Is the Israeli Discipline of “Middle East and Islam Studies” Decolonizing?

Abstract

As critical attention to Western colonialism and imperialism has been growing in Middle East studies (MES) globally, the Israeli branch of the discipline often narrates itself as a critical ally, with some going as far as suggesting it is “decolonizing.” By acknowledging their predecessors’ historical contributions to orientalist practices, and mistaking improvement in inclusivity with radical change, Israeli MES scholars self-diagnose a radical transformation, which differentiates past from present and yields an evolved and legitimized version of Israeli MES. Against this view, we argue that the field’s actions testify to the contrary. Selective adherence to “political neutrality,” coupled with overwhelming underrepresentation of Palestinians, effectively safeguards the “unity” of the field’s various Zionist elements over the possibility of solidarity and action, which results in persistent avoidance of explicit, meaningful, and concrete anti-occupation and decolonization practices. The vigorous and nearly unanimous recent attack on the global discipline’s support for boycott, divestment, and sanctions is a recent example of complicity and faux-naïf evasion of the political reality. We conclude by pondering whether more than a lack of will prevents the field’s “decolonization,” calling attention to the structural, interested constraints of operating under legal and societal conditions, as well as under the orientalist presuppositions embedded in the independence of this pliable expertise.