Rape, colonialism and the ongoing after effects of trauma
Adania Shibli by Ronit Lentin Review of Adania Shibli (2020) Minor Detail, London: Fitzcaraldo Editions (translated by Elisabeth Jaquette), 112 pp, £12.99 On 12 August 1949 the atmosphere at the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) outpost in Nirim in the Naqab desert near the Gaza Strip was particularly festive. It was the end of an arduous week of dusty chases in the western Naqab sand dunes after Palestinian ‘infiltrators,’ refugees attempting to get back to the homes they had been expelled from by the colonizing Zionist forces. The platoon commander, lieutenant ‘Moshe,’ told his soldiers to get the dining tent ready for a party. Tables were set with sweets and wine and at eight o’clock, he gave his soldiers a pep talk about Zionism and the important contribution they were making to the newly established State of Israel. Towards the end of the party ‘Moshe’ reminded his soldiers of the 12 year old Bedouin girl they had captured earlier that day, now locked up in one of the huts. He gave t