Palestine: settler colonialism, archaeology and the appropriation of cultural heritage

Seminar with Dr Mahmoud Hawari

Archaeology and the bible were weaponised first by Evangelical Christian colonists in the 19th century, and later by European Zionist settlers in the 20th century to provide historical justification for a supremacist Jewish state in Palestine. This was done in complete disregard to the indigenous Palestinians, who have had a rich and diverse civilization, and have been living in their own country for millennia. While Israel has been engaged in settler colonialism, grabbing lands and ethnic cleansing, it employs various policies of erasure of the Palestinians’ identity, the appropriation and destruction of their cultural heritage.

Introduction:
Michele Lancione

Discussion:
Pietro Battaglini
Tamara Taher

• Dr Mahmoud Hawari is a professor of archaeology at Bethlehem University, Palestine. He served as Director of the Palestinian Museum, Curator at the British Museum, and Research Associate at the University of Oxford. He specialises in archaeology and cultural heritage of Palestine. He is widely published in his specialisation.
• Michele Lancione is a Professor of Political and Economic Geography and codirector of the Beyond Inhabitation Lab, DIST, Polytechnic of Turin.
• Pietro Battaglini is a PhD candidate at DIST, Polytechnic of Turin.
• Tamara Taher is a post-doctoral researcher at the Dipartimento di Culture, Politica e Società of the University of Turin.

• Mahmoud Hawari_Lab_15thApril25_Final (2 MB)