Papers by Amir Locker-Biletzki
Journal of Israeli History
At first glance Jewish Israeli Communists and SLI (Songs of the Land of Israel) make strange bedf... more At first glance Jewish Israeli Communists and SLI (Songs of the Land of Israel) make strange bedfellows. Communist Party members would seem to be the last to sing songs that glorify the Land of Israel using Zionist tropes. Yet they did. Since the end of World War II, the Ron Workers' Choir, which was affiliated with the Communist Party, sang SLI songs and performed on international stages in the Socialist Bloc and in Israel. This amateur choir, its history, and the ideological shifts that enabled its activity are the focus of this article. We argue here that the shift in the Jewish Communists' ideology toward a form of qualified recognition of Israeli nationalism and the development of a Zionist Habitus enabled the reception and embrace of Zionist culture, including its settler colonial aspects, by Jewish Israeli Communists.
Settler Colonial Studies
Settler colonial projects are not only focused on the economy of a population and the formation o... more Settler colonial projects are not only focused on the economy of a population and the formation of a settler state, they are also cultural undertakings whereby the settlers form their own settler culture. In this article, we explore the dynamics of Zionist settler culture from the point of view of its most radical critics, Jewish- Israeli Communists. We analyze the ways Zionist settler culture has been both absorbed and negated by BANKI (Young Israeli Communist League). In an analysis of musical practices, as well as the lyrics of Israeli pseudo-folk songs, known colloquially as SLI (Songs of the Land of Israel), we discuss how BANKI members created their own Israeli national non-Zionist singing culture, and formed a singing culture that was both part of, as well as distinct from, the Socialist-Zionist youth movements. In this way, we explore how, from the 1920s through the 1960s, Zionist settlercolonial culture was informed as well as co-created by Jewish- Israeli Communist youth.
Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, 2018
Since the mid-1970s, the emigration of Jewish-Israelis to overseas destinations has become a recu... more Since the mid-1970s, the emigration of Jewish-Israelis to overseas destinations has become a recurring issue of acrimonious discussion and debate in the Israeli public sphere. This article traces historical anxieties about emigration, provides political frameworks for understanding related discussions and debates, and examines their popular cultural expressions. By analyzing three songs performed by Israeli singers Arik Einstein, Oshik Levi, and the indie group Shmemel, the historical, political, economic, and cultural elements of this debate are situated and explored. We argue that these songs reflect elements of the public debate about the angst of the Israeli, sabra, Ashkenazi middle-class émigré.
Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, 2018
CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture, 2019
Dedicated to the dissemination of scholarly and professional information, Purdue University Press... more Dedicated to the dissemination of scholarly and professional information, Purdue University Press selects, develops, and distributes quality resources in several key subject areas for which its parent university is famous, including business, technology, health, veterinary medicine, and other selected disciplines in the humanities and sciences. CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture, the peer-reviewed, full-text, and open-access learned journal in the humanities and social sciences, publishes new scholarship following tenets of the discipline of comparative literature and the field of cultural studies designated as "comparative cultural studies.
ABSTRACT
The history of Communism in Palestine/Israel can be seen as an
attempt to effect an Arab... more ABSTRACT
The history of Communism in Palestine/Israel can be seen as an
attempt to effect an Arab-Jewish anti-imperialist struggle. This
article – which is informed by the literature about settler
colonialism and Palestinian nationalism – portrays the way in
which local Communists viewed nationalism, Zionism and
imperialism. It argues that Palestinian and Jewish Communists did
not fully comprehend Zionist settler colonialism and Palestinian
nationalism
AbstrAct: The Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 aroused strong responses in the Jewish Yishuv in Pal... more AbstrAct: The Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 aroused strong responses in the Jewish Yishuv in Palestine. The support for the Spanish Republic— prevalent in the Zionist left as well as among the Communists—resulted in young Jews and Arabs volunteering to fight in Spain. These volunteers, primarily Jewish Communists, became part of a cult created around the war by the Communist Party. This article will examine the content of this cult while relating it to parallel groups in the West and in East Ger-many. Through this analysis, the ideological elements, heroes, modes of memory, and dissemination of the memory of the war will be explored.
