ABSTRACT
The city of Ashkelon has many diverse landscapes within its municipal boundaries. Despite the city’s interest to scholars, and its being the site of numerous archaeological excavations, historical sites – mainly those connected with its Arab heritage – have been disregarded. The Arab populace was portrayed in local history as the enemy with whom Israel fought in 1948. For many years, the Ashkelon municipality has sought to formulate its preservation policy for the heritage sites in the city. The initial solution called for the inclusion of the values of the archeological heritage throughout the city within the context of formal educational activity. Since then, the Arab heritage has assumed increasing significance within the urban expanse, to the extent that it has become part of the historical and spatial consensus in various tourism initiatives. The article presents the educational, cultural, and public dilemmas and solutions regarding the local and Arab heritages, and the consensus regarding the latter. In a broader context, these attempts to contain both Jewish-Israeli and Arab heritages could serve as a test case in the search for a resolution, in whatever degree, of the two mutually exclusive narratives of the conflict between the two peoples in this expanse.
