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This dissertation examines two literary works and two rap songs by Palestinian citizens of Israel (‘48 Palestinians) that challenge the Jewish state: Emile Habibi’s satirical novel Saeed The Pessoptimist (1974); DAM’s rap song “Innocent Criminals” (2000); MWR’s rap song “Ashanak Arabi” (2001); and Sayed Kashua’s semi-autobiographical novel Dancing Arabs (2002). Habibi and Kashua participated in Israel’s mainstream literary scene: their two novels were read by contemporary Israeli readers and published by Israeli presses. The rappers of MWR and DAM participated in an underground ‘48 Palestinian rap scene in Israel: aside from MWR’s short-lived radio popularity, the selected rap songs were not consumed by mainstream Israeli listeners, played on Israeli radio, or produced by Israeli record labels.

How can we account for these discrepancies? I suggest they are more reflective of attitudes within Israeli society than differences between the works themselves. As a result, factors such as genre (rap or literary text); candor (explicit or implicit critique); and language (Hebrew or Arabic) allow the artists to accomplish different things through their art. With a horizontal form of analysis that replaces more traditional hierarchical genre analysis with an emphasis upon the similar rhetorical force of both oral and written communications, I maintain that the “low” art of rap contains as much depth, substance, and nuance as the “high” art of written fiction.

ABSTRACT ...ii
DEDICATION ...iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...iv
CHAPTER ONE. Introduction ...1
CHAPTER TWO. Political Pawn to Political Prisoner: Emile Habibi’s Saeed the
Pessoptimist ...30
CHAPTER THREE. “Stop being silent, Arabs!”: MWR’s “Ashanak Arabi” ...60
CHAPTER FOUR. DAM’s “Innocent Criminals” and Kashua’s Dancing Arabs ...95
CHAPTER FIVE: Conclusion ...131
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...140