Lo Biglal Hamilki (Not Because of the Milki)
Or why did I immigrate to Canada?
לא בגלל המילקי
Am... more Lo Biglal Hamilki (Not Because of the Milki)
Or why did I immigrate to Canada?
לא בגלל המילקי
Amir Locker-Biletzki
Referring to the Israeli dairy pudding (Milki) that has come to symbolize the economic motivations of young Israelis to emigrate from Israel, the paper is a meditation on the motivations that led me to leave Israel for Canada. Informed by the relevant literature, I will explore the way the continued violation of Palestinians human rights – to which I was witness and participant during my military service – played a part in my decision to leave Israel. In the paper I will endeavor to understand if the act I took part in as a solider and the political consciousness that I developed since then were the only reason behind my act of yerida. The answer is not as clear cut as one might think, and in the process of answering it the complexity of one’s choice to leave home is made clearer.
This article explores the mythological, ritualistic, and symbolic aspects of the ways
in which th... more This article explores the mythological, ritualistic, and symbolic aspects of the ways
in which the festivals of Hanukkah and Passover were celebrated by the Jewish
Communists in Mandate Palestine and the State of Israel. It illustrates how elements
of Zionist-socialist culture were adopted by Jewish Communists and integrated in
their cultural activities. In a gradual process starting in the1920s and culminating in
the mid-1960s, the Jewish Communists created a combination of Marxist ideology
and Zionist-socialist cultural practices. However, when a group of young Sabra
activists reinforced the Zionist-socialist elements, the balance was undermined,
contributing to the rift within Israeli communism.
The History of Communism in Palestine/Israel since its foundation in 1919 to the present day is h... more The History of Communism in Palestine/Israel since its foundation in 1919 to the present day is hotly debated among Zionist, Palestinian, and cultural historians. The main issue in contention between the historians of the PKP (Palestine Communist Party) and MKI (Israeli Communist Party) was the relationship between Palestinians and Jews within the Party; this article wishes to add a new point of view to this debate. It argues that an examination of the language, symbolism, and rituals that the Jewish Communists developed to describe their Palestinian comrades and Palestinians at large resulted in the creation of an affirmative and positive view of them, but that at the same time, the Jewish Communists did not fully appreciate the power of Palestinian nationalism. This myopic understanding of Palestinian national feelings was one of the reasons underlying the 1965 split of the MKI and Banki (Young Israeli Communist League).
Since the 1920s the Jewish Communists developed a unique Israeli subculture. Both the Communist P... more Since the 1920s the Jewish Communists developed a unique Israeli subculture. Both the Communist Party and its youth movement developed cultural practices made from Israeli Jewish and Soviet European elements. This article is examining May Day one of the most central of this cultural practices. The holiday is analyzed from its mythical, symbolic and ritualistic aspects out from a perspective that states that, while the Jewish communists never rooted themselves among the Israeli Jewish working class working class militancy had an important cultural significant in Communist subculture. This importance was expressed in May Day and mainly the main holiday' practice the march that was used to express a utopian vision of Israeli society. In addition the cultural emphasis on May Day was used to inculcate within the Jewish communists identification with workers, however a string of historical circumstances prevented the Jewish communists from creating an authentic working class identity. Résumé Depuis les années 1920, les communistes juifs ont développé une sous-culture juive tout à fait unique en son genre. En effet, le Parti communiste ainsi que son mouvement jeunesse ont développé des pratiques culturelles ayant pour origine à la fois des éléments juifs israéliens et d'autres provenant plutôt d'une
The young Sabra Israelis who fought and died in the 1948 War were epitomized in the iconic commem... more The young Sabra Israelis who fought and died in the 1948 War were epitomized in the iconic commemoration book Friends Tell about Jimmy. The young volunteers who fought in Spain in the International Brigades (IB) were immortalized in the book Jewish Captain in Fighting Spain.
