Politiche della morte e concezioni della vita in Palestina

This article starts with a brief survey of the anthropological literature on terrorism and notes that in the past few years suicide attacks have been mostly attributed to a “culture of death” believed to be thriving in Palestine and other Arab countries. The authors point out that in Palestine this alleged culture of death coexists with an unexpected and unique rise of fertility in the aftermath of the first Intifada: this invites careful analysis and more subtle interpretations where demographic and political factors must be taken into account alongside religious and cultural ones. A recent book by the Palestinian anthropologist Rhoda Ann Kanaaneh is given special attention because of the revealing light it sheds on the close association between reproduction and nationalism.