<nettime-ann> [ann] Richard Rogers and Anat Ben-David: Palestinian-Israeli Conflict Language Analysis Paper

["Richard Rogers" <rogers {AT} govcom.org>]

S T U D Y=A0 A N N O U N C E M E N T
October 2005

Coming to Terms. A conflict analysis of the usage, in official and 
unofficial sources, of =91security fence,=92 =91apartheid wall,=92 and
other 
terms for the structure between Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

Richard Rogers and Anat Ben-David

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The official terms are =91security fence=92 on the Israeli side, and 
=91apartheid wall=92 on the Palestinian. Both terms fuse two contextually

charged notions to describe the construction project. Beyond the two 
official terms, the structure has been given other names within the 
region and beyond. The study describes the connotations and 
implications of approximately ten terms used for the structure, 
including the names given by diplomatic and NGO sources appearing in 
the media space (e.g., the International Court of Justice=92s =91West
Bank 
wall=92) and by news organizations covering the issue (e.g., =91barrier 
wall=92).=A0

Using data from Google News, which includes official and unofficial 
sources, the study, more specifically, offers a media monitoring 
method, sensitive to the complications of relying on Web-based news 
aggregators. Significantly, the study seeks to create conflict 
indicators from the shifting language employed for the structure by 
Palestinian and Israeli officials. The analysis seeks to learn whether 
and when Israelis and Palestinians 'come to terms.' Which particular 
constellation of Palestinian, Israeli and other actors share language? 
What are the implications of that shared language for a peace 
arrangement?=A0

The study also provides analysis of the contribution of news coverage 
to the conflict, concentrating on how Israeli and Palestinian official 
language changes when international news leaves the scene, and when 
officials themselves change scenes, e.g., speaking at the podium in the 
Rose Garden at the U.S. White House.

The Palestinians and Israelis choose their words differently, it was 
found. The Israeli government is relatively consistent (yet alone) in 
their term usage; the Palestinian officials adopt their terminology 
according to the setting, using different terms for the structure in 
diplomatic and international court settings than =91at home.=92 Having 
identified =91setting=92 as an important variable in the study of
language 
use as conflict indicator, the study also provides an analysis of 
diplomatic language in key debates on the obstacle at the U.N. Security 

Council, providing a kind of world map (or graph) of the conflict. 
Finally, comparing the diplomatic to other settings, we ask, which 
setting is hosting shared language, if any? At the U.N., we found 
'language blocs.'=A0Where could shared language otherwise be hosted?
In sum it was found that, at particular moments in time, Israeli and 
Palestinian actors =91come to terms=92 most significantly around 
=91separation wall,=92 coupling the Israeli left-of-center adjective and

the Palestinian noun, implying a peace-related arrangement distinctive
from either side=92s official position (as well as the current official 
and 'people-to-people' peace plans), and ultimately undesirable to 
those who use and share the term.

Download the study

Richard Rogers and Anat Ben-David, "Coming to Terms:=A0A conflict 
analysis of the usage, in official and unofficial sources, of =91security

fence,=92 =91apartheid wall,=92 and other terms for the structure between

Israel and the Palestinian Territories," 2005.

http://www.govcom.org/publications/full_list/ben-
david_rogers_coming_to_terms_2oct.pdf

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Advanced 
Network Research Group, Cambridge Security Programme, University of 
Cambridge, U.K. Appreciation is extended to Andrei Mogoutov 
(Aguidel.com) and Zachary O=92Connor Devereaux (Ryerson / York 
Universities) for analytical and graph
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