Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World | Maha Nassar

Ottoman History Podcast

E558 | 1948 marks the year that Israel gained independence, and for Palestinians, an experience of mass exile known as the Nakba. The displacement of Palestinians and subsequent conflicts between Israel and its Arab neighbors had immense consequences. But how did the Palestinian Arabs who remained and make up roughly 20% of Israel's population today fit into a Middle East region defined by the "Arab-Israeli conflict?" In this podcast, we speak to Maha Nassar, whose first book Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World casts new light on a community historically marginalized both within Israel and within broader discussions of contemporary Arab history. We discuss how Palestinian citizens of Israel were cut off from friends, relatives, and compatriots after 1948, and how they used literature as means of forging new transnational connections during the era of Arab nationalism and decolonization. Through the insights born out of their paradoxical experiences, Arab-Israeli authors of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction would come to occupy a prominent place not only within both Arab and Israeli literature but also global political thought. More at https://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2024/01/nassar.html Dr. Maha Nassar is an associate professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona, where she specializes in the cultural history of Palestine and the modern Arab world. Her award-winning book, Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World (Stanford University Press, 2017), examines how Palestinian intellectuals inside the Green Line connected to global decolonization movements through literary and journalistic writings. Her scholarly articles have appeared in the Journal of Palestine Studies, The Arab Studies Journal, and elsewhere. Dr. Nassar’s analysis pieces have appeared widely, including in The Conversation and +972 Magazine. As a 2022 non-resident fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace, she joined FMEP in developing public programming for their Occupied Thoughts podcast. Dr. Nassar’s current book project examines the global history of Palestine’s people, with a focus on religious pluralism in Palestinian society. Suzie Ferguson is Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at Smith College. She writes and teaches on the history of gender, sexuality, and political thought in the modern Arab world. CREDITS Episode No. 558 Release Date: 8 January 2024 Recording location: Tucson, AZ; Northampton, MA Sound production by Susanna Ferguson and Chris Gratien Music: Chad Crouch - Charcoal; A.A. Aalto - Canyon Images and bibliography courtesy of Maha Nassar available at https://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2024/01/nassar.html