Culture of Palestine
Encyclopedia
The Culture of Palestine is closely related to those of the nearby Levantine countries such as Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, and the Arab World. Cultural contributions to the fields of art
, literature
, music
, costume
and cuisine
express the Palestinian experience
despite the geographical separation between Palestinian territories, Israel and the diaspora.
Al-Quds Capital of Arab Culture is an initiative undertaken by UNESCO under the Cultural Capitals Program to promote Arab culture and encourage cooperation in the Arab region. The opening event was launched in March 2009.
.
There is a West Bank Premier League
, and Gaza Strip League
.
The Palestine national football team
played Afghanistan in the 2014 FIFA World Cup
qualifiers.
The Beit Jala Lions
is a West Bank Rugby Union team.
The Turmus Aya Equestrian Club
, established in 2007, is a riding club dedicated to the mission of providing affordable access to horses for Palestinians. Ashraf Rabi, the founder, maintains that "this is part of the development of Palestine. Horses are a big part of our Arab culture and we must embrace it."
Similar to the structure of Palestinian society, the Palestinian field of arts extends over four main geographic centers:
1) the West Bank and Gaza Strip
2) Israel
3) the Palestinian diaspora in the Arab world, and
4) the Palestinian diaspora in Europe, the United States and elsewhere.
Contemporary Palestinian art finds its roots in folk art
and traditional Christian and Islamic painting. After the 1948 Palestinian exodus
, nationalistic themes have predominated as Palestinian artists use diverse media to express and explore their connection to identity and land. In the 1990s Salam Dyab, Hisham Zreiq
, Issa Dibe and others began to adopt modern styles and symbolism.
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Palestine's history of rule by many different empires is reflected in Palestinian cuisine, which has benefited from various cultural contributions and exchanges. Generally-speaking, modern Syrian-Palestinian dishes have been influenced by the rule of three major Islamic groups: the Arabs, the Persian-influenced Arabs and the Turks
. The Arabs who conquered Syria and Palestine had simple culinary traditions primarily based on the use of rice, lamb and yogurt, as well as dates.
The cuisine of the Ottoman Empire — which incorporated Palestine as one of its provinces in 1512-14 — was partially made up of what had become, by then a "rich" Arab cuisine. After the Crimean War
, in 1855, many other communities including Bosnians
, Greeks, French
and Italians
began settling in the area especially in Jerusalem, Jaffa and Bethlehem. The cuisine of these communities, particularly those of the Balkans
, contributed to the character of Palestinian cuisine. Nonetheless, until around the 1950s-60s, the staple diet for many rural Palestinian families revolved around olive oil
, oregano
(za'atar
) and bread, baked in a simple oven called a taboon
.
Palestinian cuisine is divided into three regional groups: the Galilee, West Bank and Gaza area. Cuisine in the Galilee region shares much in common with Lebanese cuisine, due to extensive communication between the two regions before the establishment of Israel. Galilee inhabitants specialize in producing a number of meals based on the combination of bulgur
, spices and meat, known as kibbee by Arabs. Kibbee has several variations including it being served raw, fried or baked. Musakhan
is a common main dish that originated in the Jenin
and Tulkarm
area in the northern West Bank. It consists of a roasted chicken over a taboon bread
that has been topped with pieces of fried sweet onions, sumac
, allspice
and pine nut
s. Other meals common to the area are maqluba
and mansaf
, the latter originating from the Bedouin population of Jordan.
The cuisine of the Gaza Strip is influenced both by neighboring Egypt and its location on the Mediterranean coast. The staple food for the majority of the inhabitants in the area is fish. Gaza has a major fishing industry and fish is often served either grilled or fried after being stuffed with cilantro, garlic, red peppers and cumin and marinated in a mix of coriander
, red peppers, cumin, and chopped lemons. The Egyptian culinary influence is also seen by the frequent use of hot peppers, garlic and chard
to flavor many of Gaza's meals. A dish native to the Gaza area is Sumaghiyyeh
, which consists of water-soaked ground sumac
mixed with tahina
and then, added to sliced chard and pieces of stewed beef and garbanzo beans.