Thesis Chapters by Amir Locker-Biletzki
The Israeli Communist Party (MKI) and its precursor, the Communist Party of Palestine (PKP), were... more The Israeli Communist Party (MKI) and its precursor, the Communist Party of Palestine (PKP), were a unique Arab-Jewish organization. Marginalized and persecuted for most of its formative years, the Communist Party developed, from 1919 to 1965, its own distinctive subculture. Negating and absorbing the Zionist-Socialist and Israeli statist cultures, influenced by both Soviet and left wing European traditions as well as Jewish traditional elements, the Jewish Communists developed their own cycle of holidays.
Through the examination of primary sources, ranging from internal Communist documents and newspaper articles to photographs and posters, as well as interviews with contemporaries and comparison with parallel Communist experiences in the United States and in the Arab world – this thesis examines the myths and rituals reflected in the holidays, as practiced by the Jewish Communists in MKI and the Israeli Young Communist League (Banki). The thesis scrutinizes the identity these cultural practices produced. By examining the Jewish holidays, the Israeli civic holidays, May Day, the Soviet November 7th and May 9th holidays, and the rituals concerning the relations between Palestinians and Jews, it is shown that between the years 1919 and 1965 the Jewish Communists created a local, Jewish-Israeli, anti-Zionist patriotic identity. This identity, although sensitive to the working class, was not a working-class identity; it was philo-Soviet and interested in civic rights of Palestinians. A minority of Party Members were Palestinians. The thesis concludes that, nevertheless, the Jewish Communists were not able to withstand the attempts of some factions among themselves to favor the nationalist over the socialist principles. Burdened by the weight of the conflict between Arabs and Jews, the MKI finally split in 1965, ending a significant phase in the development of Communist subculture in Israel.
Conference Presentations by Amir Locker-Biletzki
Talks by Amir Locker-Biletzki
Dr. Amir Locker-Biletzki, a post-doctoral fellow at Concordia University’s Azrieli Institute of I... more Dr. Amir Locker-Biletzki, a post-doctoral fellow at Concordia University’s Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies, discusses how the Israeli Communist Party looked back on the participation of its members in the iconic battle against Fascism, and the cult-like culture that it instigated.
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Papers by Amir Locker-Biletzki
The history of Communism in Palestine/Israel can be seen as an
attempt to effect an Arab-Jewish anti-imperialist struggle. This
article – which is informed by the literature about settler
colonialism and Palestinian nationalism – portrays the way in
which local Communists viewed nationalism, Zionism and
imperialism. It argues that Palestinian and Jewish Communists did
not fully comprehend Zionist settler colonialism and Palestinian
nationalism
Or why did I immigrate to Canada?
לא בגלל המילקי
Amir Locker-Biletzki
Referring to the Israeli dairy pudding (Milki) that has come to symbolize the economic motivations of young Israelis to emigrate from Israel, the paper is a meditation on the motivations that led me to leave Israel for Canada. Informed by the relevant literature, I will explore the way the continued violation of Palestinians human rights – to which I was witness and participant during my military service – played a part in my decision to leave Israel. In the paper I will endeavor to understand if the act I took part in as a solider and the political consciousness that I developed since then were the only reason behind my act of yerida. The answer is not as clear cut as one might think, and in the process of answering it the complexity of one’s choice to leave home is made clearer.
in which the festivals of Hanukkah and Passover were celebrated by the Jewish
Communists in Mandate Palestine and the State of Israel. It illustrates how elements
of Zionist-socialist culture were adopted by Jewish Communists and integrated in
their cultural activities. In a gradual process starting in the1920s and culminating in
the mid-1960s, the Jewish Communists created a combination of Marxist ideology
and Zionist-socialist cultural practices. However, when a group of young Sabra
activists reinforced the Zionist-socialist elements, the balance was undermined,
contributing to the rift within Israeli communism.
