Artist Explores Erased Palestinian History in Israeli City of Ashkelon
Uri Haddad, an archaeologist, curator, and photographer, is undertaking a project to uncover and document the erased Palestinian history within the Israeli city of Ashkelon, where he grew up. Haddad discovered that familiar landmarks from his childhood, such as a restaurant his family frequented, were built upon the remnants of Palestinian villages and mosques. The restaurant, for instance, occupied a former mosque that served the Palestinian town of Majdal, which had over ten thousand residents before 1948. Another village, Hamama, located north of present-day Ashkelon, was also razed.
Haddad describes the erasure of this history as a "deliberate process" involving educational systems, the Jewish National Fund, and Israeli planning authorities. He argues that by removing physical remnants, the history of the people who lived there is also effectively erased. His current photography project stems from an earlier one documenting Jewish cemeteries in Europe and abandoned Palestinian cemeteries in Israel, which he sees as the "last remnants of many communities."
The project includes documenting the Muslim cemetery in Jerusalem's Mamilla neighborhood, which has faced ongoing destruction since 1948. Haddad's work in Ashkelon focuses on the remnants of Majdal's Palestinian cemetery and the town's former mosque, now the "Khan Museum of Ashkelon History." He calls the preservation of the mosque's structure without acknowledging its original purpose and community a "preservation injustice," characterizing it as selective, appropriative, and a continuous silencing.
Haddad also critiques the archaeological focus in Israel, which he believes heavily favors Jewish history over other periods, leading to a "religious war" aimed at erasing remnants of other faiths to bolster Jewish ties to the land. He notes that Ashkelon has historically incorporated non-Muslim elements from its 3,500-year history, such as Hellenistic column capitals, while downplaying or ignoring its Islamic past. His research also examines the planning of the "City of Wine" neighborhood, intended for construction over the ruins of Hamama, and the resistance to this plan by the De-Colonizer organization.
Reflecting on his own upbringing, Haddad points out the segregation within Ashkelon, citing the Afidar neighborhood, built for Jewish immigrants from South Africa, which was physically separated from areas where immigrants from Arab and Muslim countries were housed. He draws parallels between this internal segregation and a "colonial outlook" that creates a hierarchy among different groups. Haddad hopes his work will encourage Israelis to confront the complex history of their presence in the country, stating that the conflict cannot end as long as the Nakba and its role in the state's establishment are not addressed.
