Planted Flags: Trees, Land, and Law in Israel/Palestine

by Irus Braverman

Planted Flags tells an extraordinary story about the mundane uses of law and landscape in the war between Israelis and Palestinians. The book is structured around the two dominant tree landscapes in Israel/ pine forests and olive groves. The pine tree, which is usually associated with the Zionist project of afforesting the Promised Land, is contrasted with the olive tree, which Palestinians identify as a symbol of their steadfast connection to the land. What is it that makes these seemingly innocuous, even natural, acts of planting, cultivating, and uprooting trees into acts of war? How is this war reflected, mediated, and, above all, reinforced through the polarization of the natural landscape into two juxtaposed landscapes? And what is the role of law in this story? Planted Flags explores these questions through an ethnographic study. By telling the story of trees through the narratives of military and government officials, architects, lawyers, Palestinian and Israeli farmers, and Jewish settlers, the seemingly static and mute landscape assumes life, expressing the cultural, economic, and legal dynamics that constantly shape and reshape it.

Genres: History

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Lance Hulme · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book analyzing the Israeli/Palestinian conflict from a unique perspective of trees. Braverman includes a wealth of external sources that enhance the work even more. These are sources that I definitely want to read in the future. Her interviews are insightful and her commentary on them is professional and fair. The footnotes are also excellent. She goes to great lengths to contextualize both sides that helps the reader understand why these trees are so damn important to Israelis/Palestinians. BUT she does not shy away from stating disparities of power and opportunity which lead to her pessimistic conclusion at the end (which I ultimately agree with). I will recommend this to many people.

[Sumayya Kheireddine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nature politicized. Trees, contradictions, and warfare. The inspiration for my term paper