Memory and historical narratives play a central role in the mechanics of present-day conflicts. All sides aspire to preserve ‘their’ memory by controlling or manipulating the historical narrative in order to secure political power.
In this paper, the author explores different ‘battlegrounds of memory’ from the biblical times to modern day South Africa, putting a particular emphasis on the events surrounding the year 1948 in Palestine. By deconstructing the myths and the lies, he invites us to recompose our own memory not only to cleanse it of falsification but also include elements of both sides so as to create a common history across the conflict lines. The capacity to “think for two”, he argues, might be to a large extent the only chance to move forward in the Middle East Peace Process.
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