Paper short abstract:

This presentation focuses on stories related to three houses and their Keys. Those houses have passed between Palestinians and Israelis in the last decades. The houses and the relations that were formed between their inhabitants, represent three ways in which the history of this land has developed.

Paper long abstract:

In my research I work on the theme of the Key in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Key has become a significant symbol in this conflict, mostly within the Palestinian context, as many families have taken with them their house Keys when they had to leave their houses during the 1948 war, known as the Israeli independence war, or the Palestinian Nakba, a disaster. Hence, the Key became a significant symbol within Palestinian folklore, as an object of memory and of hope to return to the lost houses. My proposed presentation focuses on stories related to three houses and their Keys, located in different places in Israel/Palestine. Those houses have passed between Palestinians and Israelis in the last decades in different circumstances. As I see it, these houses, their narratives, and the relations that were formed between their changing inhabitants, represent and reflect three ways in which the history of this land has developed.