Yonatan Mendel
Biographic Data
| ID | 80495 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Yonatan Mendel |
| GIVEN NAMES | Yonatan |
| FAMILY NAME | Mendel |
| SIGNATURE | MENDEL Y |
| AFFILIATIONS | Ben-Gurion University of the Negev |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5499-8043 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 25 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Arabic and the Nation-State law in Israel: When legal liminality foreshadows political downgrade
Many have argued that the legal status of the Arab-Palestinian minority in Israel, a national and Indigenous minority, was downgraded with the passage of the legislation with constitutional standing in 2018. This article specifically focuses on language and the way in which the law relates to the Arabic language. Arabic, here, is widely understood as a stand-in for its speakers – Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel. Following passage of this legi…
Sonic masquerading in Israeli popular music: Self-Imitation, accent, and mockery
The Mistaʿarvim are Jewish undercover agents who masquerade as Arabs in order to infiltrate Palestinian and other Arab societies in the service of the Israeli military. The first Mistaʿarvim unit, which served in the pre-1948 Palmach Zionist militia, was based on Jews of Arab origin. Arabs in appearance and in speech, these undercover Jewish agents masqueraded as Arabs to blend into Arab communities without raising suspicion. They successfully ex…
The Re-Enchantment of the Orient: Mista‘arvim and Their Special Status in Jewish-Israeli Society
Mista‘arvim – Jewish-Israeli soldiers who masquerade as Arabs – and Hista‘arvut (the act thereof) hold a special place in Jewish-Israeli culture. By analyzing popular television programs – a thriller titled Fauda (Arabic for “chaos”) and documentaries by journalist Zvi Yehezkeli – we argue that “cultural Hista‘arvut” is a powerful reflection of Zionist perceptions of Palestinian and Arab Others. Cultural Hista‘arvut helps frame the paradox of a J…
The Language of Jewish Nationalism: Street Signs and Linguistic Landscape in the Old City of Jerusalem
The Old City of Jerusalem is likely the most hotly contested geographical location in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.The linguistic landscape in the Old City, including street names and signs, can shed light on power relations and political agendas within the conflict.This article examines the linguistic landscape of the Old City after the Israeli occupation of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) in 1967.It focuses on five different areas:…
On Palestinian Yiddish and Ashkenazi Arabic in 18-19 century Palestine: A language-oriented new look on Jewish-Arab relations
This article aims to shed light on two principle subjects relating to language and culture in the Jewish community in Palestine before the rise of Zionism. First, it attempts to describe and to deepen our understanding of the Yiddish of the Ashkenazi community spoken in Historical Palestine in the 18th and 19th centuries. This dialect of Yiddish, referred to in this article as ‘Palestinian Yiddish’, was permeated with Arabic influences. Secondly,…
Language, Politics and Society in the Middle East: Essays in Honour of Yasir Suleiman
This book aims to shed light on core questions relating to language and society, language and conflict, and language and politics, in relation to a changing Middle East. While the book focuses on Arabic, it goes way beyond a purely linguistic analysis by bringing to the fore a set of pressing questions about the relationship between Arabic and society. For example, it touches on the development of language policy via an examination of administrat…
From the Arab Other to the Israeli Self: Palestinian Culture in the Making of Israeli National Identity
This book examines the role played by Arab-Palestinian culture and people in the construction and reproduction of Israeli national identity and culture, showing that it is impossible to understand modern Israeli national identity and culture without taking into account its crucial encounter and dialectical relationship with the Arab-Palestinian indigenous 'Other'. Based on extensive and original primary sources, including archival research, memoi…
Overcoming Phobias and Asymmetries in Israel and Palestine
This article argues that in order to reach future breakthroughs, vis-à-vis the Israeli political and discursive limitations, two main principles would need to be approached. Firstly, any future formula will need to correspond with the changing reality (the physical impossibility of the old-fashioned two-state solution) by pushing forward a political solution that highlights a safe Jewish existence in the region of Israel/ Palestine, irrespective …