There are several foods native to Palestine that are well-known in the Arab world, such as, kinafe Nabulsi
, Nabulsi cheese
(cheese of Nablus
), Ackawi cheese
(cheese of Acre
) and musakhan. Kinafe originated in Nablus, as well as the sweetened Nabulsi cheese used to fill it. Baqlawa
, a pastry introduced at the time of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent
, is also an integral part of Palestinian cuisine.
Chick-pea based falafel, which substituted for the fava beans used in the original Egyptian recipe and added Indian peppers introduced after the Mongol invasions opened new trade routes, are a favorite staple in Mediterranean cuisine, since adopted as part of Israeli cuisine
.
Entrée
s that are eaten throughout the Palestinian Territories, include waraq al-'inib
— boiled grape leaves
wrapped around cooked rice
and ground lamb
. Mahashi is an assortment of stuffed vegetables such as, zucchinis, potatoes, cabbage and in Gaza, chard.
overall and many Palestinian movies are made with European and Israeli support. Palestinian films are not exclusively produced in Arabic; some are made in English, French or Hebrew. More than 800 films have been produced about Palestinians, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
, and other related topics, examples include Divine Intervention
and Paradise Now
.
-making, soap
-making, glass-making
, and olive
-wood and Mother of Pearl carvings
, among others.
and Khalil Beidas
. Educational levels among Palestinians have traditionally been high. In the 1960s the West Bank had a higher percentage of its adolescent population enrolled in high school education than did Lebanon. Claude Cheysson
, France’s Minister for Foreign Affairs under the first Mitterrand
Presidency, held in the mid eighties that, ‘even thirty years ago, (Palestinians) probably already had the largest educated elite of all the Arab peoples.’
Diaspora figures like Edward Said
and Ghada Karmi
, Arab citizens of Israel like Emile Habibi
, and Jordanians like Ibrahim Nasrallah
have made contributions to a wide number of fields, exemplifying the diversity of experience and thought among Palestinians.
Since 1967, most critics have theorized the existence of three "branches" of Palestinian literature, loosely divided by geographic location: 1) from inside Israel, 2) from the occupied territories
, 3) from among the Palestinian diaspora
throughout the Middle East
.
after the passage of the Citizenship Law in 1952, a school of resistance poetry was born that included poets like Mahmoud Darwish
, Samih al-Qasim
, and Tawfiq Zayyad. The work of these poets was largely unknown to the wider Arab world for years because of the lack of diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab governments. The situation changed after Ghassan Kanafani
, another Palestinian writer in exile in Lebanon, published an anthology of their work in 1966. Palestinian poets often write about a sense of loss and the diaspora.
Palestinian music
is well-known and respected throughout the Arab world. A new wave of performers emerged with distinctively Palestinian themes following the 1948 Palestinian exodus
, relating to the dreams of statehood and the burgeoning nationalist sentiments. In addition to zajal
and ataaba
, traditional Palestinian songs include: Bein Al-dawai, Al-Rozana, Zarif - Al-Toul, and Al-Maijana, Dal'ona, Sahja/Saamir, Zaghareet. For over three decades, the Palestinian National Music and Dance Troupe (El Funoun) in Palestine has promoted and developed Palestinian traditional songs and dance. Examples include Mish'al (1986), Marj Ibn 'Amer(1989) and Zaghareed (1997) a collection of Palestinian traditional wedding songs reinterpreted and re-arranged by Mohsen Subhi
. (See section on "External links"). The Ataaba is a form of folk singing that spread outwards from Palestine. It consists of 4 verses, following a specific form and meter. The main aspect of the ataaba is that the first three verses must end with the same word meaning three different things, and the fourth verse comes as a conclusion to the whole thing. It is usually followed by a dalouna.
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
and cuisine
Cuisine
Cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, often associated with a specific culture. Cuisines are often named after the geographic areas or regions that they originate from...
express the Palestinian experience
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
despite the geographical separation between Palestinian territories, Israel and the diaspora.
