Sept. 6, 2002

Contact: Mary Jane Dunlap, University Relations, (785) 864-8853.

KU prof's book examines symbolic views as root of Israeli-Palestinian conflict

LAWRENCE -- If the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were simply about land and water, a rational solution would have been possible years ago, according to Robert Rowland, professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas.

The conflict is rooted in symbolic systems and myths, Rowland said.

For the past 10 years, Rowland and his colleague David Frank at the University of Oregon have studied the public talks of Palestinians and Israelis, looking for rhetorical patterns in the evolution of the conflict. Their work will appear this fall in a book tentatively titled "Shared Land/Conflicting Identity" from Michigan State University Press.

"In this book, we argue that humans understand the world through three related symbolic lenses provided by rhetoric, ideology and myth," Rowland said. "These symbol systems define how the world should be understood and set limits on public and private policy."

Israelis see the world through the symbolic lens of the Holocaust and Palestinians, through the symbolic lens of the "nakba," or catastrophe, referring to 1948, when many Palestinians fled or were forced our of their homes, Rowland said. Both Palestinians and Israelis define the land of Israel/Palestine as sacred. Many see that land as essentially a "land grant" from God, Rowland said.

"If Muslims view the Dome of the Rock as their most holy site, there are Israelis who view the same area as the site of the temple," Rowland said.

"It is because both understand the world from symbolic perspectives that define the sacred and shape ideology that the conflict has proved so intractable," Rowland said. "The point I'm making is that we understand the world through symbolic systems or rhetoric -- the words we use that give us an understanding of the world."

Rowland and Frank trace the conflict through the past 100 years, concentrating on events of the past 10 years. The idea of a Palestinian people is a relatively late issue, Rowland said. "Until the 1940s in what is now Israel or the West Bank, Palestinians often defined themselves as Southern Syrians."

Myths shape our understanding of the world, Rowland said.

"I am referring to myth as a fundamental story," he said. "For example, the way we refer to pioneers in the U.S. is mythic. This is why we continue to view such stories as fundamental to our nation. We talk of the founding fathers and mothers overcoming adversity, but we don't feature the terrible things they did to Native Americans -- the ethnic cleansing."

In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, "both sides have done terrible things; both sides have the call of justice. Both are right. And both are wrong," Rowland said.

"If peace is to come to the Middle East, we must understand the way that symbols shape and constrain action," he added. "Without an understanding of the symbolic dimensions of the conflict, it never will be possible to reach an ultimate peace that protects the legitimate needs of both peoples."

Rowland and Frank's book begins with the 1995 assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by an Israeli far-right extremist.

"Rabin was murdered because of the way Israelis of the far right depicted him as a threat to security," Rowland said. "It's hard to think of a more unlikely criticism. He was chief of staff during the Six Day War and commanded the defense ministry during the first Intifada, and Israelis on both sides trusted him. It was insanity bred by talk."

Rabin's assassination can be understood only by focusing on the power of mythic symbol systems to shape how we understand the world, Rowland said. þRabin created utter fury among far-right Jews when he denied that biblical history should serve as justification for settlement policy today. It was in this context that Rabin was murdered. As the Rabin assassination indicates, it is very important to recognize the way that myths and other symbols shape public understanding and action."

Rowland added, "Yitzhak Rabin is a great hero for me. He had greater understanding of what both (sides) had given up and would have to give up. But even Rabin was locked in his world view."

Rowland's previous books include "The Rhetoric of Menachim Began" (1985) and "Analyzing Rhetoric" (1999 and 2002).