Becoming Pro-Palestinian: A ‘Self-History’

Since the revolt of early oral historians such as Ronald Fraser and Alessandro Portelli against the state-based practice of classical history, it has become commonplace to adopt oral history theory and methods to record the experiences of subaltern groups excluded from mainstream history. Such excluded groups are many, among them workers, ethnic minorities, and the peoples of colonised countries such as Palestine. At the time of the expulsion of the majority of Palestinians from their country in 1948 there was little support for them in world public opinion. But over time, international solidarity has grown to a point where it constitutes a serious concern for the Israeli state, as Israeli violence towards the Palestinians under its control draws increasing criticism from the international community. I write here to trace the trajectory of someone who tried to join a kibbutz in 1951 but who found herself instead teaching in the Arab world, and from there discovering the Palestinian cause through oral history work with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. This ‘self-history’ may serve an historical purpose through illustrating how opinion towards an important contemporary political issue may change in an individual case.