Al-Quds Capital of Arab Culture is an initiative undertaken by UNESCO under the Cultural Capitals Program to promote Arab culture and encourage cooperation in the Arab region. The opening event was launched in March 2009.
Sports
The Palestinian Oympic committee is working with the Israeli Olympic committee to train for the 2012 Olympic games, and participation in the 2013 Mediterranean Games2013 Mediterranean Games
The XVIIth Mediterranean Games, commonly known as the 2013 Mediterranean Games will be the 17th Mediterranean Games. The Games will be held in Mersin, Turkey over 10 days from June 24 to July 3, 2013....
.
There is a West Bank Premier League
West Bank Premier League
West Bank Premier League is one of the two top divisions of the Palestinian Football Federation. The other is the Gaza Strip League. Palestinian clubs have a rich history stretching back to the early 1930s but most teams folded due to the political turmoil that ensued...
, and Gaza Strip League
Gaza Strip League
Gaza Strip League is one of the two top divisions of the Palestinian Football Federation in the territories governed by the Palestinian Authority.-Champions:Champions so far are:*1984/85: Al-Ahli Gaza*1985/86: Khadamat Al-Shatea...
.
The Palestine national football team
Palestine national football team
The Palestine national football team is the national team of the Palestinian Football Association, representing the Palestinian National Authority.The Palestine Football Federation was founded in 1952...
played Afghanistan in the 2014 FIFA World Cup
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international association football tournament that will take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014....
qualifiers.
The Beit Jala Lions
Beit Jala Lions
The Beit Jala Lions is a rugby union club situated in the town of Beit Jala near Bethlehem in the West Bank.The team was started in October 2007 by international rugby players and local guys and later encouraged by members of the Munster Supporters Club...
is a West Bank Rugby Union team.
The Turmus Aya Equestrian Club
Turmus Aya Equestrian Club
The Turmus Ayya Equestrian Club is an equestrian club in the town of Turmus Ayya, between Ramallah and Nablus in the Palestinian territories.The club was founded by Ashraf Rabi in 2007...
, established in 2007, is a riding club dedicated to the mission of providing affordable access to horses for Palestinians. Ashraf Rabi, the founder, maintains that "this is part of the development of Palestine. Horses are a big part of our Arab culture and we must embrace it."
Art
Similar to the structure of Palestinian society, the Palestinian field of arts extends over four main geographic centers:
1) the West Bank and Gaza Strip
2) Israel
3) the Palestinian diaspora in the Arab world, and
4) the Palestinian diaspora in Europe, the United States and elsewhere.
Contemporary Palestinian art finds its roots in folk art
Folk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
and traditional Christian and Islamic painting. After the 1948 Palestinian exodus
1948 Palestinian exodus
The 1948 Palestinian exodus , also known as the Nakba , occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs left, fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the Civil War that preceded it. The exact number of refugees is a matter of dispute...
, nationalistic themes have predominated as Palestinian artists use diverse media to express and explore their connection to identity and land. In the 1990s Salam Dyab, Hisham Zreiq
Hisham Zreiq
Hisham Zreiq , also spelled Zrake, is an award-winning Palestinian Christian Independent film maker, poet and visual artist. He began working in computer art in 1994, and in 1996 started exhibiting his work in galleries and museums....
, Issa Dibe and others began to adopt modern styles and symbolism.
Cuisine
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The Arabs who conquered Syria and Palestine had simple culinary traditions primarily based on the use of rice, lamb and yogurt, as well as dates.
The cuisine of the Ottoman Empire — which incorporated Palestine as one of its provinces in 1512-14 — was partially made up of what had become, by then a "rich" Arab cuisine. After the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, in 1855, many other communities including Bosnians
Bosnian cuisine
Bosnian cuisine is balanced between Western and Eastern influences. The food is closely related to Turkish, Middle Eastern and other Mediterranean cuisines. However, due to years of Austrian rule, there are also many culinary influences from Central Europe....
