Palestine’s history and heritage narrative : alternative prospects

Abstract EN

This paper examines the possibility of constructing an alternative national narrative of Palestine’s past and of regional heritage based on current scholarship and ongoing discoveries that would affirm the Palestinian people’s continuous existence in their land and offer a more constructive approach to their identity.

Palestinian self-understanding, as reflected in traditions, public assumptions, educational curricula and tourist information, needs to engage in what scholarly work has to offer, and must benefit from it to retrieve a more inclusive account of the past.

The paper first examines how ancient Palestinian history has been lost and destroyed by old traditions as well as by appropriative Western and Zionist claim systems.

The paper also suggests future approaches and recommends priorities for research that bear on this effort.