Department of Jewish history and contemporary Jewry
Subject: Shaping of the Holocaust in the Arab Newspapers
Supervisor: Dr. Amos Goldberg & Professor Hillel Cohen
Abstract: The media arena is perceived as a key site for the distribution and reproduction of cultural significances, as well as social patterns, thereby reflecting perceptions, standpoints and values. The Israel Arabic press is a tool for shaping the character of the Arab-Palestinian society between two identities: national and civil. The Israel Arabic press has a key role in examining identity-associated dilemmas: parallel trends- The Holocaust memory in Israel and the Arab discourse into this memory can be examined through the cultural approach to media research. The journalistic act serves to expose ideological mechanisms, and so the media at large, particularly the press, construct and shape national narratives among an imaginary community whose individuals have a sense of shared fate.The Arabic press’ choice of highlighting, or ignoring, Holocaust discussions also has its roots in cultural national contexts. In order to discuss the Holocaust’s role in shaping the collective memory of the Arab society in Israel, one can employ the term of naturalisation, coined by Roland Barthes.2 This construction or the lack thereof attests to the ideological view held by the Arabic press in regards to this sensitive issue. It therefore follows that the significances of journalistic texts are constructed by means of symbolic representation systems that make up the cultural-media discourse. The constructs and significances of the Holocaust memory framing are examined using two major perspectives: the narrative, shaped from a cultural or personal point of view, and the constructivist one, whereby knowledge is a product of human construction, not necessarily a reflection of an “objective” reality exposed.
Bio: I analyzed the Arab press with different political orientations and demonstrated the changes of Arab newspaper coverage relating to the Holocaust discourse. I took into account that in the Eighties there was a dramatic increase in publication of new popular Arab media.
New publications such as “Panorama” a weekly tabloid which dealt with not only political issues but also popular culture. On the other hand the Northern communist party paper
“Al Etihad” (The United) and “Sout el Hak” ( The voice of Truth and Justice) which belongs to the Israeli Islamic movement are more extreme newspapers than the moderate Panorama.
Publications:
Shaping of the Holocaust in Arab Newspapers
Presidential Stipend 2016/17