Reading Conflicting Maps

IAFS/JWST 3650

Announcements

• Office hours today: 12:45-2:45pm• Prof. Claudia Koonz, “Islamophobia in Three

Shapes: the Muslim Headscarf in France, Britain, and Germany” (17 Jan, 5pm, HLMS 252)

• Prof. Deborah Lipstadt, "The Impact of the Eichmann Trial: A Perspective After 50 Years" (Fri 25 Jan, 11am, UMC 235)

Outline

• How to read a map• Conflicting maps of Israel/Palestine• Quiz prep

Introduction

• Maps’ contribution to conflicting narratives• Need to “read” maps for bias, etc• What do maps tell us about Arab-Israeli

conflict?

How to Read a Map

• Production• Content• Reception

Map Reading Methodology

• Map as text• Can be read for contemporary attitudes and

beliefs

Map Reading Methodology

• Production:–Author/publisher– Sources of info–Historical context

Map Reading Methodology

• Content:–Decoration–Depiction of boundary lines– Themes

Map Reading Methodology

• Reception–Audience– Expense and availability– Function and use

Reading Maps of Israel and Palestine

• Themes:– Sacred claims to territory– Erasure–Palestinian homeland(s)–Weapons–Vulnerability

Israeli and Palestinian Territory

Sacred Claims to Territory (Palestinian)

Fatah Poster(1992)

• Dome of the Rock (Muslim shrine in Jerusalem)• Site also sacred

to Christians and Jews

PLO Poster(1997)

• Map overlies Christian cross

Sacred Claims to Territory (Palestinian)

Government of IsraelPoster (~1980)

• God’s Biblical promise to Abraham: “I will give this land to your descendants.” (Genesis 12:7)

Sacred Claims to Territory (Zionist)

Erasure (Zionist Views)

• “Palestinian Maps Omitting Israel”– Zionist website criticizes images that

“ignor[e] the existence of the State of Israel”–Collection of maps from Palestinian

textbooks, political propaganda, art, etc

Erasure (Arab Views)

IraqiCultural Center Poster

(1979)

• Crumpled map

Fatah Poster(1989)

Erasure (Arab Views)• Map of Israel

covering/torn away from map of Palestine

Embassy of Israel (US)Poster (~1984)

• Argues that Palestinians can find homes in Jordan

Palestinian Homeland(s)(Zionist Views)

Unknown[Zionist?] source (~1993)

• Argues that Jordan is the state for Palestinians

Palestinian Homeland(s) (Zionist Views)

Palestinian Artist Abd Almouty Abozaid

(2008)

• “60 years of nakba [catastrophe]”• Key symbolizes “right

of return”• Central image of

Dome of the Rock

Palestinian Homeland(s)(Palestinian Views)

Palestinian ArtistWaleed Idrees (~1985)

• “From all directions we will return.”

Palestinian Homeland(s)(Palestinian Views)

Irgun Emblem (1930s-1940s)

• “Etzel” = acronym for Irgun, Zionist paramilitary group• Features rifle in

clenched fist• Map includes

Palestine and Transjordan• “Only Thus” below

map

Weapons (Zionist)

Irgun Poster (~1935)

• “Only thus” translated here as “the sole solution”

Weapons (Zionist)

Government of IsraelPoster (1952)

• “The war loan – to defeat the enemy – to establish borders”• Variation on fist and

rifle• Less focus on Jordan

Weapons (Zionist)

Histadrut Poster (1954)

• “With one hand on a weapon and one at work” (Nehemiah 4:17)• Rifle linked to

agricultural implements• Map focus on Israel

Weapons (Zionist)

PLO Poster (~1964)

• “For the sake of our land and our children we joined the Palestine Liberation Army”

Weapons (Palestinian)

PFLP Poster (~1969)

• “Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine”

Weapons (Palestinian)

Fatah Poster (1976)

• “Eleven years on the path towards triumph”• Map of Palestine and

map of Arab countries• Palestinian flag

staked at Jerusalem

Weapons (Palestinian)

Source unknown (~1985)

• “Palestine”• Reference to “Al

Quds”[Jerusalem]

Weapons (Palestinian)

Hamas Poster (1993)

• “Hamas”• Rifle tied to land by

Palestinian flag• Dome of the Rock

inside heart inside keffiyeh (scarf associated with Palestinian resistance)

Weapons (Palestinian)

Mapai Poster(early 1950s)

• “Growth under Siege”• Depicts Israel under

attack from all sides• Perceived threats

from land, sea, & air

Vulnerability (Israeli)

Christine Leuenberger and Izhak Schnell,“The politics of maps: Constructing national territories in Israel” Social Studies of Science 40:6 (Dec 2010) 813-814.

Likud Election Poster (1981)

• “Likud will prevent this! 2.5 million Israelis are within firing range if an ‘Arafat state’ is founded.”• Depicts serious threat

due to Israel’s lack of strategic depth

Vulnerability (Israeli)

Christine Leuenberger and Izhak Schnell,“The politics of maps: Constructing national territories in Israel” Social Studies of Science 40:6 (Dec 2010) 823-825.

Original source unknown (2000s, revised 2010)

• “Loss of Land” over time

Vulnerability (Palestinian)

Original source unknown (2007)

• “Map of occupation” coupled with iconic images• Roughly

same dates as previous poster

Vulnerability (Palestinian)

Original source unknown (2009)

• “Stealing of Pal. Land by the Zionist State”• Emphatic

coloring

Vulnerability (Palestinian)

Israel Ministry ofForeign Affairs

Website (2013)

• Size comparisons to European and South American countries, and the US and US states (plus Turkey and India)

Vulnerability (Israeli)

Israel Ministry ofForeign Affairs

Website (2013)

• Size comparisons emphasize Israel’s smallness

Vulnerability (Israeli)

Zionist PR FirmPoster (~2004)

• “Israel is tiny! . . . . Imagine living in New Jersey while most people living in the other 49 states want to see you destroyed.”

Vulnerability (Israeli)

Conclusions

• Maps used by range of Israeli and Palestinian groups to convey their arguments

• Images of the same (or roughly the same) territory or iconography can be used to support opposing arguments

• Groups on both sides address both internal and external audiences

Conclusions

• Hobsbawm:–Many national symbols are “invented

traditions”– Invented traditions use history as

legitimator

Conclusions

• Nations claim to be natural and ancient, but are constructed and new

• Maps help construct the nation

Quiz Prep:Citation Format Section

• Chicago Manual of Style (available via Chinook)

• Footnotes• For citation formatting questions, consult the

Chicago Manual.

• Book: author, title, place of publication,publisher, pub date

• Journal Article: author, article title,journal title, volume, number (if avail),year, first and last pages of article

Footnotes also include specific page for citation

Key Elements of Citation(either footnote or bibliography)

• plagiarism• cheating• fabrication• aid of academic dishonesty• lying• bribery• threat

Examples of Academic Dishonesty(see Honor Code for definitions)

Quiz Prep:Map Section

• Format:– Two outline maps– Ten place-names total–Recommended

references: Israel, Old City Jerusalem, and West Bank and Gaza maps

Quiz Prep:Place-names

• Ashdod, Bethlehem, Gaza City, Haifa, Jaffa/Yafa, Jenin, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Ramallah, Rehovot, Tel Aviv

• Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, Jordan River, West Bank

• Al-Aqsa Mosque, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Dome of the Rock, Western/Wailing Wall

Studying for the Quiz

• Chicago citation format• Citation elements• Definitions of academic dishonesty• Map place-names