Against Erasure: A Photographic Memory of Palestine Before the Nakba

by Teresa Aranguren (Editor), Sandra Barrilaro (Editor)

A unique, stunning collection of images of Palestine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and a testament to the vibrancy of Palestinian society prior to occupation.

This book tells the story, in both English and Arabic, of a land full of people—people with families, hopes, dreams, and a deep connection to their home—before Israel’s establishment in 1948, known to Palestinians as the Nakba, or “catastrophe.” Denying Palestinian existence has been a fundamental premise of Zionism, which has sought not only to hide this existence but also to erase its memory. But existence leaves traces, and the imprint of the Palestine that was remains, even in the absence of those expelled from their lands. It appears in the ruins of a village whose name no longer appears in the maps, in the drawing of a lost landscape, in the lyrics of a song, or in the photographs from a family album.

Co-edited by Teresa Aranguren and Sandra Barrilaro and featuring an introduction by Mohammed El-Kurd, the photographs in this book are traces of that existence that have not been erased. They are testament not to nostalgia, but to the power of resistance.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Art, Politics, Photography, Picture Books, Social Justice

215 pages, Hardcover

Published February 20, 2024

Reviews

[Jung · Rating 5 out of 5]

[5 stars] A curated collection of photographs depicting family, culture, architecture, and landscapes across Palestine prior to and just after the start of the Nakba in 1948. I had the option to get this in hardcover print as part of my Haymarket Book Club subscription, and I’m so glad I did. What a gift that these pictures have survived. The pictures are powerful, and range from the official and formal to the casual and everyday. I enjoyed the agricultural content and the moments of play and laughter, and was deeply moved by the photographic evidence of forced displacement and ethnic cleansing. While the photos are obviously the main draw, I also appreciated the brief essays on Palestinian history and curatorial process included in both Arabic and English. Highly recommended for everyone, especially readers who enjoy learning through art and those who value archival and preservation work in documenting history and humanity.

Publication Info: Haymarket (Feb 2024)
Goodreads 2024: 4/48 (read 1/21/24-1/23/24)
Nonfiction: about culture
Popsugar: nonfiction about Indigenous people
CN / TW: mentions of ethnic cleansing, forced displacement, and genocide

[anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

if this collection of essays & photographs doesn’t radicalise you, i don’t know what possibly might. seeing the silly smiles of palestinians captured on film at the beginning of the 20th century? unparalleled.

[charlotte, · Rating 5 out of 5]

not sure how i'm supposed to go about reviewing this but, honestly, if you can get your hands on this (feb '24, or download an e-arc off edelweiss), or other photoessays (e.g. before their diaspora or the palestinians), you should

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful photographs detailing a small snapshot of Palestine prior to the Nakba. I love learning about history via photography and art and this curated collection is wonderful. With the continued efforts to dehumanize and erase the culture and history of Palestinians, it’s as important to see and know the history as it is to bear witness and speak up now. Highly recommend to everyone.

[Khadijah · Rating 5 out of 5]

“”The Palestine question is not just a problem of borders, but a problem of existence.” It is not that the Palestinian people exist, but that they existed, and they will continue to exist… dirty politics cannot bend the clean reality of that existence, nor can it ultimately deny or marginalise it. Existence is not a mask, nor can it be masked, and to deny existence is to deny life: it is a crime. A crime that persists without judge, jury, or sentence. This is what these photos recall and affirm.” - Pedro Martínez Montávez.

[Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of memories
And a promise.

[Emily Sams-Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly informative book that combines historical accounts of life and events leading up to the horrific and devastating Nakba in Palestine in 1948. The text itself is only about 20 pages so it makes for a very quick read. The joy on the faces of the Palestinian people in the photos is a reminder of their resilience.

[theperksofbeingmarissa ;) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful collection of Palestianian history.

"As long as the occupation continues to produce refugees, we must continue to remember. Because memories cannot be colonized or exiled and because there is power in evocation, for as Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish reminds us, we know the invaders' fear of memories." ❤️✨️

[Rana · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5
The pictures are amazing. I just wish the captions were a bit better. Sometimes, the English and Arabic translations don't match.

[Peyton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The forward in this book offers further context to how beautiful Palestine came to be what it’s known as today; as well as life under British occupation, before one oppressor replaced another. Palestine was a beautifully rich land, lush with fruit and culture. My heart breaks that once again colonialism has destroyed sacred land. I’ll never forget what was done, and I’ll never forgive. My heart is forever with Palestine, and this book will be displayed in a prominent place in my home. I spoke the name of every village destroyed, many lost to history and to suffering, while people still deny the genocide enacted by false religious pretenses. Never again means never again for anyone. My heart breaks for you Palestine, and I will fight for you until you are free, even after my dying breath.

[maha · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was both beautiful and heartbreaking — the epitome of life as a palestinian. commemorating palestine‘s history of a people with a rich culture and connection to their homeland is more important now than ever before. despite all attempts to erase our history, the palestinian people persist until they witness a free palestine🇵🇸

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving, relevant, historically accurate

[Jbondandrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible collection of photographs. So beautiful and so tragic.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book about a people whose very existence is hanging by a thread. If everyone read this book and looked at the amazing photographs it would change the future for the Palestinians.

[Wendee · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's important to remember these things and these peoples. Even if it's difficult to wrap your head around it all. At the heart of everything, we are just people trying to live and love.

[Gabriela González List · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro se acerca mucho a lo que sería un álbum familiar que guarda la historia de cada uno de sus miembros.
#guadalupereinas @librosb4tipos

[Miri · Rating 5 out of 5]

sooo beautiful & reading the foreward brought tears to my eyes

[Razan · Rating 5 out of 5]

“… all I could think while flipping through these photographs was: What have they done to you? What have they done to Palestine?”

Photographic evidence that Mandate Palestine was not ‘a land without a people for a people without a land’. Archival images & context of paramount importance ❤️‍🩹

[Diana Kullman · Rating 5 out of 5]

(H) Sad but sweet. People who say "Gaza was a Land Without a People" would be proven wrong.

[Steph Beaudoin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Against Erasure: A Photographic Memory of Palestine Before the Nakba, Edited by Teresa Aranguren and Sandra Barrilaro, Foreword by Mohammed El-Kurd
This book is spectacular. I read the 2024 edition with the new forward by Mohammed El-Kurd, whose writing I always want to read. The book is on English and Arabic and I find it fascinating how they have laid out the photographs to be experienced from right to left and left to right. Stellar job. The real ones know that Palestine has existed for Centuries. And photography is proof of that existence. I treasured the writings at the beginning of the book and interspersed throughout.

This is my first book for #25for25

[Dovide · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly beautiful and heartbreaking collection. The normalcy seen in the pre-1948 pictures really underscores the human suffering that took place during and ever since the Nakba.

A very short read that I recommend to anyone wanting to humanize an atrocity too often confined to dispassionate facts and figures.