The Paradox of Breaking the Silence

A quick, perhaps superficial mapping of the Jewish-Israeli political map will reveal among those who call themselves ‘leftist’ groups, very few that could actually be referred to as belonging to the anti-colonial camp or struggle. Anti-Zionist resistance includes all those loosely defined groups and individuals who are committed anti-colonial activists with a firm and uncompromising approach in their understanding of Zionism as a settler colonial movement with all of the associated implications, including, first and foremost, the understanding that only decolonization (and here perhaps there are differences in the understanding of the meaning of which) of the Israeli state structure and society will bring an end to the injustices from which the Palestinians are suffering. Before proceeding, it is important to mention that in Israeli political discourse, ‘left’ and ‘right’ pertain more to the position around the extent of colonization than to internal issues of redistribution. Most of those in what is considered in the common political (and popular) discourse as the ‘liberal left’ are in fact supporters of harsh neoliberal policies (for that, see recent example of Haaretz’s editorial supporting Netanyahu’s new policies to limit unions’ ability to call on strikes). Additionally, we should be careful when thinking of the anti-Zionist resistance as some organized form of struggle or some kind of united movement. On the contrary, while it is a very small and marginalized group, internal divisions and disagreements over tactics are prevalent. However, in the political spectrum of groups/organizations that in contemporary Israel are considered by the hegemonic right-center as ‘leftist’, the camp is broad and ranges all the way from fighters for the defence of the Jewish-democracy and human rights advocates to anti-colonial/anti- Zionist radicals. Interestingly, those who are actually on the right side of the ‘left’ are those who attract the most fire

Decolonising Israeli society? Resistance to Zionism as an educative practice

According to Samia Mehrez (1991: 255), a complete decolonisation process must include both the colonised and colonising societies. For the colonisers, decolonisation entails liberation from the hegemonic system of thought and from ‘imperialist, racist perceptions, representations, and institutions’. Rooted in the conceptualisation of Israel as a settler colonial project, this article aims to shed light on decolonisation attempts from within the (colonising) Israeli society. Here, resistance practices of groups of Jewish-Israeli anti-Zionists, in active support of the Palestinian struggle, entail a confrontation with the state but at the same time include another, long-term dimension: the formation of discourse and practice that challenge the Zionist consensus, which thus function as an educative practice. This article aims to shed light on these activities and to conceptualise them as acts of ‘critical pedagogy’. Indeed, their resistance teaches the Jewish-Israelis first about the reality of the oppression that Palestinians suffer. Second, and crucially, it reveals to the Jewish-Israelis the boundaries of permitted political activity and the possibility of overlooking and disregarding social conventions and legal norms. Most importantly, this type of activity (that is largely Palestinian-led and directed), symbolises the struggle against the boundaries and borders imposed by the state, aimed at separating Israelis from Palestinians and thus it constitutes a counter-hegemonic praxis

Seeing Israel through Palestine: knowledge production as anti-colonial praxis

Knowledge production in, for and by settler colonial states hinges on both productive and repressive practices that work together to render its history and present ‘normal’ by controlling how, where, to and through whom it tells its story. This makes the production and dissemination of knowledge an important battleground for anti-colonial struggles. The State of Israel, in its ongoing search for patrons and partners, is focused on how to produce and appropriate ‘knowledge’, and the arenas in which it is developed and shared. In so doing, it works to reshape critique of its political, social and economic relations and redefine the moral parameters that inform its legitimacy and entrench its irrefutability. Inspired by existing literature on and examples of anti-colonial struggles, this paper challenges the modalities through which Israel produces and normalises the colonial narrative. By critiquing existing representations of the Israeli state – and the spaces and structures in which these take hold – our article contributes to the range of scholarship working to radically recalibrate knowledge of ‘Israel’ and ‘Palestine’. As part of this work, the article purposefully centres indigenous anti-colonial frameworks that reconnect intellectual analysis of settler colonial relations, with political engagements in the praxis of liberation and decolonisation

Yara Hawari, Sharri Plonski, and Elian Weizman, eds., “Settlers and Citizens: A Critical View of Israeli Society” (New Texts Out Now)