, Greeks, French
French cuisine
French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...
and Italians
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
began settling in the area especially in Jerusalem, Jaffa and Bethlehem. The cuisine of these communities, particularly those of the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, contributed to the character of Palestinian cuisine. Nonetheless, until around the 1950s-60s, the staple diet for many rural Palestinian families revolved around olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
, oregano
Oregano
Oregano – scientifically named Origanum vulgare by Carolus Linnaeus – is a common species of Origanum, a genus of the mint family . It is native to warm-temperate western and southwestern Eurasia and the Mediterranean region.Oregano is a perennial herb, growing from 20–80 cm tall,...
(za'atar
Za'atar
Za'atar is a generic name for a family of related Middle Eastern herbs from the genera Origanum , Calamintha , Thymus vulgaris and Satureja . It is also the name for a condiment made from the dried herb, mixed together with sesame seeds, dried sumac, and often salt, as well as other spices...
) and bread, baked in a simple oven called a taboon
Taboon bread
Taboon bread ) is a flatbread wrap used in many cuisines. It is traditionally baked in a taboon oven and eaten with different fillings.Taboon bread is sold as street food, stuffed with hummus, falafel or shaved meat...
.
Palestinian cuisine is divided into three regional groups: the Galilee, West Bank and Gaza area. Cuisine in the Galilee region shares much in common with Lebanese cuisine, due to extensive communication between the two regions before the establishment of Israel. Galilee inhabitants specialize in producing a number of meals based on the combination of bulgur
Bulgur
Bulgur is a cereal food made from several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat. In the United States it is most often made from white wheat. Its use is most common in Middle Eastern cuisine, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Armenia and Bulgaria...
, spices and meat, known as kibbee by Arabs. Kibbee has several variations including it being served raw, fried or baked. Musakhan
Musakhan
Musakhan is a Palestinian dish. It is composed of roasted chicken baked with onions, sumac, allspice, saffron, and fried pine nuts atop one or more taboon breads.-Culture:...
is a common main dish that originated in the Jenin
Jenin
Jenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
and Tulkarm
Tulkarm
Tulkarem or Tulkarm is a Palestinian city in the northern Samarian mountain range in the Tulkarm Governorate in the extreme northwestern West Bank adjacent to the Netanya and Haifa districts to the west, the Nablus and Jenin Districts to the east...
area in the northern West Bank. It consists of a roasted chicken over a taboon bread
Taboon bread
Taboon bread ) is a flatbread wrap used in many cuisines. It is traditionally baked in a taboon oven and eaten with different fillings.Taboon bread is sold as street food, stuffed with hummus, falafel or shaved meat...
that has been topped with pieces of fried sweet onions, sumac
Sumac
Sumac is any one of approximately 250 species of flowering plants in the genus Rhus and related genera, in the family Anacardiaceae. Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, especially in Africa and North America....
, allspice
Allspice
Allspice, also called Jamaica pepper, pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or newspice, is a spice that is the dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica , a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world...
and pine nut
Pine nut
Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines . About 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough to be worth harvesting; in other pines the seeds are also edible, but are too small to be of great value as a human food....
s. Other meals common to the area are maqluba
Maqluba
Maqluba, or Makloubeh, often pronounced as Maalouba or Maglouba is a traditional Palestinian dish. It consists of rice and eggplant or cauliflower casserole that is then turned upside down when served, hence the name maqluba which translates literally as "upside-down".The ingredients are commonly...
and mansaf
Mansaf
Mansaf is a traditional Jordanian dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice or groats. It is the national dish of Jordan.-Preparation:...
, the latter originating from the Bedouin population of Jordan.
The cuisine of the Gaza Strip is influenced both by neighboring Egypt and its location on the Mediterranean coast. The staple food for the majority of the inhabitants in the area is fish. Gaza has a major fishing industry and fish is often served either grilled or fried after being stuffed with cilantro, garlic, red peppers and cumin and marinated in a mix of coriander
Coriander
Coriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the...
