The Nakba and Palestinian Identity with Leena Dallasheh

Israel and Palestine: Joint Speaker Series Exploring Fundamental History

Since this fall, intense attention has turned to Israel and Palestine. Many on campus who are following events find themselves with basic questions about actors, geography, contested narratives and even the words used to describe what is happening. This speaker series aims to help fill some of these gaps. Jointly sponsored by the Middle East and North African Studies Program, the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies and the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, the initiative seeks to offer the Northwestern University community knowledge on this vital history from the late nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century. Sessions feature renowned scholars from the U.S. and abroad from a wide range of personal and academic backgrounds, and are open to members of the Northwestern community. Learn more about the series >>

In this talk, Leena Dallasheh focused on the Palestinian experience after the Nakba (the Catastrophe of 1948) and their early encounters with the Israeli State. It highlighted central themes related to all three parts of post-1948 Palestinian history: Palestinian refugees, Palestinian citizens of Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Leena Dallasheh is an independent scholar. Her research focuses on the history of Palestine/Israel, with a particular interest in Palestinians who became citizens of Israel in 1948. She is currently finishing a manuscript on the social and political history of Nazareth from 1940 to 1966, tracing how Palestinians who remained in Israel in 1948 negotiated their incorporation in the state, affirming their rights as citizens and their identity as Palestinian. Her article “Troubled Waters: Governing Water and Struggling for Citizenship in Nazareth” appeared in IJMES 47 (2015). She also published articles and reviews in JPS and edited collections. She received her PhD in the joint History and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies program at NYU. Before coming to NYU, she received a law degree from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.