We are pleased to announce that Mira Sucharov has been awarded a SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant for her research project (with Omar M. Dajani) “Public Persuasion on Palestinian Refugee Return: A Microhistory of a Vacant Lot in Jaffa”.
Along with Omar M. Dajani, Mira Sucharov is developing a narrative podcast entitled “The Vacant Lot.” The podcast tells the story of a single piece of land — the seaside plot in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa where Omar’s family house once stood. From that vantage point, and through conversations with Jaffa’s present and current residents, historians, city planners, activists, politicians, and each other, they trace the tumultuous and largely forgotten 20th century history of Jaffa: its transformation from cultural, economic, and political center of Arab Palestine into a ghost town, emptied of almost all of its residents practically overnight; the establishment by the new state of Israel of what came to be known as the Ajami Ghetto, where Jaffa’s few remaining Palestinians were corralled and fenced in for almost a year, as the rest of the city was confiscated; Jaffa’s evolution into a “mixed city” that is home to a diverse, if at times uncomfortable, mix of Palestinians and Jews; and continuing attempts to build community in a place riven by gentrification and ethnic conflict. In addition to bringing Jaffa’s past and present alive for listeners, they undertake — with listeners — to imagine a range of alternative futures — both for the vacant lot and for the ancient city where its located.
The project is conducted in partnership with the NGO Zochrot. Congratulations Mira on being awarded funding for this important and conceptually innovative project!