Historical Narrative Program
The Historical Narrative Program at Mada al-Carmel is entitled, “Reframing the Historical Narrative of the Palestinians in Israel”. The Nakbah (“catastrophe” - expulsion of the Palestinians from their homeland in 1948) and the creation of the state of Israel resulted in the division and displacement of the Palestinian people and caused the emergence of the Palestinian minority in Israel. Post 1948 the majority of Israeli academic research that was conducted on the social, political and cultural aspects of the Palestinians in Israel only focused on the different groups within this minority. The researchers dealt with the Palestinians not as a national collective but as different groups of minorities and religious sectors. Moreover, when research dealt directly with the historical dimensions of the Palestinians in Israel it was carried out in such a way as to reflect the interests of the Israeli state and proves to be an unreliable report of actual events. As such there has been no complete and accurate historical documentation recording the experiences of the Palestinian community (as a collective) after the Nakbah. Thus an information vacuum has been created.
The Historical Narrative Program aims to fill the existing information gap by adding to and rewriting the historical narrative in a way that reflects all the dimensions and needs of the Palestinians in Israel. By revealing the factual events of what happened before, during and after 1948 a superior evaluation of the extent and effects of the Nakbah will be disclosed. The facts of the past are an essential part of understanding and improving present and future realities. The Historical Narrative Program has two components:
- The Documentation of primary historical sources with the aim of creating a complete archive.
- Recording an accurate and complete historical narrative of the Palestinians in Israel. Seminars and conferences are organized by Mada to assist researchers in this task.