue." -- R. Ruth Linden, University of California, San Francisco

"A brave and fractured book...opens up new [meaning] of what Zionism and Israel have meant for Jews and Palestinians." -- Lila Abu-Lughod, Columbia University

"This stunning collection of personal narratives probes the searing pain of life under Israeli military occupation." -- R. Ruth Linden, University of California, San Francisco

About the Author

Nahla Abdo is Professor of Sociology at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. Her previous publications include: Sociological Thought: Beyond Eurocentric Theory and Sexuality, Citizenship and the State: Palestinian Experiences. Ronit Lentin, PhD is the course coordinator of the postgraduate program in Ethnic and Racial Studies at the Department of Sociology, Trinity College, Dublin. Her previous books include Conversations with Palestinian Women and Israel and the Daughters of the Shoah: Reoccupying the Territories of Silence.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Berghahn Books (April 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571814590
• ISBN-13: 978-1571814593
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,558,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)