Call for papers – International symposium “Palestinian Heritage in Peril: Collection, Preservation, Reconstruction”
May 18-19, 2027, Auditorium of the Languages and Civilizations Center, BULAC, 65 rue des Grands Moulins, Paris.
Organizing Committee: Raphaël Banc-Lévêque, Véronique Bontemps, Fadime Deli, Sébastien Haule, Flore Heinrich, Marion Lauréat Macé, Norig Neveu, Syrine Saltaji, Fabrice Virgili.
Download the appeal: in French , in English and in Arabic
Argument
The ongoing destruction inflicted on the Gaza Strip for over two years has affected most vital infrastructure, professional sectors, and also heritage and cultural sites. UNESCO has documented the destruction of more than one hundred heritage, archaeological, and cultural sites, which, like schools and hospitals, are targeted by the Israeli army. It is in this context that the Gaza History project (https://gazahistoire.hypotheses.org/) has undertaken the mission of documenting the history, destruction, and reconstruction of these heritage sites. This conference extends and presents the work of this collective over the past two years.
This operation of cultural destruction is not a recent phenomenon, and the year 2023 has only served to brutally accelerate long-standing practices. The idea of erasing or preventing cultural expression and heritage preservation in Gaza and, more generally, in Palestine, is part of Israeli policies aimed at rendering invisible, reappropriating, or even destroying Palestinian cultural heritage.
The issue of preserving Palestinian heritage is intrinsically linked to the history of Palestinians, whether they live in the territory of Mandatory Palestine or in exile, as well as to the history of colonization. The control of certain historical sites and biblical archaeology, in particular, lies at the heart of the strategy for constructing an Israeli national narrative. Thus, Palestinian history is punctuated with examples that indicate the centrality of heritage issues: abandoned or destroyed villages from the Nakba to the present day; Confiscated, vanished, or destroyed archives and libraries, but also, more traditionally, the gradual disappearance of certain artistic practices under the influence of globalization—such as the icon tradition in the face of the patrimonialization, or even folklorization, of certain material cultures like embroidery. The Palestinian experience of heritage thus sheds light, in many respects, on the contemporary challenges of preserving and restoring tangible and intangible culture. Examples include the initiatives of Widad Kawar (Jordan) for the preservation of Palestinian material culture, and those of Anne-Marie Schayegh (Lebanon) in the field of Palestinian oral history. Similarly, the preservation of libraries and written, visual, and sound archives—particularly private ones—quintessentially occupied a central place within Palestinian institutions, such as the Institute for Palestine Studies, from a very early stage.Through private funding, or more recently thanks to digitization projects led by the Museum of the Palestinian People, and despite the long absence of an official archival policy, Palestinian heritage has been preserved. Architects also play a central role in safeguarding built heritage, as exemplified by initiatives led by the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation.
Palestine has thus long been a particularly complex and instructive case study for understanding the challenges of heritage preservation in the context of war and colonialism. However, the last two years seem to have been marked by an acceleration of the processes of eradicating Palestinian heritage; it is important to place these processes within a broader historical context in order to better understand the contemporary heritage crisis and the mobilizations it has generated. This international conference aims to examine how heritage is currently threatened and rendered invisible in Palestine (in Gaza, but also in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the current Israeli territory) when it is not simply destroyed. This project will document acts of obstruction, but also resistance and the processes of safeguarding and appropriating a multifaceted heritage in the Palestinian territories. International and Palestinian cultural and economic actors are involved, as well as local populations striving to remain in these areas. A comparative dimension will be developed with other cultural areas whose heritage is threatened or even lost, in order to grasp the specificities of the Palestinian context.
Theme 1. Written Heritage: Archives, Records of Knowledge, and Representations.
From the late 19th century onward, Palestine and its main cities played a major role in the Nahda movement.The Arab intellectual renaissance, but also the renewal of biblical studies, were all significant aspects of Palestine’s development. Palestine already possessed a dense and rich written heritage, linked in particular to the presence of the holy sites of Jerusalem, Hebron, and Safed, and to the missionary presence. This resulted in a considerable body of documentary and archival material produced by government agencies, intellectuals, missionaries, photographers, religious institutions, associations, political parties, as well as tourist agencies, industries, and manufacturers. A significant portion of these documentary resources has now been destroyed or confiscated for the benefit of Israeli archival institutions or private collectors, or dispersed through successive migrations and exiles. Several archival collections and preservation initiatives nevertheless remain—such as the archives of the Dome of the Rock and those of Abu Dis, among others. These initiatives sometimes stem from folklorists, like the collection of amulets gathered by Tawfiq Canaan and donated to the Birzeit University Museum. Similarly, Palestinian intellectual vitality has long been manifested by the existence of numerous private libraries, boasting a wealth of documentary resources. These collections, however, face several major challenges: the absence or weakness of structured archival policies; the fragility of certain holdings, particularly rare documents from the medieval or Ottoman periods; and insufficient resources dedicated to cataloging, preservation, and promotion. Furthermore, these archives are constantly embroiled in conflicts of legitimacy between Israelis and Palestinians, concerning both the ownership of the documents and, implicitly, the historical narratives they allow us to establish or reconstruct. The war in Gaza has also revealed on a large scale the mechanisms of a deliberate strategy of systematic destruction of documentary and archival holdings—libraries, archives, and other heritage collections.
