The Parkes Institute

In Palestine/Israel of 2025, Hebrew and Arabic appear locked within an existential struggle. In graffiti, logos and official slogans, text is used to displace, eradicate and rewrite space and place.

How did text become a weapon? This lecture goes back to early 20th Jerusalem and the transformation of written language in the city's streets. It investigates the emergence of enmity between Hebrew and Arabic, and the modern transformation of text into a tool of exclusion and conquest. It shows that erasure is not just used against the "enemy" but also of one's own traditions.

Yair Wallach is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Israeli Studies, and the head of the SOAS Centre for Jewish Studies. 

For INFORMATION and REGISTRATION