Across the Wall (PDF)

Across the Wall arose from a unique collaboration between scholars from Israel and Palestine, seeking to arrive at a shared framework for studying the history of this troubled land. Ilan Pappe and Jamil Hilal, among the top academics in Israel and Palestine respectively, brought historians from both sides of the divide together for dialogue on history, identity, and the meaning of the conflict. In the volume they argue persuasively for the concept of a 'bridging narrative': a historiographical discourse which can accommodate seemingly incompatible national meta-narratives. Proceeding from this innovative theoretical framework, Across the Wall then goes onto offer critical examinations of some of the most contested issues in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the 1948 Nakba, the 1967 war, the occupation, and the formation of the PLO. Not only the history, but the historiography itself is subject to fresh perspectives, looking at, for example, how different generations of Israeli historians have interpreted the Zionist movement, or how women have been written out of the history of Palestine. The result is a radical new take on the history of Israel/Palestine which transcends the biases inherent in both countries' national narratives and points towards a new model for the historiography of conflicts.