The Tree and the Thread: Narrating Palestine Between Memory and Future


Abstract

Is it possible to construct a narrative on Palestine that restores dignity and memory to the history of a people and projects it into the future? Is it possible to resist a sugar-coated and instrumental vision of peace education - one that denies conflict, privilege, and colonial violence - while refusing any claim to neutrality or equidistance in one’s positioning? Without presuming to provide an exhaustive answer to these questions, this article examines different narrative forms - particularly poetry and picturebooks about Palestine - in order to offer insights and possible avenues for reflection. In the works examined, the images of the tree and embroidery emerge as metaphors for the power of storytelling and for the possibility of speaking out where language seems silenced.