Taboo Narratives: Teaching Palestine and the Palestinians

To speak “truth to power” is not merely an intellectual task but a mission statement and a moral compass, especially for anthropologists. Writing and speaking out about the effects of settler-colonialism on Palestinians has become the litmus test of such a stance. In western societies, especially in North America, Palestine is a taboo subject, where fear of being denied tenure or even expelled for speaking out has prevented a protracted history of Palestinian suffering, dispossession, and expulsion from being heard or known. Teaching about it therefore acquires a heightened significance and demands the deconstruction of dominant myths, despite the difficulties.