From German Philology to Local Usability: The Emergence of ‘Practical’ Arabic in the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa' 1913–48
This article examines the pedagogical shifts in the study of Arabic at the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa, the leading school for Arabic studies in the Jewish education system. Analyzing the moulding of Arabic studies in the crucial years of educational institutionalization (1913–48), it demonstrates an inevitable tension with regard to Arabic studies: between the German philological approach and the ‘practical’ approach. In light of this tension, …
The Creation of Israeli Arabic: Political and Security Considerations in the Making of Arabic Language Studies in Israel
Preface: Arabic, Security and Me Introduction: Arabic and Security in Israel 1. Rooting Security in Arabic Soil: When Zionism Met Arabic 2. Whose Language is it, anyway? Arabic in Israeli-Jewish Schools, 1948-1967 3. Recruiting Arabic to War: The 1967 and 1973 Wars' Influence on Arabic Studies in Israeli-Jewish Schools 4. Israel's Army of Arabists: 1976 and Beyond 5. Giv?at-?avivah and Ulpan-?A?iva: Arabic Studies independent of the Ministry of E…
Consuming Palestine: Palestine and Palestinians in Israeli food culture
This article sets out to study the role that Palestine and the Arab-Palestinians have had on Israeli national identity through the examination of Israeli food culture. Food culture played an important part not only in the emancipation of European Zionist-Jews who immigrated to Palestine before 1948 but also in the creation of the Israeli national identity, including its collective memory, national psyche and desired political aspirations. However…
New Jerusalem
Dysfunctions and divisions of Israel’s largest city. Yonatan Mendel diagnoses the incoherent urbanism produced by its history of occupation and segregation, and by the vast, settlement-driven distension of its boundaries after 1967
A Sentiment-Free Arabic: On the Creation of the Israeli Accelerated Arabic Language Studies Programme
This article analyses the creation of the accelerated Arabic language studies programme in the Israeli-Jewish school system, ‘The Oriental Classes’, over the years 1950–67. The article investigates the networks that enabled and controlled the ‘Oriental Classes’, the main actors involved in its operation, the aims of this programme as well as the ways to achieve them. It argues that this flagship programme serves as an example of the dominant orie…
The Museological Side of the Conflict: Israeli Exhibition of Terror and the Palestinian Museum of Prisoners
This essay deals with a section of somewhat unfamiliar terrain within the battlefield of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: museum sites. The focus is on two museological case studies, the Palestinian Museum of Prisoners in Abu Dis and the Israeli Captured Material Display (also known as the Exhibition of Terror) in Ramat Hasharon. Through an analysis of the artistic, educational and political characteristics of both sites, one can observe the com…
A: Reviews: Modern History and Politics
Additional informationNotes on contributorsPeter Hinchcliffe© 2009Peter Hinchcliffe© 2009Marc Valeri© 2009Julie Colegrove© 2009Husam Mohamed© 2009Husam Mohamed© 2009Cherine Shams El-Din© 2009Bruno De Nicola© 2009Will Smiley© 2009Amanullah De Sondy© 2009Babken V. Babajanian© 2009Luke Peterson© 2009Luke Peterson© 2009Manar H. Makhoul© 2009Ewan Stein© 2009Stephan Soehnchen© 2009Stephan Soehnchen© 2009Yonatan Mendel© 2009
Consuming Palestine: Palestine and Palestinians in Israeli food culture
This article sets out to study the role that Palestine and the Arab-Palestinians have had on Israeli national identity through the examination of Israeli food culture. Food culture played an important part not only in the emancipation of European Zionist-Jews who immigrated to Palestine before 1948 but also in the creation of the Israeli national identity, including its collective memory, national psyche and desired political aspirations. However…
On Palestinian Yiddish and Ashkenazi Arabic in 18-19 century Palestine: A language-oriented new look on Jewish-Arab relations
This article aims to shed light on two principle subjects relating to language and culture in the Jewish community in Palestine before the rise of Zionism. First, it attempts to describe and to deepen our understanding of the Yiddish of the Ashkenazi community spoken in Historical Palestine in the 18th and 19th centuries. This dialect of Yiddish, referred to in this article as ‘Palestinian Yiddish’, was permeated with Arabic influences. Secondly,…
From German Philology to Local Usability: The Emergence of ‘Practical’ Arabic in the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa' 1913–48
