ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the effects of colonial and Orientalist ideology—as manifested in the Zionist “politics of fear of the Other”—on constructions of history in the case of Israel/Palestine. Specifically, it examines the way in which history, constructed from fear of the Palestinian Other, affects gender relations within Palestinian society. It poses questions such as how the “politics of fear” reproduces and reconstructs patriarchy, and what role historical constructions of national identity play in the daily lives of Palestinian women. It invites the reader to analyze the role played by the construction of history and the “politics of fear” in holding women's rights to safety, education, and a home under siege.
