Aspin Fellowship: Danielle Gilbert

Danielle Gilbert
Les Aspin ‘60 Fellowship
Research Summary

A House Divided: Explaining Variation in National Identity in an Arab Border Community

From May 23 to June 27, I traveled with the Les Aspin ‘60 fellowship to the village of Barta’a, on the border between Israel and the West Bank. This small Arab village, composed of the Kabaha family clan, had been divided into two sides in 1949; the Muslim, Palestinian family has been divided up until the present day. In Barta’a, I sought to collect a vast amount of anthropological research, to help analyze the determinants of national identity and explain the rift in loyalties between the two sides of the village. While in Israel, I worked closely with representatives from the Jewish-Arab Center for Peace at Givat Haviva to travel the area between the fence and the 1949 border, now the Green Line, and establish contacts inside Barta’a. Once I became acquainted with the subject village, I interviewed members of the city council and representatives from the school system, and I was able to have nearly 90 residents of Barta’a fill out the 28-question survey I created to probe different aspects of identity. This questionnaire proved the hallmark of my research project, as it combines a qualitative and quantitative approach to mapping out the shifting identities of the two sides of Barta’a. In addition, I was able to interview several prominent scholars related to this conflict including Professor Moshe Brawer, professor emeritus of the Geography Department in the University of Tel Aviv; Professor Arnon Soffer, Geopolitics Department at the University of Haifa and military consultant; Professor Yossi Shain, Political Science Department at the University of Tel Aviv; Professor Gideon Biger, Geography Department at the University of Tel Aviv and academic inspiration to Knesset Member Avigdor Lieberman; General Uzi Dayan, considered the “architect” of the separation fence. By the end of my visit, Riad Kabaha, Head of the Municipality that includes West Barta’a, and General Uzi Dayan requested my presence when discussing the future of the security fence, the village of Barta’a, and the precarious situation that affects so many Arabs in the Wadi Ara region.

In the near future, I hope to open a photography exhibition with images from my time in Barta’a, comparing the division between the two sides of the village and the separation fence. This visual arts show will potentially take place in the Morse College Guard House Gallery, and will acknowledge the Les Aspin ‘60 for both financial and intellectual support. Additionally, I have been asked to write a brief article for the Yale Israel Journal describing my summer research and presenting arguments based on my observations. Beyond these short-term projects, I hope to formalize my data and conclusions into a completed academic article and policy piece within the next few months. As I researched Barta’a, the complex situation of this anomalous place inspired two divergent paths for conclusions: the study of pure national identity across the village and political implications for citizenship, or, the study of the separation fence near Barta’a.

For the former, I spent much time this summer compiling and analyzing the data that is relevant to identity formation. Below I have included two of the many charts created with relevant information from my surveys; collectively, these data sets serve to illuminate trends within the population as well as possible associations between various factors prevalent in Barta’a with competing identities. These data sets explore the relationship between factors such as religion, education, and income and national identity (See below).

In terms of the latter, I would like to further explore reasons for designing the separation fence as diverging from the Green Line in the Wadi Ara region, including Barta’a. The Palestinian citizens of East Barta’a are trapped between two borders—the Green Line and the separation fence. For all legal intents and purposes (hospitals, post office, urban centers), this population must enter the West Bank through a checkpoint in the fence, and cannot use facilities in Israel or attend Israeli schools. The people of this region are caught in a sort of limbo, and there has been no clear plan to modify this situation. Using the case of Barta’a as a microcosm of the situation of 200,000 residents of the Wadi Ara region, I hope to suggest policy implementation to rectify these circumstances with a variety of possible strategies.

The generous Les Aspin ‘60 fellowship helped me achieve my objective in my research not only by allowing me the finances to travel, rent, and use transportation overseas, but also lent the respected Les Aspin name, important in seeking connections for my research. Entering Barta’a and explaining to the community that I was there with the support of a special funding program from my American university to study the situation of their village, I was greeted immediately with appreciation and willingness to participate in my work. The professors and professionals who were so eager to provide guidance did so with the knowledge that a prestigious Yale program had already put faith in my work. Upon my return and completion of this project, I hope that the eventual outcomes of my writing can give back significantly to the fellowship that provided me with the life-changing opportunity to examine in depth the village of Barta’a.

Free Answers, Self-Identification, Barta’a (E & W)