Visual Occupations: Violence and Visibility in a Conflict Zone

225 Pages·2015·2.873 MB·English

by  Gil Z. Hochberg

Visual Occupations
Perverse Modernities | A Series Edited by Jack Halberstam and Lisa Lowe
Visual Occupations
Violence and Visibility in a Conflict Zone | Gil Z. Hochberg
Duke university Press Durham and London 2015
© 2015 Duke University Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States
of America on acid- free paper ♾
Typeset in Quadraat and Quadraat Sans
by Tseng Information Systems, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-
in- Publication Data
Hochberg, Gil Z., 1969–
Visual occupations : violence and visibility in a conflict zone / Gil Z. Hochberg.
pages cm—(Perverse modernities)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-8223-5901-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-8223-5887-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-8223-7551-7 (e-book)
1. Visual communication—Political aspects—Palestine. 2. Arab-Israeli
conflict—Mass media and the conflict. 3. Middle East—In mass media. 
4. Palestine—In motion pictures. 5. Art and photography—Political
aspects—Palestine. 6. Military surveillance. 7. Zionism. i. Title. 
ii. Series: Perverse modernities.
p95.82.p19h634 2015
302.2095694—dc23
2014041992
Cover art: Khaled Jarrar, I. Soldier. 45 × 187 cm. Courtesy of the artist.
To the memory my father, Yosef Hochberg | October 14, 1945–A pril 29, 2013

Contents
AcknowleDgments | ix
Introduction | Visual Politics at a Conflict Zone | 1
PArt i Concealment
1. Visible Invisibility | On Ruins, Erasure, and Haunting | 37
2. From Invisible Spectators to the Spectacle of Terror | Chronicles
of a Contested Citizenship | 57
PArt ii Surveillance
3. The (Soldier’s) Gaze and the (Palestinian) Body | Power, Fan­
tasy, and Desire in the Militarized Contact Zone | 79
4. Visual Rights and the Prospect of Exchange | The Photographic
Event Placed under Duress | 97
PArt iii Witnessing
5. “Nothing to Look At”; or, “For Whom Are You Shooting?” |
The Imperative to Witness and the Menace of the Global Gaze | 115
6. Shooting War | On Witnessing One’s Failure to See (on Time) | 139
closing worDs | 163
notes | 167
BiBliogrAPhy | 187
inDex | 207

Acknowledgments
Like all creations, this book is an outcome of a collegial effort. Many
friends, students, family members, and colleagues have accompanied me
throughout the extended period of researching and writing this book, pro-
viding me with invaluable support. I am deeply grateful to Shukri Abed,
Paul Amar, Amal Amireh, Ariella Azoulay, S. A. Bachman, Ella Shohat,
Rebecca Stein, Nadia Yaqub, and, last but not least, Simon Faulkner, for the
many stimulating conversations I have had with each of them about vision,
politics, and art and for a long- lasting intellectual dialogue.
This project would have never come to life without the inspiration I
found in the work of numerous artists and political activists. I have had the
fortune of forming special friendships and benefiting from the remarkably
inspiring artistic and political work of Basel Abbas, Ruanne Abou- Rahme,
Udi Aloni, Yael Bartana, Rula Halawani, Khaled Jarrar, Ilana Salama Ortar,
Larissa Sansour, Miri Segal, and Sharif Waked. I thank all these outstand-
ing artists for sharing their creative inner world with me.
For reading and commenting on several different sections of this book, I
extend my gratitude to the wonderful members of the ucla faculty writing
group, which met regularly in 2012: Christine Chism, Elizabeth DeLough-
rey, Helen Deutsch, Rachel Lee, Francoise Lionnet, Kathleen McHugh, and
Shu- mei Shih. Our conversations and exchange of writings remains one of
the most constructive experiences I have had.
At ucla I continue to benefit from an enriching intellectual environ-
ment. I thank my friends at the Comparative Literature department and the
Gender Studies department for their collegiality. I would like to extend my
innermost appreciation to Ali Behdad, Michael Cooperson, Nouri Gana,
Sondra Hale, Abeer Mohammed, Aamir Mufti, Todd Presner, and David