In the framework of the opening of the academic year 2026–2027, the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies organized, on September 9, 2026, an international lecture entitled: "Legitimacy in the Balance: What is the Founding History of Israel?", during which it hosted Professor Gil Bebo (Gilles Bibeau), an anthropologist specializing in African studies and medical anthropology, and Professor Emeritus of the University of Montreal. The lecture came in the context of Bibeau's interest in revisiting the relationship between collective memory, history, and monuments, and examining how historical narratives are employed in constructing collective identities and justifying affiliations to the geographical sphere.
QUERY LENGTH LIMIT EXCEEDED. MAX ALLOWED QUERY : 500 CHARS
In his approach, the lecturer proceeded from the concept of collective memory, which formed one of the central axes of his anthropological work. He considered that groups, like individuals, build their memory through selection; they retain some elements of the past and exclude or marginalize others. From this perspective, he addressed the relationship between history, memory, and archaeology, noting that, in some contexts, archaeology is inseparable from political, religious, and symbolic dimensions, as a field that can be invoked to corroborate particular narratives about the past and prove a group's connections to a specific land.
QUERY LENGTH LIMIT EXCEEDED. MAX ALLOWED QUERY : 500 CHARS
QUERY LENGTH LIMIT EXCEEDED. MAX ALLOWED QUERY : 500 CHARS
The lecturer then moved on to address the waves of Jewish immigration to Palestine, or what is known as "Eliat" (AliyotQUERY LENGTH LIMIT EXCEEDED. MAX ALLOWED QUERY : 500 CHARS
QUERY LENGTH LIMIT EXCEEDED. MAX ALLOWED QUERY : 500 CHARS