The Invisible Palestinians

More about the book

Within the heart of the Jewish city of Tel Aviv, there is a hidden reality--Palestinians who work, study, and live as an unseen minority without access to equal urban citizenship. Grounded in the everyday lives of Palestinians in Tel Aviv, The Invisible Palestinians offers an ethnographic critique of the city's self-proclaimed openness and liberalism. Andreas Hackl reveals that Palestinians' access to the social and economic opportunities afforded in Tel Aviv depends on an invisibility that not only disrupts opportunities for true urban citizenship but also draws opposition from other Palestinians. They are unable to belong in Tel Aviv as Palestinians and unable to reconcile Tel Aviv with being Palestinian. By looking at the city from the perspective of the hidden citizens, Hackl uncovers a critical opportunity to imagine and build a more inclusive and just future for Tel Aviv. An important read, The Invisible Palestinians explores the lives of Palestinian workers, middle class professionals, students, activists, and members of an underground LGBT community in Tel Aviv as they seek to navigate their place in a city that refuses to see them.