A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Fires that Light the Way: On Witnessing Occupied Palestine - and Beyond




AuthorsMendoza, Perry (Julian)

PublisherJournal of American Folklore

Publication year2026

Journal: Journal of American Folklore

Volume139

Issue552

First page 197

Last page203

ISSN0021-8715

eISSN1535-1882

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.5406/15351882.139.552.07

Publication's open availability at the time of reportingNo Open Access

Publication channel's open availability No Open Access publication channel

Web address https://doi.org/10.5406/15351882.139.552.07


Abstract

This paper investigates the situations unveiled symbolically by the wildfires in Jerusalem (Al-Quds). It considers the ongoing situation in Palestine as a complex of events that reveals various forms of settler colonialism, from their entanglements with archaeology, to their impositions on the flora and fauna of Gaza, taking the wildfires as a point of departure for a metaphorical contemplation on two possibilities: the possibility of hope and the possibility of political change that gives the fields both of Palestine and folkloristics a more optimistic future.



Last updated on 18/05/2026 12:26:53 PM