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It has been over nine months since the current war in Gaza broke out between Hamas and Israel. A recent paper in the British medical journal The Lancet estimated that “up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.” Many have been shocked by the brutality of this war, and by the daily images coming out of Gaza, of killed and maimed Palestinians being pulled from the rubble.
This is not the first war Palestinians have experienced. Yet, despite repeated conflict, upheaval and displacement, they have kept their culture and national identity alive. In today’s critical race newsletter, we’re highlighting a recent episode from our podcast Don’t Call Me Resilient to give you insight into Palestinian culture and history. Host Vinita Srivastava spoke with University of Victoria professor Elizabeth Vibert and Palestinian Canadian consulting producer Salam Guenette about their film on preserving Palestine’s food culture in exile. Vibert and Guenette discuss the history of Palestinian agriculture and dispel the myth that Palestine was “a land without a people.”
Some other articles from our network to check out:
Vibert has also written about western depictions of Palestinians. How they are based on Orientalist tropes and how colonialist depictions of Palestinians influence western perceptions of the east as “barbaric.” York University’s Anna Lippman has written about the time she spent in the West Bank, and describes the daily struggles Palestinians face under military occupation. Also check out an insightful piece by Graham
Liddell, a visiting professor at Hope College, on how Palestinian writers have reckoned with the scars of war in their work.
Also today:
All the best.
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Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation; Ateqah Khaki, The Conversation
Modern settlers to Palestine viewed the desert as something they needed to “make bloom.” But it already was, thanks to the long history of Palestinian agricultural systems.
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Elizabeth Vibert, University of Victoria
The dismissal of Palestinians as “barbaric” or somehow less human is rooted in a long history of colonizing narratives, including how the land and people were first viewed as “uncivilized.”
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Anna Lippman, York University, Canada
The youth of Masafer Yatta understand the power of education to help them lift up their communities and share their struggles with the world — and they continue to fight for their right to it.
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Graham Liddell, Hope College
In a number of stories and novels, lost limbs represent both physical and metaphorical loss.
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A woman speaks at a protest in Washington D.C. following the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of its decision in the Roe v. Wade case on abortion rights, June 24, 2022.
(Shutterstock)
Karine Coen-Sanchez, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Advocacy often provokes strong reactions from those in power. This backlash deters others from speaking out and perpetuates a cycle of silence, gaslighting and compliance.
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Social media fuelled conspiracy theories often exist in echo chambers, where misinformation was amplified often without verification or critical examination.
(Shutterstock)
Kawser Ahmed, University of Winnipeg
Conspiracy theories aren’t based so much on objective facts, but rather through often loosely connected bits of information. That makes them potent sources of misinformation.
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HMCS Windsor, one of Canada’s four Victoria-class submarines, heads out the harbour in Halifax on May 26, 2016. Canada’s purchase of 12 new subs runs the risk of them becoming ‘harbour queens’ like some of the Victoria-class subs are.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
Paul T. Mitchell, Canadian Forces College
A closer look at Canada’s announcement that it’s buying 12 new submarines makes clear that it’s ‘business as usual’ in terms of defence spending. Canada is doing the bare minimum.
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‘Cockroach’ can be read through an existentialist literary tradition that includes Kafka.
(Shutterstock)
Brittany Kraus, Dalhousie University
Whereas Kafka’s Samsa famously wakes up to discover he has been transformed into a bug, the insect evolution of Hage’s unnamed migrant protagonist happens slowly through his circumstances.
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Throughout history, sport has played a significant role in communal and spiritual life. Colombia fans watch a broadcast of the Copa America final soccer match against Argentina in Bogota, Colombia, on July 14, 2024.
(AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Hanna Tervanotko, McMaster University
Religious studies scholars have long observed similarities between sport and religion. Namely, that both offer strong emotions and connections with others.
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Sam Victor, McGill University; Hillary Kaell, McGill University
Les détracteurs affirment que les exonérations fiscales accordées aux églises représentent des millions de dollars de manque à gagner pour le gouvernement. D’autres, en revanche, affirment que les églises peuvent et doivent utiliser leurs fonds pour soutenir les communautés locales.
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