Contributions under this first theme will revisit both the strategies for preserving and reappropriating this heritage, paying particular attention to the role of digital technology in recent years. What are the effects of this dematerialization on the production of knowledge about Palestine? Can the production of forgeries reshape narratives about the region’s history when generative AI enables the creation of fake archives? How can we continue to produce knowledge about territories marked by the destruction or appropriation of archives and documentation? What mobilizations and modes of action are being deployed to safeguard this written heritage, and who are the key players? Finally, what legal questions do these preservation efforts raise? Contributions offering a perspective on other regions or spaces facing targeted and systematic destruction of their written heritage, and highlighting the ways in which these challenges are addressed in context, will be especially welcome.
Axis 2. Built Heritage.
Built heritage in Palestine is, par excellence, an area of heritage tensions. The diplomatic crisis that followed UNESCO’s inscription of the Old City of Hebron, including the Tomb of the Patriarchs, on the World Heritage List is a prime example. The approach to this heritage is characterized by the diversity of issues it raises.
First and foremost is the question of the destruction of, or the impossibility of accessing, built heritage, whether rural or urban, particularly that of villages abandoned during the Nakba. Added to this is another form of disappearance, often linked to the limited heritage value placed on certain architectural forms, especially those from the Mamluk, Ottoman, or Mandate periods. Their preservation is now a central concern for some Palestinian architects, who are committed to preserving both the heritage and the know-how stemming from different periods of Palestinian history. For example, the Riwaq collective of architects is working on inventorying and documenting built heritage, particularly that inherited from the Ottoman era. The question of recognition, as well as renovation and reconstruction techniques, also arises for a heritage that is often contested and frequently threatened by processes of appropriation or expropriation. This issue particularly concerns holy sites and, more broadly, all sites with a monumental religious topography.
The degradation and eradication of Gaza’s heritage raise several sets of questions. How can we document the destruction and what has disappeared? How has exponential urban development allowed for the preservation of diverse architectural forms, and thus, how can we study urban history and geography in the absence of any trace? To assess and analyze these issues, it is essential to consider the importance and preservation of iconographic sources (buildings, plans, maps), which allow us to document spaces, territories, and places that have now completely vanished.
The contributions of this panel will thus raise the question of the role of archaeologists, experts, and architects in documenting and preserving architectural forms that have now disappeared or, at the very least, are seriously threatened. More broadly, the issue of built heritage relates to the attention it receives and the prioritization of public policies, whether those of the Palestinian Authority, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA), or other bodies. The challenges related to built heritage in Palestine are also deeply marked by the question of ownership, which places archives at the heart of preservation strategies. In this context, it will be necessary to revisit, over the long term, the attention given to Palestinian built heritage according to the actors and periods involved: which built heritage generates interest, and what are the strategies for its enhancement, whether for tourism or other purposes? How can the organization of exhibitions abroad contribute to the preservation of Palestinian heritage? Finally, this heritage is intrinsically linked, particularly in times of war, to the issue of smuggling and the economics of archaeological objects and artifacts. In a context of blockade , heritage objects from Gaza circulate via clandestine or digital networks . The revenues, often captured by intermediaries , stem from an economy of scarcity , where the value of goods is amplified by their conflictual origin. This dynamic reveals, as in 1939-1945, the tensions between the preservation and monetization of heritage in times of crisis.
How can we understand and interpret the specific nature of these issues in light of the destruction caused by contemporary conflicts, by placing them within a broader historical perspective, across different periods, particularly in light of the documented phenomena of mass production and technological developments, especially in the European contexts of the two World Wars?