Thesis Chapters by Amir Locker-Biletzki
Through the examination of primary sources, ranging from internal Communist documents and newspaper articles to photographs and posters, as well as interviews with contemporaries and comparison with parallel Communist experiences in the United States and in the Arab world – this thesis examines the myths and rituals reflected in the holidays, as practiced by the Jewish Communists in MKI and the Israeli Young Communist League (Banki). The thesis scrutinizes the identity these cultural practices produced. By examining the Jewish holidays, the Israeli civic holidays, May Day, the Soviet November 7th and May 9th holidays, and the rituals concerning the relations between Palestinians and Jews, it is shown that between the years 1919 and 1965 the Jewish Communists created a local, Jewish-Israeli, anti-Zionist patriotic identity. This identity, although sensitive to the working class, was not a working-class identity; it was philo-Soviet and interested in civic rights of Palestinians. A minority of Party Members were Palestinians. The thesis concludes that, nevertheless, the Jewish Communists were not able to withstand the attempts of some factions among themselves to favor the nationalist over the socialist principles. Burdened by the weight of the conflict between Arabs and Jews, the MKI finally split in 1965, ending a significant phase in the development of Communist subculture in Israel.
Conference Presentations by Amir Locker-Biletzki
Talks by Amir Locker-Biletzki
The history of Communism in Palestine/Israel can be seen as an
attempt to effect an Arab-Jewish anti-imperialist struggle. This
article – which is informed by the literature about settler
colonialism and Palestinian nationalism – portrays the way in
which local Communists viewed nationalism, Zionism and
imperialism. It argues that Palestinian and Jewish Communists did
not fully comprehend Zionist settler colonialism and Palestinian
nationalism
Or why did I immigrate to Canada?
לא בגלל המילקי
Amir Locker-Biletzki
Referring to the Israeli dairy pudding (Milki) that has come to symbolize the economic motivations of young Israelis to emigrate from Israel, the paper is a meditation on the motivations that led me to leave Israel for Canada. Informed by the relevant literature, I will explore the way the continued violation of Palestinians human rights – to which I was witness and participant during my military service – played a part in my decision to leave Israel. In the paper I will endeavor to understand if the act I took part in as a solider and the political consciousness that I developed since then were the only reason behind my act of yerida. The answer is not as clear cut as one might think, and in the process of answering it the complexity of one’s choice to leave home is made clearer.
in which the festivals of Hanukkah and Passover were celebrated by the Jewish
Communists in Mandate Palestine and the State of Israel. It illustrates how elements
of Zionist-socialist culture were adopted by Jewish Communists and integrated in
their cultural activities. In a gradual process starting in the1920s and culminating in
the mid-1960s, the Jewish Communists created a combination of Marxist ideology
and Zionist-socialist cultural practices. However, when a group of young Sabra
activists reinforced the Zionist-socialist elements, the balance was undermined,
contributing to the rift within Israeli communism.
Through the examination of primary sources, ranging from internal Communist documents and newspaper articles to photographs and posters, as well as interviews with contemporaries and comparison with parallel Communist experiences in the United States and in the Arab world – this thesis examines the myths and rituals reflected in the holidays, as practiced by the Jewish Communists in MKI and the Israeli Young Communist League (Banki). The thesis scrutinizes the identity these cultural practices produced. By examining the Jewish holidays, the Israeli civic holidays, May Day, the Soviet November 7th and May 9th holidays, and the rituals concerning the relations between Palestinians and Jews, it is shown that between the years 1919 and 1965 the Jewish Communists created a local, Jewish-Israeli, anti-Zionist patriotic identity. This identity, although sensitive to the working class, was not a working-class identity; it was philo-Soviet and interested in civic rights of Palestinians. A minority of Party Members were Palestinians. The thesis concludes that, nevertheless, the Jewish Communists were not able to withstand the attempts of some factions among themselves to favor the nationalist over the socialist principles. Burdened by the weight of the conflict between Arabs and Jews, the MKI finally split in 1965, ending a significant phase in the development of Communist subculture in Israel.