, red peppers, cumin, and chopped lemons. The Egyptian culinary influence is also seen by the frequent use of hot peppers, garlic and chard
Chard
Chard , is a leafy green vegetable often used in Mediterranean cooking. While the leaves are always green, chard stalks vary in color. Chard has been bred to have highly nutrious leaves at the expense of the root...
to flavor many of Gaza's meals. A dish native to the Gaza area is Sumaghiyyeh
Sumaghiyyeh
Sumaghiyyeh is a Gazan dish, traditionally made on the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday but is popular amongst Gaza’s inhabitants throughout the year. It receives its name from the spice sumac....
, which consists of water-soaked ground sumac
Sumac
Sumac is any one of approximately 250 species of flowering plants in the genus Rhus and related genera, in the family Anacardiaceae. Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, especially in Africa and North America....
mixed with tahina
Tahini
Tahini or sesame paste , is a paste of ground sesame seeds used in cooking. North African, Greek and West Asian tahini is made of hulled, lightly roasted seeds. East Asian sesame paste is made of unhulled seeds. The Arabic word tahin simply means flour.Tahini is a major component of hummus and...
and then, added to sliced chard and pieces of stewed beef and garbanzo beans.
There are several foods native to Palestine that are well-known in the Arab world, such as, kinafe Nabulsi
Kanafeh
Kenafeh , also spelled knafeh, kunafeh, or kunafah, is a Middle Eastern sweet made of very fine vermicelli-like pastry. It is sometimes known as shredded phyllo.- Origin :...
, Nabulsi cheese
Nabulsi cheese
Nabulsi is one of a number of white brined cheeses made in the Middle East. Its name denotes its place of origin, Nablus, and it is well-known throughout the West Bank and surrounding regions. It is the principal cheese consumed in Jordan. Produced primarily from sheep milk, goat's milk is also...
(cheese of Nablus
Nablus
Nablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
), Ackawi cheese
Ackawi cheese
Akkawi cheese is a white brine cheese, native to the historical region of Palestine in modern day Israel. It is named after the city of Acre, where it first originated, the Arabic akkawi meaning "from akka". It is commonly made using cow milk, but can be made with goat or sheep's milk as well...
(cheese of Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
) and musakhan. Kinafe originated in Nablus, as well as the sweetened Nabulsi cheese used to fill it. Baqlawa
Baklava
Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is characteristic of the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and much of central and southwest Asia....
, a pastry introduced at the time of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
, is also an integral part of Palestinian cuisine.
Chick-pea based falafel, which substituted for the fava beans used in the original Egyptian recipe and added Indian peppers introduced after the Mongol invasions opened new trade routes, are a favorite staple in Mediterranean cuisine, since adopted as part of Israeli cuisine
Israeli cuisine
Israeli cuisine comprises local dishes by Jews native to Israel and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli Jewish fusion cuisine has developed.Israeli cuisine has adopted,...
.
Entrée
Entrée
An entrée is a dish served before the main course, or between two principal courses of a meal.The disappearance in the early 20th century of a large communal main course such as a roast as a standard part of the meal in the English-speaking world has led to the term being used to describe the main...
s that are eaten throughout the Palestinian Territories, include waraq al-'inib
Dolma
Dolma is a family of stuffed vegetable dishes in the cuisines of the former Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions such as Russia, Middle East and the Caucasus and Central and South Asia. Perhaps the best-known is the grape-leaf dolma. Common vegetables to stuff include onion, zucchini, eggplant,...
— boiled grape leaves
Grape leaves
Grape leaves are used in the cuisines of a number of cultures, including Turkish cuisine, Greek cuisine, Bulgarian cuisine, Arab cuisine, Romanian cuisine, and Vietnamese cuisine. They are most often picked fresh from the vine and stuffed with a mixture of rice, meat, and spices, and then cooked by...
wrapped around cooked rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and ground lamb
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
. Mahashi is an assortment of stuffed vegetables such as, zucchinis, potatoes, cabbage and in Gaza, chard.