Theme 3. Intangible Heritage
A third aspect of heritage practices concerns intangible heritage and lived experiences. Daily, artisanal, and artistic practices (whether musical production, embroidery, visual arts, theater, dance, etc.), as well as traditional crafts, are profoundly affected by the disruption of ecosystems linked to the genocidal acceleration of colonization in Palestine. Israeli attacks on intangible heritage, in its artisanal, cultural, popular, and artistic dimensions, are not new. The idea of eradicating culture has been central to Israeli colonial policy since the destruction of 1948 in Mandatory Palestine. The years of military occupation from 1967 to the 1990s saw Israel implement a policy aimed at preventing any form of Palestinian cultural expression, through the closure of art galleries, cinemas, and theaters, and the banning of festivals. The Oslo process and then the Second Intifada after 2000 imposed new restrictions on movement and the imposition of permits hindering cultural mobility. But the last two years represent a further step in this ongoing process, exemplified in Gaza where attacks against cultural heritage have also targeted cultural figures and actors such as journalists and artists, as well as representatives of other professional groups (journalists, doctors, and academics).
Contributions may explore the implications of targeting this heritage in Palestine or elsewhere, given its multifaceted nature. For example, some intangible heritage practices also intersect with economic practices, such as olive harvesting or soap production, particularly in Nablus. These practices, like all intangible heritage, are severely threatened by the scale of past and ongoing environmental destruction and soil pollution, especially in Wadi Gaza. What aspects of Palestinian life, at the intersection of production, the affirmation of identity and collective identity, and artistic expression, are targeted by this focus on intangible heritage? Furthermore, artists, intellectuals, and ordinary people alike continue to transmit and create despite the destruction, constituting a form of living resistance, whether through personal or collective forms of creation: sketchbooks, music workshops, and so on. Contributions may thus analyze how artists and cultural practitioners mobilize in the face of destruction, how practices and imaginaries are reconfigured to resist this environment and constitute genuine practices and repertoires of survival. Who are the actors in these practices aimed at reviving memorial practices, and what is the role of intergenerational transmission? More generally, how do cultural and artistic practices allow us to preserve hope and transmission? Particular attention may be paid to the study of the methods of preserving and transmitting intangible cultural practices by displaced persons, refugees, and members of the Palestinian diaspora , by examining the mechanisms of resilience, adaptation, or disappearance of these practices in situations of exile.
Theme 4: Reconstructing Lost Heritage
More generally, a final theme may be devoted to the question of the reconstruction or reconstitution of destroyed or lost heritage. Presentations may, through discourse analysis, examine the competing narratives surrounding reconstruction projects. This includes, in particular, Donald Trump’s pronouncements regarding the potential deployment of a “Riviera-style” project on the site of present-day Gaza City. Contributions may also revisit the international legal response in order to examine the authority of the actors involved in these reparation and reconstruction processes. The aim will be to analyze these projects not only in their competitive dimension, but also in terms of what they reveal about the political and social projections envisioned for the future of these territories. Proposals may also examine This area of research will examine international legal responses (conventions, resolutions, and sanctioning mechanisms) and the role, legitimacy, and effectiveness of the actors involved in reparation and reconstruction efforts.
It will also explore the economic challenges related to heritage restoration and the construction sector, examining the utopian or dystopian visions associated with these reconstruction projects and aspirations, whether for built heritage or tangible heritage more generally. For example, one could mention the initiatives already underway to reconstruct some of the manuscripts from the al-‘Umari Mosque collection in Gaza. It will therefore be necessary to revisit the projects formulated, the heritage doctrines, and the heritage and architectural techniques, and more broadly, the material resources considered for implementing these reconstruction or reconstitution processes. Particular attention may also be paid to virtual or digital reconstructions, whether three-dimensional models or imaging tools that allow for the re-creation of vanished urban and social realities.
Finally, the issue of reconstruction, especially that of documentary collections, may be linked to that of restitution. Presentations may thus connect the challenges of reconstruction with potential claims for the restitution of archaeological artifacts, works of art, written heritage, or manuscript collections made by the Palestinian authorities, whether addressed to the Israeli authorities or the former colonial powers, as well as to the states and institutions in Europe or North America that hold this type of heritage.
Proposals for presentations should be sent in English or French to veronique.bontemps[at]cnrs.fr, norig.neveu[at]univ-amu.fr, and Syrine.Saltaji[at]univ-paris1.fr by October 15, 2026. Applicants will receive a response by mid-November. Abstracts should indicate the sources and research areas on which the presentation will be based. They should not exceed 500 words and must be accompanied by a brief author bio (250 words maximum).
The conference is preparing a collective publication. Preliminary contributions should be submitted by April 15, 2027, to allow time for discussion. Following the conference, a first draft of the article will be due by December 15, 2027 (publication is planned for late 2028/early 2029).
