Israeli and Palestinian Cinema: Shaping Memory and Imagining the Future
Scholar Ella Habiba Shohat and curator Rasha Salti discuss the new edition of Shohat’s seminal book Israeli Cinema: East/West and the Politics of Representation (Library of Modern Middle Eastern Studies, 2010). This conversation is punctuated by brief excerpts from Palestinian films produced in Israel, and diasporic films that address the contested geography of Israel/Palestine. When it first appeared in 1989, this book shaped a new paradigm for critical discussion in Israel of “national cinema” and the Zionist master narrative. Israeli Cinema: East/West and the Politics of Representation explores cinema as a productive site of national culture. Taking its cue from the coincidental emergence of Zionism and the cinema around the same time, the book deconstructs the movement by considering the role that cinema has played in the “invention” of the Jewish nation. The book provoked a stormy public debate when it was translated into Hebrew. Rethinking the Eurocentric imaginary of East versus West, Shohat highlights the paradoxes of an anomalous national/colonial project, addressing issues such as the ambivalence toward the geographies of East and West; the Sabra as negation of the Diaspora Jew; the iconography of the land of Israel as a denial of Palestine; the narrative role of the good Arab and the limits of positive image analysis; and the oxymoronic place allotted to Arab-Jews/Mizrahim within an orientalist historical and social discourse.
The new edition includes an extensive postscript about the book’s original reception. It looks at the inscription of the Arab-Jewish memory of Muslim spaces, and reflects on the Palestinian narration of the Nakba within a revisionist cinema that actively constructs an audio-visual archive.
Ella Habiba Shohat is a professor of cultural studies and Middle Eastern studies at New York University. Rasha Salti is the former creative director and film programmer of Arte East. Presented in collaboration with Arte East.
*Location: Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor – Monday, October 03, 2011 6:30 p.m.
“The New School” “New School University” “New School” “Vera List Center” arts “The New School for Public Engagement” cinema film Israel Palestine political”middle Eastern Studies” “Cultural Studies” “Ella Habiba Shohat” “Rasha Salti” “Arte East”
Mea Shearim e Bnei Brak
Jerusalem Through Music – Intro
02.02.2014
Videos of live music on the streets of Jerusalem.
Taste different styles, views, scenes and seasons.
More to come on: http://yovav-kalifon.tumblr.com/
Three events took place this weekend which reflect the ambiguities of contemporaryJewish life in the Baltics and particularly in Lithuania, the largest …
Tonight, we’re headed to the Moishe House of Jerusalem, a vibrant center of diverse Jewish life for secular and religious, leftist and rightist young …
“In all our efforts to appease the hareidi community and show that we care about theTorah learning of the hareidi world (even those who don’t actually …
“It’s important to me that my son is turning 13, and this event is really about his Jewish identity, and how he feels connected, and not so much about …
By Judie Jacobson WEST HARTFORD — For Hartford native Sherry Haller, going to the Crown Supermarket with her parents was like going to a kiddush after Shabbat services. “It was… Read more »
Should Jews celebrate Valentine’s Day? By Judie Jacobson No, Valentine’s Day was not created by Hallmark and assorted candy companies for the sole purpose of selling cards and sweets…. Read more »
“We need to ask…what strategies are we using to engage people in our institutions, and how can we shift the shape of Jewish engagement?” By Cindy Mindell Eight months… Read more »
By Cindy Mindell What is the best way to foster young Israel advocates? For the campus-based David Project, the key is not only within the Jewish student community, but… Read more »
By Stacey Dresner On Feb. 13, an audience at the Fairfield Senior Center was entertained by Ruth Harcovitz, performing “A Musical Valentine: Love Songs in Many Different Styles.” But… Read more »
By Ben Cohen/JNS.org There is a smug sense of “I told you so” about much of the recent commentary concerning the challenge that Israel faces from the Boycott, Divestment… Read more »
Rogow Middle School students at the Solomon Schechter Day School in West Hartford wowed Jewish community leaders with their science projects, on display at the school’s recent STEM Science Fair…. Read more »
The Jewish Student Connection (JSC) club at Norwalk High School celebrated Chanukah in November with a game of dreidel. In addition to Norwalk, JSC has clubs at Masuk High School… Read more »
Kindergarteners at the Yeshiva K’tana of Waterbury showed off their knowledge of the brachos – blessings – at the school’s recent Brachos Fair. After singing a song about each of… Read more »
