VIRTUAL Barcelona

Abstract

The founders of Kibbutz Zikkim in Israel first settled in an abandoned Arab villa that belonged to ‎the Palestinian, well-known Al-Alami family. In 2019, suffering from a severe state of neglect, the ‎house was renovated and opened to the public as a heritage site. Whereas most Israeli heritage ‎sites tend to cover up local Palestinian history, the case of Al-Alami House offers a fresh approach: ‎although the site tells the story of the establishment of Zikkim and is meant to amplify nationalistic ‎sentiment through the heroism of the early Israeli settlers, it acknowledges the Arab history of the ‎place. My paper will analyze the case of Al-Alami House in order to shed light on the particular ‎challenges involved in urban preservation in conflict zones. ‎ Because Israel is a relatively young country, which was founded in a state of conflict, and still strives ‎to prove the legitimacy of its ownership of the land, the country’s heritage sites might serve as a ‎laboratory for the study of heritage in contested territories. My aim in this paper is to articulate the ‎particular mechanism used in the case of Al-Alami House to tie together the concepts of heritage ‎and of conflict. By comparing this case to other local heritage sites, I argue that contestation is ‎embedded in the concept and practice of heritage, at least in Israel, if not always. My paper offers ‎a point of departure for a theorization of heritage preservation as a practical mechanism within the ‎field of national identity politics. ‎