ABSTRACT
This chapter extends the view beyond what happened at the hotspot of activism itself, following diverse ramifications around the area. For example, some activists remained overwhelmed by the experience of what appeared, at first glance, to be the ‘demolition of a village’. After the fourth demolition of the village, an international foundation organised the delivery of emergency tents in order to offer shelter for what they imagined to be the ‘local community’. Since Abu Saf was not inhabited by anyone, the tents were first damaged and later thrown into a garbage truck. Moreover, the family of Abu Saf had also come into conflict with members of another Arab-Bedouin family. These aspects added further friction to the conflict, creating counterproductive, destructive effects. The episodes in this chapter unfold around the illusions of an uncritically reproduced idea of what is ‘local’ and what is ‘community’, taking further reflections on the political function of ‘community’ dating back to the work of Anderson (1983).
