Contribution short abstract:

This presentation focuses on the shaping of the Palestinian Key, as a folklore symbol, crystallizing into one of the Palestinian national symbols. Situated in a field of contested narratives, the key became a symbol that embodies the conflict and symbolizes the Israeli-Palestinian encounter.

Contribution 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 will go through the shaping of the Palestinian Key, as a folklore symbol, crystallizing into one of the Palestinian national symbols. Following that, an analysis of the conflict's cultural and psychological mechanisms around the Key will take place, highlighting the variety of Israeli reactions to it and its symbol of Palestinian nationality as opposed to the Israeli identity, almost to the point of threatening it. Analyzing Key performances occurring during the last century allows new ways to view the conflict. Key performances are encounters, rituals, narratives and texts that involve the key as an object and a symbol. Situated in a field of contested narratives of nationhood and identities, the key became a symbol that embodies the conflict and symbolizes the Israeli-Palestinian encounter.