*EPF413 08/01/2002
Palestinian-American Scholar Studies History to Promote Dialogue
(Calls on historians to challenge myths and promote understanding) (1220)

By Benjamin Gross
Washington File Staff Writer

The walls of Philip Mattar's office are lined with bookshelves, filled to capacity with texts related to Arab-Israeli conflict. He is quick to note, however, that not all of them are intended for intellectual audiences. One shelf is devoted solely to textbooks used to teach Palestinian children.

Mattar, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a Palestinian-American, has assembled this diverse library as part of a groundbreaking study of the historiography of the Arab-Israeli conflict. His project, "Distortions in the Historical Accounts of the Arab-Israeli Conflict," focuses on the fusion of scholarship and ideology in Israeli and Palestinian historical texts. He hopes to promote greater understanding and facilitate dialogue between both sides of the conflict through the creation of an objectively accurate historical narrative.

Mattar's work stems from his concern that over the past fifty years, both sides have used history as a "mechanism of the state" to further their ideological agendas. Despite a trend towards historical objectivity among Israeli scholars beginning in the 1980s, revisionist historians there remain in the minority, and their impact is limited. As recently as the Camp David negotiations in July 2000, Prime Minister Ehud Barak stated that Israel was not responsible for the Palestinian refugee problem.

In Palestine, however, Mattar told the Washington File, there has been no corresponding movement towards revisionism. Historians have essentially adopted the national narrative, despite ready access to primary source materials and a vast body of earlier scholarship. For example, Palestinian negotiators at Camp David denied that Jews had any historical connection to the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount).

"With few exceptions, most [Palestinian historians] base their data and their conclusions on what Palestinian officials at the time told them happened," he said.

Mattar became interested in the historiography of the Arab-Israeli conflict as a history student at Columbia University, where he wrote his dissertation on Amin al-Husayni, the mufti of Jerusalem who led opposition to Jewish immigration from the 1920s to 1948. Mattar noticed that Arab and Jewish biographies were diametrically opposed in their portrayals of the mufti, as each side tried to advance its ideological agenda.

"The more I read, the more inconsistent accounts became evident, because it depended upon whom you were reading, and the more I was impressed with the necessity of going to the original documents," Mattar explained.

After traveling to England, Egypt, Lebanon, and Israel as a Fulbright scholar to research al-Husayni's life, Mattar theorized that the divergent portraits of the mufti result from Arab and Israeli historians viewing the mufti through their respective ideological lenses. This, in turn, leads to the continued perpetuation of distorted views towards their shared past.

"There's a total lack of empathy," he said. "This is what scholarship demands, that you look at the other side, from the other side's perspective, so you can understand...and I think the division between Jews and Arabs, especially during these times is so great that it keeps them from allowing themselves to be in the other person's shoes."

Mattar hopes that his project, which will compare historical accounts of five important events with both official versions and the historical record, will illustrate how the obstacles to understanding are perpetuated. The events include the 1928-9 Western Wall conflict, the Mufti's role in Nazi Germany, the causes and aftermath of the 1948 war, the Gulf War, and the Camp David peace negotiations of 2000.

Mattar's research has already revealed several tactics used by scholars on each side to skew the historical record and make it conform to the sanctioned national narrative. One technique is the careful selection of sources to make one's side appear more favorable. When considering the 1928 Western Wall incident, for example, Zionist sources omit a week of Jewish belligerence towards the Arab community following British intervention to make the subsequent Palestinian response seem like an overreaction. Palestinian accounts, in contrast, omit evidence that the Zionists were not interested in taking over the Haram al-Sharif.

"The historian of today is supposed to look at all the evidence," Mattar noted. "So much has been written on the mandate...that he or she could have easily found out whether or not the Zionists were contemplating [a takeover]."

Another technique historians use to skew the historical record is the careful utilization of semantics to condemn or vindicate actions. Arab histories of the 1948 Palestinian exodus, for example, imply that Jewish forces physically expelled all Palestinians, even though many left on their own out of fear or panic. Many Jewish reference works only apply the word "terrorism" to Arabs, even though groups like Irgun and the Stern Gang committed acts in the 1930s and 40s that would fit the definition.

"Using the word 'terrorist' to apply to Palestinians, but not to Jewish terrorists in the '40s is a form of distortion." Mattar said. "It's a pejorative. It has become a term which is used against one's enemies. We don't commit terrorism. The other side does."

As a scholar, Mattar feels the ultimate goal of his project is to dispel the myths and distortions that have tainted the Arab-Israeli historical narrative since the 1920s. He believes that without a fundamental revision of both the Israeli and Palestinian historical narratives, history education in the region will only serve to perpetuate misunderstanding. Mattar hopes however that his work will facilitate more productive dialogue between the two sides.

"Revisionism should be done for its own sake, because we should set the historical record straight, but I think it has other benefits," he said. "I think, in a sense, that it gives each society the proper historical background from which to view themselves and the other. Inevitably, I think it would reduce the hatred, the self-righteousness, the distorted image of the other, and I see it as important for the peace process."

Mattar will continue his research at the Woodrow Wilson Center until September, when he will work at the United States Institute of Peace. He hopes to publicize his findings by next year.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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