Author: María José Lera*
The Palestinian Research Net (RIPAL for its acronym in Spanish) is a group composed by University professors, students and people who research on the Palestinian situation. Every year, the RIPAL organizes conferences to explain the historical and current situation of Palestine’s reality through expert scientists that analyze this subject-matter from different perspectives (history, anthropology, arts, sociology, psychology, education, literature, etc.), offering an atmosphere for thought and debate between the researches and the university community, aiming to spread knowledge and to encourage the scientific cooperation in the university environment that allows the convergence of different theoretical and practical frameworks in order to understand the situation in this region as a sample of study from a pluri-disciplinary perspective.
The II Conference took place on April 2015 at the University in Granada, where 17 papers were presented. Out of these papers ten have been chosen for their presentation, and constitute the content of this International Humanities Studies’ special number.
The papers together offer a general framework to understand the oppression to which the Palestinian people are submitted. Three articles from different perspectives offer a clear image of such oppression, since the destruction of its historical and cultural heritage (The al-Magariba neighbourhood in Jerusalem and the destruction of the cultural heritage, Noa Morales), the design of the urbanization’s process implemented in Gaza and in the West Bank, that by themselves constitute a structural violence from the architectural and urban analysis (Gaza’s space design: land and laboratory. Miguel Mesa del Castillo Clavel), and the use of military courts to judge the Palestinian population, analysis from law’s perspective made by Ana Sánchez Mera (Political use of the Israeli military courts in occupied Palestinian territory: Israeli government legal repression mechanisms against non-violent resistance in Palestine. Ana Sánchez Mera).
This oppression has an answer from the oppressed; three papers describe the role and genesis of the resistance through the use of poetry, (The founders of poetry of the Palestinian resistance: the circle of the magazine al- ŷadīd. Victoria Khraiche Ruiz-Zorrilla), from the cinema and narrative (Cinema and historiography in Palestine: a silenced narrative? Paula Fernández Franco), and the actions taken by the Palestinian civil population from the non-violence framework (Contributions of the non-violent international interventions against the occupation of the Palestinian Territories, Diego Checa Hidalgo).
The mechanisms, through which the oppression works to stay on the time, are analyzed also from different perspectives. From a Law perspective the particular situation of the Palestinian people’s right of self-determination, is analysed which constitutes an anomaly that does break the interpretation of the international right (The recognition of Palestine as a milestone of the theory of recognition of states. Tatiana de A. F. R. Cardoso Squeff and Dulcilene Aparecida Mapelli Rodrigues). The international aids that the occupied territories receive it’s equally analysed to show that aid is become a political element that allows the oppression to continue, revealing its contradictions (The contradictions of the European aid to Palestine. Laurence Thieux). The media also play their own role, echoing Israeli and Palestinian stereotypes, that drive the populations that aren’t involved in this oppression to consider that there is two sides, with little information of both, unable to see the big unbalance that there is between them (The image of “conflict”: the content of the stereotype towards Palestinian and Israelis is influenced by the media. Roberto M. Lobato, Miguel Moya, Humberto Trujillo). Finally, this image spread from the international community, the law, the humanitarian aid and the media, also have their impact in the Israeli and Palestinian population, who with biased keys approve the word “conflict” as a framework to analyse and understand their reality, and especially used by the Israeli population to justify the oppression that submits the Palestinian people and to recreate social representations that have an impact in their daily lives (The social representations and their consequences in the “conflict” Israel-Palestine. Francisco Javier Aragonés López).
All together, the studies and investigations started about the Palestinian situation reveal that all disciplines end up in one same conclusion, the great oppression to which the Israelis submit the Palestinian people. This oppression isn’t considered as such in the western narrative, which insists in calling it conflict, presents an analysis framework that eases the confusion, the justification of the oppressor, and the biased analysis of the oppressed population’s responses. These papers shown here are scientific contributions of analysis made about very concrete aspects of the Palestinian situation, that can be included in the oppression framework, pointing out the different aspects that allow to understand it (destruction and oppression), analyze the mechanisms that work to maintain it, and in this context, analyze the oppressed population’s answers.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights points out in its preamble the need to protect the rights of the oppressed human being, “Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law”. The existence of the declaration since 1948 does not imply that the oppression has ceased, on the contrary, it continues with its multiple faces. We understand that from the framework of oppression the relation between Israel and Palestine makes sense, as the response of the international society in this fight for the human rights gains importance, the international legality and the recognition of the oppressed resistance.
Upon the completion of "II Interuniversity Researches about Palestine: a multidisciplinary perspective”, the Coordination and Scientific committees convey their sincere gratitude and recognition for the funding and participating organizations in the project, without whose kind gesture, the research would not have been conducted; namely:
- Centro de Incitativas de Cooperación al Desarrollo. Universidad de Granada.
- Fondo Andaluz de Municipios para la Solidaridad Internacional.
- Agencia Andaluza de Cooperación Internacional
- Fundación Euroárabe de Altos Estudios.
- Departamento de Estudios Semíticos. Universidad de Granada.
- Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Universidad de Granada.
- Grupo de Cooperación Sevilla-Palestina. Universidad de Sevilla.
Furthermore, we express our deep appreciation to all participating researchers who contributed and shared unselfishly their research and findings on the Palestinian question, which was exciting and enriching. We also acknowledge their effort to participate willingly in the meeting through presentations and, without a doubt; this publication would not have been possible due to their hard work and dedication.
We sincerely hope that the meeting contributed to the qualitative complement of scientific knowledge in general and the Palestinian issue in particular. Moreover, the primary objective of the meeting was to discuss research towards the implementation of Palestinian multidisciplinary studies.
In conclusion, this research does not culminate at this point since it is hoped that this meeting will be useful in conducting a broad perspective of research about the Palestinian issue, and secure the role players contribution and support in the near future to ensure continuity of the project in a third meeting and consequent ones.
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*Scientific committee of RIPAL, PhD. Psychology, Assistant Professor, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Seville University, Seville, Spain. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
