Sport and Leisure History Seminar - Monday, 11th June: 'The Israeli Palestinian Encounter in Football Films'

From: Dion Georgiou [[email protected]]

SPORT AND LEISURE HISTORY SEMINAR

GOALS AND WALLS: THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN ENCOUNTER IN FOOTBALL FILMS

Speaker: Dr Alon Raab (University of California, Davis)

Since its introduction to Israel/Palestine in the late 19th century,
football has been an arena where contested identities, loyalties, and
struggles are manifested. From 'mixed' leagues and teams during the
early years of the British Mandate to contemporary Islamic Leagues,
racist fans, and bombed football fields, the game has reflected and
shaped perceptions and realities of class, nationalism, and gender.

Building on the work of such scholars as Mahfoud Amara, Tamir Sorek
and Carlos Maranon, this paper will examine the way the game has
expressed some of the larger political and social aspects of the
conflict, and how these are presented in films, both documentary and
narrative.

The paper will focus on several recent films: Goal Dreams (Maya Sanbar
and Jeffrey Saunders, 2006) about the struggles of the Palestinian
national team under occupation and its fostering of national unity and
identity; The Team (Nabil Shoumali, 2010) – a 'soap opera for social
change', about a Bethlehem club;  We Too Have No Other Land (Jerrold
Kessel, 2006) which follows the Galilee team of Sakhnin; Cup Final
(Eran Rikles, 1991) about the 1982 Lebanon war and the game's
potential and limitations as a common language between enemies; and
Forerunners (Pazeet Ben Hayl, 2004) which documents three members of
the Israeli national women's soccer team – a Mizrachi Jew, a Russian
immigrant, and a Palestinian citizen of the state – and elucidates the
nature of the Israeli state and inter-group dynamics. Fiction,
commercials, and graphic novels will also be noted.

Dr Alon Raab is a lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies at
the University of California, Davis. He has co-edited the books The
Global Game: Writers on Soccer (2008) and Soccer in the Middle East
(forthcoming).

Time and Date: 2:30 PM, Monday, 11th June.
Location: Athlone Room (Room 102), Senate House, Malet Street, London
WC1E 7HU.

All are welcome. For more information, please contact Dion Georgiou,
at [email protected].