The work on the Special Issue started with the 2015 SOAS Palestine Society Conference, held at SOAS, University of London. The project has since evolved through the writings of its contributors, the intellectual guidance of its reviewers, and our collaborations as the editorial team. Bringing critical studies of Palestine into conversation with a critical study of Israel’s internal workings, the Special Issue offers a platform through which the two intertwine and form a united body of knowledge on the settler-colonial realities in which they are situated. Working against the analytical separation between settler-colonial studies and indigenous studies, the Special Issue challenges the epistemological boundaries that usually frame the study of Israeli state and society, namely, its placement in the “disciplinary” boundaries of “Israel studies,” and with it, the tendency to disconnect this work the political project of liberation, on which the field of settler colonial studies should thrive. By situating these studies firmly within the field of Palestine studies, the task of understanding the particular operations of the settler state and society connects to the process of unsettling the colonial order and contributing to its dismantling. Thus, more explicitly, the goal of this project overall has been to contribute to the intellectual and critical resources of the growing international solidarity movement with the Palestinian people’s struggle for liberation

Mouse cytomegalovirus-experienced ILC1s acquire a memory response dependent on the viral glycoprotein m12.

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are tissue-resident sentinels that are essential for early host protection from pathogens at initial sites of infection. However, whether pathogen-derived antigens directly modulate the responses of tissue-resident ILCs has remained unclear. In the present study, it was found that liver-resident type 1 ILCs (ILC1s) expanded locally and persisted after the resolution of infection with mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV). ILC1s acquired stable transcriptional, epigenetic and phenotypic changes a month after the resolution of MCMV infection, and showed an enhanced protective effector response to secondary challenge with MCMV consistent with a memory lymphocyte response. Memory ILC1 responses were dependent on the MCMV-encoded glycoprotein m12, and were independent of bystander activation by proinflammatory cytokines after heterologous infection. Thus, liver ILC1s acquire adaptive features in an MCMV-specific manner

Baghdad’s thirdspace: Between liminality, anti-structures and territorial mappings

Wedged in-between the dense urban grain of Baghdad, blast walls of t-shaped concrete have littered the streets and neighbourhoods since 2003, after the US led invasion. The idiosyncrasy of these walls lies in their exaggerated spatial liminality. They appear, change location and disappear overnight, and on a daily basis, leaving Iraqis to navigate through labyrinths of in-between spaces. This article critically reveals the new social and power structures that have emerged in the context of the city in response to the condition resulting from this unique urban intervention. This uncanny spatial and social condition of permanent liminality will be analysed through Victor Turner’s critical theories of liminality and anti-structure coupled with Edward Soja’s theory of Thirdspace, interpreting, through a series of territorial mappings, a complex liminal condition in a contested and disrupted city

Precious, Tiny and Shiny: Close range photogrammetry for artists and others

Close Range Photogrammetry is increasingly being used to create digital assets across a range of disciplines, and can provide 3D ‘scans’ and surface ‘textures’ to very high resolution. The techniques of capture and processing usually present challenges for objects that are very small, monochromatic, reflective or relatively lacking in features. This ongoing visual arts project seeks to capture, re-examine and ultimately transform specific military and religious insignia as part of an investigation into their interrelated iconographies and histories. The materiality (highly reflective) and scale (very detailed embroidery) of these objects has required different approaches to achieving the accurate 3D models required. This paper will present the apparatus, methods and devices that have been developed to help solve these problems. Together they offer affordable, reliable, and scalable solutions to the traditional challenges of ‘3D scanning’ for particular types of objects, and robust methods applicable to a wide range of situations. They also help reduce the investment (of capital cost, time and labour) required to achieve accurate digital models with high resolution textures, opening up creative possibilities further down the virtual or material ‘pipeline’

Monoamines, BDNF, Dehydroepiandrosterone, DHEA-Sulfate, and Childhood Depression—An Animal Model Study

Basal levels of monoamines and DHEA in four main limbic brain regions were measured in prepubertal Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats (a putative animal model of childhood depression). Basal levels of “Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)” were also determined in two regions in the hippocampus, compared with Wistar strain controls. In the second phase, we examined the responsiveness of prepubertal WKY rats to different types of chronic antidepressant treatments: Fluoxetine, Desipramine, and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS). WKY prepubertal rats exhibited different monoamine levels in the limbic system, reduced DHEA levels in the VTA and lower levels of BDNF in the hippocampus CA3 region compared to controls. In prepubertal WKY rats, only treatment with DHEAS produced a statistically significant decrease in immobility, compared to saline-administered controls in the forced swim test. Wistar controls were not affected by any antidepressant. The results imply that DHEA(S) and BDNF may be involved in the pathophysiology and pharmacotherapy of childhood depression