Palestinian diaspora narratives are broad. Sheikh Jarrah is the story of Palestinian families, in one East Jerusalem neighbourhood, under the Israeli occupation. In contrast, my diaspora journey trace.
Sheikh Jarrah used to be a quiet, affluent neighborhood, just outside the bustling Old City in east Jerusalem. Munir Nusseibeh’s family has lived there for generations, and he told me the family can trace its lineage in the region back centuries he said one of his ancestors was entrusted as a neutral Muslim keeper of the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity’s holiest shrines, where some believe Jesus rests. In Sheikh Jarrah, Nusseibeh’s grandfather owned one of the first large buildings near the gate to the Old City. When we talked recently, Nusseibeh recalled how it was once a hotel. It was lost to the family when the building was destroyed by Israel in the 1948 war, and his grandfather’s land was confiscated by the Israeli government.
Thursday, 20 May 2021, 2:46 pm
Palestinian diaspora narratives are broad. Sheikh Jarrah
is the story of Palestinian families, in one East Jerusalem
neighbourhood, under the Israeli occupation. In contrast, my
diaspora journey traces a family of sheep herders and
farmers in the Galilee pushed to a Northern Lebanese refugee
camp in 1948 and denied a return to their homes. By
miraculous fate, I ended up living in the United States and
became a registered civil engineer in the state of
California. Through my own life experience growing up as a
stateless refugee, I can appreciate the unfortunate threat
of expulsion facing Palestinian families in Sheikh
Sheikh Jarrah used to be a quiet, affluent neighborhood, just outside the bustling Old City in east Jerusalem. Munir Nusseibeh’s family has lived there for generations, and he told me the family can trace its lineage in the region back centuries he said one of his ancestors was entrusted as a neutral Muslim keeper of the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity’s holiest shrines, where some believe Jesus rests. In Sheikh Jarrah, Nusseibeh’s grandfather owned one of the first large buildings near the gate to the Old City. When we talked recently, Nusseibeh recalled how it was once a hotel. It was lost to the family when the building was destroyed by Israel in the 1948 war, and his grandfather’s land was confiscated by the Israeli government.
Sheikh Jarrah Neighborhood, a Microcosm of the Palestine Question antiwar.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from antiwar.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.