by Ilja Pankow, Istanbul
Palestine is a land rich in history with a tradition of hospitality. From the famous cities of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho, Nablus, and Gaza, the Palestinian people welcome you to visit this Holy Land. Important to the three major religions around the world, Palestine has been a meeting point for diverse cultures since prehistoric times. Starting from the earliest religious pilgrims, the country has seen famous visitors come and go.
Palestine lies between the Mediterranean Coast and the Jordan River, at the crossroads between Africa and the Middle East. The individual faces in any Palestinian town remind you of this rich history of cross-cultural influences. Today Palestine is proud to offer comfortable, stylish accommodations, fabulous restaurants, refined artists and galleries, exquisite handicrafts, innumerable archeological and religious sites, and antiquities from all ages.
It takes a visit to this wonderful country to appreciate the most palpable facet of its culture: the warmth and humor of the Palestinian People. Join a long list of visitors over the centuries who have seen the beauty of this land.
Culture & Heritage: People
Having had an interesting past and being a crossroad of many civilizations for hundreds and thousands of years ago, Palestine has turned into a mosaic of cultures. Everything from its people to its architecture reflect a colourful heritage and an amalgamated culture. To understand Palestinian culture, you must first get to know its people.
Palestinians
“Palestinians” refers to those whose ancestors had lived in the territory corresponding to British Mandate Palestine for some length of time prior to 1948. This definition includes the inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza Strip (excluding Israeli settlers), the Israeli Arabs (including Druze and Bedouin), the Israeli Jews whose families moved there prior to the founding of the State of Israel, and the Arab refugees and émigrés from 1948 and their descendants. Their religion is primarily Muslim, with Christian, Samaritan, and other minorities. Today, they are mainly Arabic-speaking.
While the largest single population of Palestinians is found in the lands which constituted British Mandate of Palestine, over half of Palestinians live elsewhere as refugees and emigrants. Estimates of world-wide distribution of Palestinians are quoted in the table below.
| Country or region | Population |
|---|---|
| West Bank and Gaza Strip | 4,000,000 |
| Israel | 1,213,000 |
| Jordan | 2,598,000 |
| Lebanon | 388,000 |
| Syria | 395,000 |
| Saudi Arabia | 287,000 |
| Other Gulf states | 152,000 |
| Egypt | 58,000 |
| Other Arab states | 113,000 |
| The Americas | 216,000 |
| Other countries | 275,000 |
| Total | 9,500,000 |
Local Communities
Christian Communities
The Palestinian Christians are Palestinians who follow Christianity. Comprising some 10% of the Palestinian population worldwide, they make up anywhere between 1.1 – 2.4% of the population of Gaza and West Bank, and just under 2% of the population of Israel. The majority of Palestinian Christians belong to the Greek-rite Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, one of the 16 churches of Eastern Orthodoxy. There are also Maronites, Melkites, Jacobites, Roman Catholics, Syrian Catholics, Copts and Protestants among them.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabah, is the leader of the Palestinian Roman Catholics. The Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem is Riah Abu Assal. The Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jerusalem and Jordan is Dr. Munib A. Younan. Palestinian Christians have played a prominent role in Palestinian society on the political, cultural and economical level. Examples of Palestinians with a Christian background include Hanan Ashrawi, Edward Said.
The Palestinian Christians are called the “Living Stones”, the living members of the churches whose ancestors are the very first disciples of Jesus. The Living Stones invite visitors to the Holy Land not merely to gaze upon the stones of the churches and ruins, but to meet together in worship and understanding
Refugees
Palestine refugees are persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948, who lost both their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. The number of registered Palestine refugees has subsequently grown from 914,000 in 1950 to more than four million today, and continues to rise due to natural population growth.
Current Palestinian refugee counts include:
West Bank 665,000 refugees in 19 camps
Gaza 923,000 refugees in 8 camps
Jordan 2,540,000 refugees
Lebanon 695,000 refugees
Syria 584,000 refugees
Egypt 70,000 refugees
Saudi Arabia 240,000
Bedouins
The Bedouin tribes are an important part of the Palestinian heritage as they have roamed Palestine for thousands of years. The Bedouin tribes are spread throughout the West Bank districts from the Hebron Mountains in the south to the northern Jordan Valley. These areas are rich in natural resources, such as water and grazing land, as well as many caves which have served as Bedouin shelters for millennia. This land has also been reasonably far from human civilization.
Traditionally, the Bedouin tribes have led a nomadic life, moving to the hills in early April and back down to the valleys in early September to escape the weather. The Bedouin Encampments Meetings and visits to Bedouin encampments are organized by the Arab al-Jahalin charity, an association in al–Azariya (Bethany) which also shows the documentary film “Jahalin”.
Samaritans (minorities)
Samaritans are both a religious and an ethnic group. Ethnically, they are descended from a group of inhabitants that have connections to ancient Samaria from the beginning of the Babylonian Exile up to the beginning of the Christian era. Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, a religion based on the Torah. Samaritans claim that their worship is the true religion of the ancient Israelites, predating the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, but that claim has historically been rejected by normative Judaism.
Today there are about 700 Samaritans, living mostly in a village on the holy Mount Gerizim near the city of Nablus in the West Bank. The Samaritans speak either Modern Hebrew or Palestinian Arabic as their mother language. For liturgical purposes, Samaritan Hebrew and Samaritan Aramaic are used.
Palestinian Armenian Community
The Armenian presence in Palestine has roots in ancient times. Armenia was the first state to adopt Christianity as its official religion, in 301 AD. At that time, the Armenian Patriarchate acquired properties near various holy places and established the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem. Today, the Armenian quarter of the Old City covers one sixth of the total area inside the walls; half the Palestinian Armenian community of Jerusalem (over 1,000 people) live here. The Armenian community is well-known in Palestine for its technical and artistic innovations, among them the first printing press workshop in 1833, the first photography workshop established by Garabed Krikorian in 1885 and the first pottery works, in 1919.
