Small body, large occupation: the Palestinian 'children of the junctions'.

The aim of this study is to explore one of the most elusive, yet significant, spectacles made possible by the colonial situation in Israel/Palestine. It occurs for an instant when the paths of Palestinian children and Israeli adults cross, the former begging for money, cleaning windshields and peddling wares, and the latter being passersby. The presence of these children, these tiny bodies, undermines the imaginary border separating Israeli and Palestinian societies. I explore the reactions of horror/fascination evoked by the spectacle – reactions that expose its diverse contexts, including class-related economic and political imbalances of power. As I will illustrate, the presence of these children also revalidates these power relations. I further analyse the spectacle of the children of the junctions in comparison with the freak shows put on in the colonial metropolises of Western Europe and North America from the nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]