This article examines the pedagogical shifts in the study of Arabic at the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa, the leading school for Arabic studies in the Jewish education system. Analyzing the moulding of Arabic studies in the crucial years of educational institutionalization (1913–48), it demonstrates an inevitable tension with regard to Arabic studies: between the German philological approach and the ‘practical’ approach. In light of this tension, …
The Re-Enchantment of the Orient: Mista‘arvim and Their Special Status in Jewish-Israeli Society
Mista‘arvim – Jewish-Israeli soldiers who masquerade as Arabs – and Hista‘arvut (the act thereof) hold a special place in Jewish-Israeli culture. By analyzing popular television programs – a thriller titled Fauda (Arabic for “chaos”) and documentaries by journalist Zvi Yehezkeli – we argue that “cultural Hista‘arvut” is a powerful reflection of Zionist perceptions of Palestinian and Arab Others. Cultural Hista‘arvut helps frame the paradox of a J…
Overcoming Phobias and Asymmetries in Israel and Palestine
This article argues that in order to reach future breakthroughs, vis-à-vis the Israeli political and discursive limitations, two main principles would need to be approached. Firstly, any future formula will need to correspond with the changing reality (the physical impossibility of the old-fashioned two-state solution) by pushing forward a political solution that highlights a safe Jewish existence in the region of Israel/ Palestine, irrespective …
A: Reviews: Modern History and Politics
Additional informationNotes on contributorsPeter Hinchcliffe© 2009Peter Hinchcliffe© 2009Marc Valeri© 2009Julie Colegrove© 2009Husam Mohamed© 2009Husam Mohamed© 2009Cherine Shams El-Din© 2009Bruno De Nicola© 2009Will Smiley© 2009Amanullah De Sondy© 2009Babken V. Babajanian© 2009Luke Peterson© 2009Luke Peterson© 2009Manar H. Makhoul© 2009Ewan Stein© 2009Stephan Soehnchen© 2009Stephan Soehnchen© 2009Yonatan Mendel© 2009
The Museological Side of the Conflict: Israeli Exhibition of Terror and the Palestinian Museum of Prisoners
This essay deals with a section of somewhat unfamiliar terrain within the battlefield of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: museum sites. The focus is on two museological case studies, the Palestinian Museum of Prisoners in Abu Dis and the Israeli Captured Material Display (also known as the Exhibition of Terror) in Ramat Hasharon. Through an analysis of the artistic, educational and political characteristics of both sites, one can observe the com…
New Jerusalem
Dysfunctions and divisions of Israel’s largest city. Yonatan Mendel diagnoses the incoherent urbanism produced by its history of occupation and segregation, and by the vast, settlement-driven distension of its boundaries after 1967
A Sentiment-Free Arabic: On the Creation of the Israeli Accelerated Arabic Language Studies Programme
This article analyses the creation of the accelerated Arabic language studies programme in the Israeli-Jewish school system, ‘The Oriental Classes’, over the years 1950–67. The article investigates the networks that enabled and controlled the ‘Oriental Classes’, the main actors involved in its operation, the aims of this programme as well as the ways to achieve them. It argues that this flagship programme serves as an example of the dominant orie…
The Creation of Israeli Arabic: Political and Security Considerations in the Making of Arabic Language Studies in Israel
Preface: Arabic, Security and Me Introduction: Arabic and Security in Israel 1. Rooting Security in Arabic Soil: When Zionism Met Arabic 2. Whose Language is it, anyway? Arabic in Israeli-Jewish Schools, 1948-1967 3. Recruiting Arabic to War: The 1967 and 1973 Wars' Influence on Arabic Studies in Israeli-Jewish Schools 4. Israel's Army of Arabists: 1976 and Beyond 5. Giv?at-?avivah and Ulpan-?A?iva: Arabic Studies independent of the Ministry of E…
Consuming Palestine: Palestine and Palestinians in Israeli food culture
This article sets out to study the role that Palestine and the Arab-Palestinians have had on Israeli national identity through the examination of Israeli food culture. Food culture played an important part not only in the emancipation of European Zionist-Jews who immigrated to Palestine before 1948 but also in the creation of the Israeli national identity, including its collective memory, national psyche and desired political aspirations. However…
Overcoming Phobias and Asymmetries in Israel and Palestine
This article argues that in order to reach future breakthroughs, vis-à-vis the Israeli political and discursive limitations, two main principles would need to be approached. Firstly, any future formula will need to correspond with the changing reality (the physical impossibility of the old-fashioned two-state solution) by pushing forward a political solution that highlights a safe Jewish existence in the region of Israel/ Palestine, irrespective …