Film
Palestinian cinema is relatively young compared to Arab cinemaArab cinema
Arab cinema refers to the cinema of the Arab world.-Overview:There is increased interest in films originating in the Arab world. For example, films from Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, Syria and Tunisia are making wider and more frequent rounds than ever before in local film...
overall and many Palestinian movies are made with European and Israeli support. Palestinian films are not exclusively produced in Arabic; some are made in English, French or Hebrew. More than 800 films have been produced about Palestinians, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
, and other related topics, examples include Divine Intervention
Divine Intervention (film)
Elia Suleiman has used entirely non-original music of various genres and artists in the film. These include artists such as the Belgian singer Natacha Atlas, Indian composer A.R...
and Paradise Now
Paradise Now
Paradise Now is a 2005 film directed by Hany Abu-Assad about two Palestinian men preparing for a suicide attack in Israel. It won a Golden Globe for best foreign language film and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category....
.
Handicrafts
A wide variety of handicrafts, many of which have been produced by Palestinians for hundreds of years, continue to be produced today. Palestinian handicrafts include embroidery and weaving, potteryPalestinian pottery
Pottery in Palestine refers to pottery produced in Palestine throughout the ages, and pottery produced by modern-day Palestinians.-Continuity through the ages:...
-making, soap
Nabulsi soap
Nabulsi soap is a type of castile soap produced only in Nablus in the West Bank, Palestine. An olive oil-based soap, it is made up of three primary ingredients: virgin olive oil, water, and a sodium compound...
-making, glass-making
Hebron glass
Hebron glass refers to glass produced in Hebron as part of a flourishing art industry established in the city during Roman rule in Palestine. For centuries, Hebron has been associated with glass production in the same way as Nablus has been associated with the production of soap...
, and olive
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
-wood and Mother of Pearl carvings
Mother-of-Pearl carving in Bethlehem
Mother-of-Pearl carving has been a Bethlehem tradition since the art was introduced to the city by Franciscan friars from Damascus during the 14th century....
, among others.
Intellectuals
In the late 19th century and early 20th century, Palestinian intellectuals were integral parts of wider Arab intellectual circles, as represented by individuals such as May ZiadeMay Ziade
May Ziade , was a prolific Christian Lebanese-Palestinian poet, essayist and translator....
and Khalil Beidas
Khalil Beidas
Khalil Beidas was a Palestinian Christian scholar, educator, translator and novelist...
. Educational levels among Palestinians have traditionally been high. In the 1960s the West Bank had a higher percentage of its adolescent population enrolled in high school education than did Lebanon. Claude Cheysson
Claude Cheysson
Claude Cheysson is a French Socialist politician who served as Foreign Minister in the government of Pierre Mauroy from 1981 to 1984.-Career:...
, France’s Minister for Foreign Affairs under the first Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
Presidency, held in the mid eighties that, ‘even thirty years ago, (Palestinians) probably already had the largest educated elite of all the Arab peoples.’
Diaspora figures like Edward Said
Edward Said
Edward Wadie Saïd was a Palestinian-American literary theorist and advocate for Palestinian rights. He was University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and a founding figure in postcolonialism...
and Ghada Karmi
Ghada Karmi
Ghada Karmi is a Palestinian doctor of medicine, author and academic. She writes frequently on Palestinian issues in newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, The Nation and Journal of Palestine Studies...
, Arab citizens of Israel like Emile Habibi
Emile Habibi
Imil Shukri Habibi was an Israeli-Palestinian writer of Arabic expression and a communist politician, son of a Christian family.In 2005, he was voted the 143rd-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest...
, and Jordanians like Ibrahim Nasrallah
Ibrahim Nasrallah
Ibrahim Nasrallah is a Jordanian-Palestinian poet, novelist, professor, painter and photographer.He studied in the UN agency for Palestine Refugees schools and at the UNRWA Teacher Training College in Amman. He taught in Saudi Arabia for 2 years in the Qunfudha region and worked as a journalist...
have made contributions to a wide number of fields, exemplifying the diversity of experience and thought among Palestinians.
Literature
The long history of the Arabic language and its rich written and oral tradition form part of the Palestinian literary tradition as it has developed over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries.Since 1967, most critics have theorized the existence of three "branches" of Palestinian literature, loosely divided by geographic location: 1) from inside Israel, 2) from the occupied territories
Israeli-occupied territories
The Israeli-occupied territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and other international organizations, governments and others to refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria...
