The Role of National Narratives in Reconciliation: The Case of Mohammad al-Dura

Abstract

The article examines the place of national narratives and metanarratives in reconciliation between parties to an identity conflict and the role the media play in this process. The article introduces a conceptual framework demonstrating the relationship between metanarrative and national narratives and applies it to the case of Mohammad al-Dura in September 2000. It analyses items from two Israeli newspapers ( Yediot Aharonot and Ha’aretz) and three Palestinian newspapers ( al-Quds, Alayam, and al-Hayat al-Jadida) as well as news reports published online by two Israeli portals, YNET and WALLA!, and the talkbacks received in response to the coverage. The analysis illustrates the role the media, and more specifically Palestinian regular media and the Israeli talkbacks, have played in amplifying the national narratives and reinforcing the colliding metanarratives. On the other hand, the Israeli media have, by and large, proved the article’s thesis that narratives in an identity conflict can be handled differently. By deconstructing the narrative to its constitutive components, raising questions regarding the reliability of one’s own national/official version, and showing readiness to incorporate the narrative of the “other” into one’s own narrative, the media have played a potentially positive role in the reconciliation process between Israelis and Palestinians.