Studying frictions: Activists, journalists and Bedouin around a “ghost-village” in Israel

In the Israeli Negev desert, home demolition of unauthorized Arab-Bedouin villages is a contested issue, enacting multiple and contradictory realities. The tents and shacks of el-Shams, for instance, have been demolished almost ten times in one year by the Israeli police, but each time they have bee...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Alexander Koensler
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: UNICApress 2015-06-01
Series:Anuac
Online Access:https://ojs.unica.it/index.php/anuac/article/view/1604
_version_ 1797727083001020416
author Alexander Koensler
author_facet Alexander Koensler
author_sort Alexander Koensler
collection DOAJ
description In the Israeli Negev desert, home demolition of unauthorized Arab-Bedouin villages is a contested issue, enacting multiple and contradictory realities. The tents and shacks of el-Shams, for instance, have been demolished almost ten times in one year by the Israeli police, but each time they have been reconstructed with the help of human rights activists. Surprisingly and in contrast to nearly all circulating discourses, nobody ever lived in the demolished buildings – what at one level becomes a humanitarian catastrophe, at another becomes a “ghost village”. Drawing on recent reflections on global ethnography, this article seeks to follow “zones of friction” and connections among people, money, discourses, and emotions that developed around this specific case: relations that range from solidarity activities to the discursive practices of journalists and dislocated officials of international organizations. On a more abstract level, the emerging contradictions between these levels reveal the implications of an uncritically reproduced idea of “local community”. I argue that by following such connections, we gain important insights how transnational power relations are shaping multiple realities around a political conflict.
first_indexed 2024-03-12T10:55:47Z
format Article
id doaj.art-ac82fcb7c5f5421db073d06783e8f4b1
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2239-625X
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-12T10:55:47Z
publishDate 2015-06-01
publisher UNICApress
record_format Article
series Anuac
spelling doaj.art-ac82fcb7c5f5421db073d06783e8f4b12023-09-02T06:29:57ZengUNICApressAnuac2239-625X2015-06-011210.7340/anuac2239-625X-501056Studying frictions: Activists, journalists and Bedouin around a “ghost-village” in IsraelAlexander Koensler0Università di Perugia, ItalyIn the Israeli Negev desert, home demolition of unauthorized Arab-Bedouin villages is a contested issue, enacting multiple and contradictory realities. The tents and shacks of el-Shams, for instance, have been demolished almost ten times in one year by the Israeli police, but each time they have been reconstructed with the help of human rights activists. Surprisingly and in contrast to nearly all circulating discourses, nobody ever lived in the demolished buildings – what at one level becomes a humanitarian catastrophe, at another becomes a “ghost village”. Drawing on recent reflections on global ethnography, this article seeks to follow “zones of friction” and connections among people, money, discourses, and emotions that developed around this specific case: relations that range from solidarity activities to the discursive practices of journalists and dislocated officials of international organizations. On a more abstract level, the emerging contradictions between these levels reveal the implications of an uncritically reproduced idea of “local community”. I argue that by following such connections, we gain important insights how transnational power relations are shaping multiple realities around a political conflict.https://ojs.unica.it/index.php/anuac/article/view/1604
spellingShingle Alexander Koensler
Studying frictions: Activists, journalists and Bedouin around a “ghost-village” in Israel
Anuac
title Studying frictions: Activists, journalists and Bedouin around a “ghost-village” in Israel
title_full Studying frictions: Activists, journalists and Bedouin around a “ghost-village” in Israel
title_fullStr Studying frictions: Activists, journalists and Bedouin around a “ghost-village” in Israel
title_full_unstemmed Studying frictions: Activists, journalists and Bedouin around a “ghost-village” in Israel
title_short Studying frictions: Activists, journalists and Bedouin around a “ghost-village” in Israel
title_sort studying frictions activists journalists and bedouin around a ghost village in israel
url https://ojs.unica.it/index.php/anuac/article/view/1604
work_keys_str_mv AT alexanderkoensler studyingfrictionsactivistsjournalistsandbedouinaroundaghostvillageinisrael