Institute for Palestine Studies

06/11/2026

"I Can Imagine It for Us is a Palestinian reclamation of the Palestinian narrative through memory making, storytelling, and imagining," writes JPS Associate Editor Nadim Bawalsa of his review of Mai Serhan's memoir, "I Can Imagine It for Us," in the latest issue of the Journal for Palestine Studies.

He describes how, "Serhan shows in no uncertain terms that the Palestinian memoir is Palestinian power; it is resistance, survival, and preservation. It is the closest approximation of return, until return."

Read the full open-access review in the Journal of Palestine Studies at the link in bio.

06/10/2026

We're sold out in New York but you can still attend online!

Join us LIVE on OR Books' Youtube channel at 6 PM ET / 1 AM Palestine for the launch of "The Complicit Lens: US Media Coverage of Israel's Genocide in Gaza," featuring author Robin Andersen and our president, renowned historian Rashid Khalidi.

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/live/lp4JLwdyFMw
Event information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-complicit-lens-us-media-coverage-of-israels-genocide-in-gaza-tickets-1985828558676?aff=oddtdtcreator

06/10/2026

On this day, 110 years ago, Sharif Hussein bin Ali of Mecca declared Arab independence from Ottoman rule and launched an Arab revolt. Encouraged by assurances from British High Commissioner Henry McMahon, Hussein sought to establish an independent Arab state stretching from Aden in the south to Aleppo in the north, encompassing much of the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire, including present-day Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq.

The revolt began in Mecca, which was liberated in July 1916, and soon expanded across the Hijaz. With support from British and French naval forces, Arab forces captured key Red Sea ports, including Jeddah, Yanbu, and Wejh, weakening Ottoman control over the region. While Medina remained under Ottoman control until after the end of the First World War, the capture of Aqaba in July 1917 secured a vital strategic link between Arab and British forces and facilitated their advance northward.

The Arab revolt holds a significant place in regional history, symbolizing aspirations for Arab independence and self-determination. Yet, even as Arab forces fought alongside the British against the Ottoman Empire, Britain and France were secretly negotiating the Sykes–Picot Agreement, which divided much of the Arab East into spheres of influence. This was followed by the Balfour Declaration, in which Britain expressed support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine. Together, these agreements and promises contradicted Arab expectations of independence and helped lay the foundations for the colonial mandates that emerged after the war, profoundly shaping the future of Palestine and the wider region.

Explore all these historical events on the Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question. documents the key events, people, and places that have shaped modern Palestinian history with content available in English and Arabic:

Event - On the strength of the assurances he received from McMahon , Sharif Hussein of Mecca declares Arab independence from Ottoman rule and starts the...

06/08/2026

The passing of Leila Shahid in February of this year marked the loss of one of Palestine's most influential spokesperson and diplomat. In this remembrance written for the Journal of Palestine Studies, Ziad Majed ( ), professor of Middle Eastern studies and international relations at the American University of Paris, reflects on the life and the legacy left behind throughout the storied career of Shahid.

"Palestine, which inhabited Shahid throughout her life, sustained her labor and her struggle, and became inseparable from her very being."

Read the full remembrance in the Journal of Palestine Studies at the link in bio.

06/05/2026

On this day, in 1967, Israel launched a surprise attack against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, marking the beginning of the war that would dramatically reshape the region.

Known in Israel as the Six-Day War, it resulted in a swift Israeli victory and the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and Syria’s Golan Heights. For Palestinians and the broader Arab world, the war became known as al-Naksa (“the Setback”), reflecting the profound political, territorial, and social consequences that followed.

al-Naksa marked the beginning of Israeli military rule over the entirety of historic Palestine, as the West Bank and Gaza Strip joined the territories already occupied since 1948. It also triggered the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, many of whom were forced into refuge for a second time.

On a regional level, the defeat of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan dealt a major blow to the era’s aspirations for Arab unity and collective strength. The consequences of the war continue to shape the political landscape of Palestine and the wider Middle East to this day.

Read more about the June 1967 War and its impact on the Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question. documents the key events, people, and places that have shaped modern Palestinian history:

Event - In a surprise attack, Israel launches war against the Arab front-line states and conquers the West Bank , the Gaza Strip , Egypt 's Sinai , and...

06/04/2026

Israel has imprisoned thousands of Palestinians, some of whom have been sentenced, while others remain in indefinite administrative detention. For decades, Israel has also withheld the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians that were either killed by Israeli forces or died in Israeli prisons. Israel has used death as a mode of control to deter Palestinian resistance. Against the backdrop of the March 2026 Knesset Death Penalty Law, which provides a path to execute Palestinians accused of terrorism, this JPS webinar examines the ways in which the Israeli state punishes Palestinian prisoners with and in death. While Israeli forces have long been killing Palestinians extrajudicially, the bill marks a dangerous shift in the Israeli approach to capital punishment. This webinar features three speakers: Smadar Ben-Natan, Muna Haddad, and Suhad Bishara. They build on recent JPS publications and years of experience and expertise. Ben-Natan argues that since October 7, 2023, it has become common in Israel to conflate Palestinian "terrorism" with Na**sm, casting Hamas as an absolute enemy to legitimize the death penalty. Haddad examines Israel's long-standing violence against Palestinian corpses as a site of control, revealing how death offers no protection from settler-colonial domination, as evidenced in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Bishara, the legal director of Adalah in Haifa, addresses the ramifications of the death penalty law, including when and if it can be implemented, and what actions are being taken to challenge it.