From German Philology to Local Usability: The Emergence of ‘Practical’ Arabic in the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa' 1913–48
This article examines the pedagogical shifts in the study of Arabic at the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa, the leading school for Arabic studies in the Jewish education system. Analyzing the moulding of Arabic studies in the crucial years of educational institutionalization (1913–48), it demonstrates an inevitable tension with regard to Arabic studies: between the German philological approach and the ‘practical’ approach. In light of this tension, …
From the Arab Other to the Israeli Self: Palestinian Culture in the Making of Israeli National Identity
This book examines the role played by Arab-Palestinian culture and people in the construction and reproduction of Israeli national identity and culture, showing that it is impossible to understand modern Israeli national identity and culture without taking into account its crucial encounter and dialectical relationship with the Arab-Palestinian indigenous 'Other'. Based on extensive and original primary sources, including archival research, memoi…
Language, Politics and Society in the Middle East: Essays in Honour of Yasir Suleiman
This book aims to shed light on core questions relating to language and society, language and conflict, and language and politics, in relation to a changing Middle East. While the book focuses on Arabic, it goes way beyond a purely linguistic analysis by bringing to the fore a set of pressing questions about the relationship between Arabic and society. For example, it touches on the development of language policy via an examination of administrat…
On Palestinian Yiddish and Ashkenazi Arabic in 18-19 century Palestine: A language-oriented new look on Jewish-Arab relations
This article aims to shed light on two principle subjects relating to language and culture in the Jewish community in Palestine before the rise of Zionism. First, it attempts to describe and to deepen our understanding of the Yiddish of the Ashkenazi community spoken in Historical Palestine in the 18th and 19th centuries. This dialect of Yiddish, referred to in this article as ‘Palestinian Yiddish’, was permeated with Arabic influences. Secondly,…
The Language of Jewish Nationalism: Street Signs and Linguistic Landscape in the Old City of Jerusalem
The Old City of Jerusalem is likely the most hotly contested geographical location in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.The linguistic landscape in the Old City, including street names and signs, can shed light on power relations and political agendas within the conflict.This article examines the linguistic landscape of the Old City after the Israeli occupation of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) in 1967.It focuses on five different areas:…
Sonic masquerading in Israeli popular music: Self-Imitation, accent, and mockery
The Mistaʿarvim are Jewish undercover agents who masquerade as Arabs in order to infiltrate Palestinian and other Arab societies in the service of the Israeli military. The first Mistaʿarvim unit, which served in the pre-1948 Palmach Zionist militia, was based on Jews of Arab origin. Arabs in appearance and in speech, these undercover Jewish agents masqueraded as Arabs to blend into Arab communities without raising suspicion. They successfully ex…
The Re-Enchantment of the Orient: Mista‘arvim and Their Special Status in Jewish-Israeli Society
Mista‘arvim – Jewish-Israeli soldiers who masquerade as Arabs – and Hista‘arvut (the act thereof) hold a special place in Jewish-Israeli culture. By analyzing popular television programs – a thriller titled Fauda (Arabic for “chaos”) and documentaries by journalist Zvi Yehezkeli – we argue that “cultural Hista‘arvut” is a powerful reflection of Zionist perceptions of Palestinian and Arab Others. Cultural Hista‘arvut helps frame the paradox of a J…
Arabic and the Nation-State law in Israel: When legal liminality foreshadows political downgrade
Many have argued that the legal status of the Arab-Palestinian minority in Israel, a national and Indigenous minority, was downgraded with the passage of the legislation with constitutional standing in 2018. This article specifically focuses on language and the way in which the law relates to the Arabic language. Arabic, here, is widely understood as a stand-in for its speakers – Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel. Following passage of this legi…
Political science (12 works) · History (11 works) · Law (11 works) · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies (10 works) · Politics (10 works) · Judaism (8 works) · Arabic (7 works) · Linguistics (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Sociology (7 works)