The Common Memory of Loss: Political Mobilization among Palestinian Citizens of Israel

Abstract

Palestinians tend to imagine themselves primarily as a community of loss and deprivation. The role of this key idiom in political mobilization is examined through a study of the performance of Palestinian citizens of Israel in the 1988-89 municipal election campaign in Natzerat Illit, a predominantly Israeli new town in Galilee. While not of the honor and shame variety, the political agenda adopted by the Palestinian actors tended to emphasize pride rather than resources. Their use of the rhetoric of redemption and collective honor was linked to styles of leadership which stress assertive willingness to challenge dominant Israeli personalities representing power structures which marginalize and racially stereotype the Palestinians. Palestinians displayed consistent disregard of the extent to which the lofty rhetoric used by aspiring Palestinian politicians failed to match their tangible achievements once in office. The claims of evenhanded rationalism made by Western democratic statism are thus made questionable. The uneasy participation of Palestinians in Israeli politics suggests that full and genuine participation of minorities in party politics hinges on a structural transformation of the state, its power structure, and the ways hegemonic majorities conceptualize themselves and "their" minorities.