06/03/2026

In the latest issue of the Journal of Palestine Studies, Smadar Ben-Natan (), assistant professor of global studies at the University of Oregon, contrasts contemporary Israeli death penalty discourse with the legal rhetoric that Israeli military courts employed in death penalty cases throughout the 1970s–80s. Throughout the article, Ben-Natan illuminates the ways in which, within internal Israeli discourse, the conflation of terrorism with Na**sm casts Hamas as an absolute enemy to legitimize the death penalty while serving as a means of genocide denial.

Join us on Thursday, June 4 at 11 AM ET/4 PM London/6 PM Palestine for an important JPS webinar featuring the author of this article. Register at the link in our bio or watch live on our social media platforms.

Read the open-access article in the Journal of Palestine Studies at the link in bio.

06/02/2026

Join us on Thursday at 11 AM ET/4 PM UK/6 PM Palestine for an important JPS webinar on Palestinian prisoners, featuring Smadar Ben-Natan, Muna Haddad, and Suhad Bishara.
Register for Zoom at link below or watch live on our social media platforms.
https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/1659061

06/02/2026

2026 marks 10 years since the passing of Ibrahim Dakkak, engineer, intellectual, and political organizer who dedicated his life to defending Palestinian rights, strengthening civil society institutions, and preserving the Arab character of Jerusalem.

Born in Jerusalem in 1929, Dakkak studied science and mathematics at the American University in Cairo before earning a degree in civil engineering from Robert College in Istanbul. After returning to Jerusalem, he supervised major educational and social projects across Palestine and Jordan, combining professional work with a growing commitment to public and national life.

Following the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967, Dakkak became a central figure in Palestinian civic and political organizing. He helped revitalize professional unions, joined the Higher Islamic Council in Jerusalem, and played a leading role in the restoration of the al-Aqsa Mosque after the 1969 arson attack that caused significant damage to the site.

Dakkak was a member of the Palestine National Front and later served as secretary of the National Guidance Committee, established in response to the Camp David Accords. He also headed the West Bank Engineers Association, helped found the Arab Thought Forum, contributed to the creation of the Palestine Higher Education Council, and played a key role in developing Palestinian educational, professional, and cultural institutions.

Throughout the First Intifada and beyond, Dakkak remained deeply involved in grassroots organizing and institution-building. In 2002, he joined Mustafa Barghouti, Haydar Abd al-Shafi, and others in launching the Palestinian National Initiative Movement. He also served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Birzeit University and was the founding director of the Maqasid Hospital in Jerusalem.

Remembered for his integrity, commitment, and lifelong dedication to Jerusalem, Dakkak became a symbol of Palestinian steadfastness and civic leadership. Read more about Ibrahim Dakkak on the Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question. features a dedicated section of Biographies highlighting the figures who shaped modern Palestinian history:

Biography - Ibrahim Dakkak was born in Jerusalem in 1929 to Jamil Dakkak and Nazha Yunus al-Husseini. He and his wife, Ghida Fu’ad Abd al-Hamid Dakkak, had three...

05/31/2026

2026 marks 25 years since the passing of Faisal al-Husseini, prominent Palestinian leader, activist, and defender of Jerusalem. His life was defined by political struggle, grassroots organization, and steadfast commitment to Palestinian national identity.

Born in Baghdad in 1940 into a historic nationalist family, Husseini was the son of Abd al-Qadir al-Husseini, a leading figure in the Palestinian resistance who was killed in 1948. Faisal became politically active at a young age, helping to found the General Union of Palestinian Students in 1959 and later working within the Palestine Liberation Organization upon his return to Jerusalem in 1964.

A central figure in Palestinian political life in Jerusalem, he organized resistance to Israeli occupation, founded the Arab Studies Society in 1980, and in 1987 established the Palestinian Human Rights Center and the Committee Against the Iron Fist. He was also one of the most prominent leaders of the First Intifada, enduring repeated arrests and house arrest by Israeli authorities.

In the 1990s, Husseini played a key diplomatic role, participating in preparations for the Madrid Peace Conference and supporting Palestinian negotiations in Washington. From Jerusalem, he led political efforts through Orient House, which became a central address for Palestinian leadership in the occupied territories.
Known as the “Lion of Jerusalem,” Husseini dedicated his life to defending the city’s Arab identity and resisting settlement expansion. Through his tireless efforts, he helped establish Jerusalem as the de facto capital of Palestine.

Read more about Abd al-Qadir al-Husseini’s life and work on the Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question. features a dedicated section of Biographies highlighting the figures who shaped modern Palestinian history:

Biography - Faisal al-Husseini was born in Baghdad on 17 July 1940, to an old patriotic Palestinian family. His father was Abd al-Qadir al-Husseini and his...