Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation
The IHJR seeks to dispel public myths about historic legacies
in societies divided by ethnic conflict
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Loading...2010 Annual Report
In 2010 the IHJR made considerable progress with its projects, finalizing several shared narratives, including a report on political myths in the Balkans and a pilot project on IDPs in Kenya. 2010 also marked the launching of a new project in Turkey and Armenia and bringing its four projects in the Middle East to near completion. For more information, please download the annual report of 2010.
2009 Annual Report
The IHJR has taken important strides forward in developing the field of historical justice and reconciliation. The IHJR can proudly count as a key accomplishment its own transformation from being a “project” of the Salzburg Global Seminar to an independent institute in The Hague in October 2008. It is now recognized not only in The Netherlands but internationally as a center undertaking issues of historical justice and reconciliation. Our annual report of 2009, which can be downloaded here, reflects the developments of the IHJR during its first full year of independence.
The CHDR is an outcome of the IHJR Project in the Former Yugoslavia.
The IHJR works in partnership with the Salzburg Global Seminar.
Haifa Before & After 1948, Narratives of a Mixed City
Edited by Mahmoud Yazbak and Yfaat Weiss
In 'Haifa Before & After 1948, Narratives of a Mixed City', fourteen authors explore the events surrounding 1948 on a micro-level, through the lens of architecture and the urban fabric of Haifa. Each chapter is written by an Israeli and Palestinian scholar or expert, examining the cultural, political and social history of this mixed city. This volume not only gives a clear impression of the complicated relations between Palestinian and Jewish communities, but also underscores extensive periods of cohabitation.
The different chapters cover: Haifa's architecture and its social and cultural life during the Mandate period, the Arab-Israeli competition in the oil and soap industries, the history of Arab-Jewish inter-communal relations and cohabitation, commemoration in the German Colony of Haifa, the story of two houses that represent the narrative of Palestinians in Haifa and remembrances displayed through personal accounts of the cold winter in 1950.
The publication is available in English and can be ordered following the subsequent links to the website of the publisher: Hardback / Paperback
In this remarkable project, Jews and Palestinians, write together the history and memory of the city of Haifa. Rather than presenting incommensurable national narratives, they offer a fresh and inspiring alternative: each article is co-authored by Arabs and Jews, thus turning the art of research and writing into a bi-national practice. Addressing 1948 as a benchmark, is crucial particularly today in facilitating not only a new reading of the political story, but also offering political possibilities. Haifa Before & After 1948 is an inspirational book that deserves to be read by everyone who is interested in the history and memory of bi-national societies.
—Yehouda Shenhav, Professor of Sociology, Tel Aviv University
IDP's Narratives as Political Discourse of Identity
Hassan Mwakimako and George Gona
The IHJR would like to present IDP's Narratives as Political Discourse of Identity: Interviews with Internally Displaced Persons in Kenya Resulting from The Post-Election Violence of 2007-2008. This unique project used in-depth interviews with IDPs to understand and explore their perceptions on the post-election violence in Kenya. The researchers, Dr. Mwakimako and Professor Gona managed to portray different narratives and experiences of IDPs in Kenya, but at the same time find commonalities between these narratives and experiences. The results clearly show that there are common grievances that have not yet properly been addressed.
Two Sides of the Coin, Independence and Nakba 1948
Arabic/English Edition
Hebrew/English Edition
Motti Golani & Adel Manna
'Two sides of the Coin: Independence and Nakba 1948,' written by two eminent historians, Adel Manna and Motti Golani, takes the reader on a journey to the War of 1948, accompanied by maps that highlight events surrounding the War.
'Two Sides of the Coin' integrates the main stream narratives on the War of 1948 in one combined text. Beyond being a pioneer exercise, this volume provides a rare opportunity to understand the foundations on which the two communities base their perceptions of the 1948 War.
Golani and Manna have treated with delicacy and depth this highly complex and divisive question, their approach contributes significantly to a mutual understanding between Israelis and Palestinians on their common history.
‘Two Sides of the Coin' is published in Arabic/English and in Hebrew/ English. To order the publication, please follow the subsequent links:
Arabic/English edition: Hardback / Paperback
Hebrew/ English edition: Hardback / Paperback
The two authors of this book, an Israeli and a Palestinian historian attempt to present simultaneous narratives of the Arab Israeli conflict in order to, in their words, “facilitate recognition (though not necessarily acceptance) of the narrative of the other". This is done as a means of intellectually altering relations between the two sides, before a concordance is reached. This is not a task to be taken lightly. The text is meant to transform the 1948 narratives from “a tool for mobilizing people to continue the conflict….to a tool for facilitating empathetic identification of common ground for continued discussion based on mutual listening. That is a mighty objective that goes beyond the work of revisionist historiography. What comes out is informative, provocative and enlightening."
—Salim Tamari, Columbia University, Middle East Institute
Zoom In, Palestinian Refugees of 1948, Remembrances
Arabic/English Edition
Hebrew/English Edition
Sami Adwan, Efrat Ben-Ze'ev, Menachem Klein, Ihab Saloul, Tamir Sorek, Mahmoud Yazbak
In "Zoom In, Palestinian Refugees of 1948", 6 Israeli and Palestinian authors collectively explore the perspectives on memory and remembrance through a unique approach. Palestinian and Israeli university students are presented with archival photographs related to 1948 and then asked to provide their personal impressions. This innovative account of Palestinian and Israeli student encounters with their common past, takes the reader on a unique visual and historical journey.
To order this publication please go to the website of the publisher:
Arabic/English edition: Hardback / Paperback
Hebrew/ English edition: Hardback / Paperback
"It is a major achievement to have brought together these conflicting and conflicted voices within the pages of a single book. Photographs of Palestinian refugees in 1948 elicit responses on the part of a new generation of Israelis and Palestinians that testify to the difficulties of coming to terms imaginatively and morally with an historical injustice that is still ongoing. For all who need to know that memory both informs and blinds, and that without recognition of the sufferings of others there is no forgetting, this book is a must."
—Professor Ann Rigney, Utrecht University
Political Myths in the Former Yugoslavia and Successor States
Darko Gavrilović, Vjekoslav Perica
Political Myths in the Former Yugoslavia and Successor States juxtaposes and deconstructs various myths and counter-myths that continue to remain contentious points in the reconciliation process in the region. The authors interplay between the dynamics of mythology and politics throughout the 20th century and emphasize the evolution and influence of myths on political discourse.
Myths such as 'Yugonostaliga', the mythologization of mass graves as well as the impact of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on nationalist mythmaking are addressed in 'Political Myths'.
This publication is a joint initiative of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation (The Hague, The Netherlands) and the Center for History, Democracy and Reconciliation (Novi Sad, Serbia)
To order the hardback edition of this publication, please click here.
To order the paperback edition, please click here.
Sacred Sites in the Holy Land: Historical and Religious Perspectives
This in-house publication, "Sacred Sites in the Holy Land, Historical and Religious Perspectives" explores shared legacies of Jews and Muslims, offering religious and historical accounts on three sacred sites in the Holy Land; Al Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount; Cave of the Patriarchs/Cave of Machpelah: Sanctuary of Ibrahim/ Ibrahimi Mosque and Kever Shmuel/Nabi Samu'il.
For the English edition, click here
For the Hebrew edition, click here
For the Arabic edition, click here
Al-Haram al-Sharif. Al-Aqsa Mosque is located on the Southern edge of the plateau
