This article examines a strategy of peace activism that gained visibility in the last decades: memory activism. Memory activists manifest a temporal shift in transnational politics: first the past, then the future. Affiliated with the globally-circulating paradigm of historical justice, memory activist groups assume that a new understanding of the past could lead to a new perception of present problems and project alternative solutions for the future. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and discourse analysis among memory activists of the 1948 war in Israel since 2001, the article examines the activist production of counter-memory during active conflict. Using Coy et al.'s typology of oppositional knowledge-production, the article shows how the largest group of memory activism in Israel produced 'new' information on the war, critically assessed the dominant historical narrative, offered an alternative shared narrative, and began to envision practical solutions for Palestinian refugees. However, the analysis raises additional concerns that reach beyond the scope of the typology, primarily regarding the unequal power relations that exist not only between the dominant and activist production of oppositional knowledge, but also among activists.

Memory activists have recently received more scholarly and public attention, but the concept lacks conceptual clarity. In this article, we articulate an analytical framework for studying memory activists, proposing a relatively narrow definition: “Memory activists” strategically commemorate the past to challenge (or protect) dominant views on the past and the institutions that represent them. Their goal is mnemonic change or to resist change. We locate scholarship on memory activists at the intersection of memory studies and social movement studies. We introduce a typology for comparative analysis of memory activism according to activist roles, temporality, and modes of interaction with other actors in memory politics, and illustrate this with a diverse set of empirical examples. We contend that the analytical utility of the concept of the “memory activist” is premised on its value-neutrality, and in particular, its application to both pro and anti-democratic cases of activism.

No abstract

Spring 2006, when the rebuilding of Ground Zero began, was a unique moment in time -a turning point for the New York site and its publics. It signified transformation from debris to a memorial museum; a move from past catastrophe to future memories, as the nationalized narration of the events in the formal exhibit on site emphasized. Surprisingly, while the end result was already known, this moment of transformation allowed different audiences to put at halt the nationalized interpretation of the events of 9/11 and engage in personal, collected and collective, local and global, perspectives on the past, while enacting the presents and futures which seem to unfold from them. This article examines these distinct yet connected moments in order to reveal the different connections that people and governments make between pasts, presents and futures. It uses a non-linear approach to time, which explores and reworks the tension between linearity and relativity, as a sensitive lens to a political change that has proceeded well beyond the interaction on site.On 13 March 2006, after countless delays, construction works began at Ground Zero. The fi rst day of rebuilding started with the families of police offi cers and fi refi ghters who died on 9/11 while helping to rescue others staging a protest. This protest, one in a long series of on-site demonstrations, petition signing and press conferences to prevent the realization of the planned memorial, was the only public dispute that day. This was surprising, since until that fi rst day of rebuilding, many voices were heard on site, contesting the offi cial narration of the events of 9/11. In addition to political activities of 'memory publics' such as the families, there were conspiracy activists who questioned the offi cial version of the events and their cause, many extemporal manmade memorials to individuals and groups among the victims of the terror attack, spontaneous personal testimonies to the events and to the development of the site, MEMORY STUDIES

No abstract