Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society

Book by Nadia Abu El-Haj examines how Israeli archaeology has functioned as a nation-building practice, selectively excavating and presenting the ancient Israelite past to construct a territorial claim to the land and legitimize the erasure of Palestinian presence. Abu El-Haj analyzes archaeological sites, museums, and professional discourse to show how colonial settler ideology shaped the discipline of archaeology in Israel. A foundational work on the politics of knowledge production and the Nakba's ideological underpinnings. Recommended for researchers in science and technology studies, colonial history, and Palestinian studies examining how Israeli archaeology has been used to construct territorial claims and erase Palestinian presence from the land.