, 3) from among the Palestinian diaspora
Palestinian diaspora
Palestinian diaspora is a term used to describe Palestinians living outside of historic Palestine - an area today known as Israel and the Palestinian territories or the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip...
throughout the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
Poetry
Poetry, using classical pre-Islamic forms, remains an extremely popular art form, often attracting Palestinian audiences in the thousands. Until 20 years ago, local folk bards reciting traditional verses were a feature of every Palestinian town. After the 1948 Palestinian exodus, poetry was transformed into a vehicle for political activism. From among those Palestinians who became Arab citizens of IsraelArab citizens of Israel
Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....
after the passage of the Citizenship Law in 1952, a school of resistance poetry was born that included poets like Mahmoud Darwish
Mahmoud Darwish
Mahmoud Darwish was a Palestinian poet and author who won numerous awards for his literary output and was regarded as the Palestinian national poet...
, Samih al-Qasim
Samih al-Qasim
Samīħ al-Qāsim Samīħ al-Qāsim Samīħ al-Qāsim ( is an Israeli Druze whose Arabic poetry is well-known throughout Arab World. His poetry is influenced by two primary periods of his life: Before and after the Six-Day War. He joined the Communist Hadash political party in 1967...
, and Tawfiq Zayyad. The work of these poets was largely unknown to the wider Arab world for years because of the lack of diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab governments. The situation changed after Ghassan Kanafani
Ghassan Kanafani
Ghassan Kanafani was a Palestinian writer and a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He was assassinated by car bomb in Beirut, allegedly by the Mossad.- Early years :Ghassan Fayiz Kanafani was born in 1936 in the then Acre , British Mandate of Palestine...
, another Palestinian writer in exile in Lebanon, published an anthology of their work in 1966. Palestinian poets often write about a sense of loss and the diaspora.
Music
Palestinian music
Palestinian music
The music of Palestine is one of many regional sub-genres of Arabic music. While it shares much in common with Arabic music, both structurally and instrumentally, there are musical forms and subject matter that are distinctively Palestinian.-Pre-1948:...
is well-known and respected throughout the Arab world. A new wave of performers emerged with distinctively Palestinian themes following the 1948 Palestinian exodus
1948 Palestinian exodus
The 1948 Palestinian exodus , also known as the Nakba , occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs left, fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the Civil War that preceded it. The exact number of refugees is a matter of dispute...
, relating to the dreams of statehood and the burgeoning nationalist sentiments. In addition to zajal
Zajal
Zajal is a traditional form of oral strophic poetry declaimed in a colloquial dialect with ancient roots in a number of Mediterranean cultures. The form is similar to Muwashshah. The origin of zajal is Al-Andalus...
and ataaba
Ataaba
The ataaba is a traditional Arabic musical form sung at weddings or festivals, and sometimes also by people at work. Popular in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan, it was originally a Bedouin genre, improvised by a solo poet-singer accompanying himself on the rababa...
, traditional Palestinian songs include: Bein Al-dawai, Al-Rozana, Zarif - Al-Toul, and Al-Maijana, Dal'ona, Sahja/Saamir, Zaghareet. For over three decades, the Palestinian National Music and Dance Troupe (El Funoun) in Palestine has promoted and developed Palestinian traditional songs and dance. Examples include Mish'al (1986), Marj Ibn 'Amer(1989) and Zaghareed (1997) a collection of Palestinian traditional wedding songs reinterpreted and re-arranged by Mohsen Subhi
Mohsen Subhi
Mohsen Subhi was a Palestinian composer of classical Arabic music and arranger of modern Palestinian music and folk song....
. (See section on "External links"). The Ataaba is a form of folk singing that spread outwards from Palestine. It consists of 4 verses, following a specific form and meter. The main aspect of the ataaba is that the first three verses must end with the same word meaning three different things, and the fourth verse comes as a conclusion to the whole thing. It is usually followed by a dalouna.