Bios

Palestinian Jerusalemites have made myriad and diverse contributions to their city’s history and community fabric. Here we profile some of those people—past and present; famous and obscure—whose lives and work and stories have helped shape the larger Jerusalem Story over time.

Find alphabetically by first letter of last name

Shireen Abu Akleh

A venerated Palestinian journalist who reported from the field in the occupied territories for a quarter of a century until she was murdered while on assignment.

Khaled Abu Arafeh

Jerusalemite appointed first-ever minister of Jerusalem affairs in 2006 who was arrested, jailed, stripped of residency, and deported by Israel

Maha Abu Dayyeh

A feminist activist and leader who worked to protect and promote the legal, social, and political rights of women locally and worldwide

Education Albert Aghazarian

Jerusalem’s historian and defender of academic freedom, who fought to preserve the city’s diversity and plurality

Aref al-Aref

A renowned journalist, historian, and politician whose account of the 1948 War remains one of the most authoritative texts on the subject

Salvador ‘Arnita

A leading Jerusalemite musician and composer whose output in Palestine and Lebanon includes at least 200 compositions—symphonies, concerts, orchestra works, and anthems

Education Husni al-Ashhab

A notable Palestinian educator who worked tirelessly to preserve the Arab curriculum in East Jerusalem after 1967

Hanan Awwad

An academic and prolific author who believed that poetry was a way to bring about change, give a voice to Palestinians, and promote peace

Khalil Beidas

An influential scholar, educator, journalist, and author and a prolific translator of Russian literature into Arabic

Nahil Bishara

One of the few female artists who depicted Jerusalem in the mid-20th century

Issa Boullata

An accomplished scholar of Arabic and Islamic studies and award-winning translator who traced his creative talent to his Jerusalem childhood

Kamal Boullata

A renowned Jerusalemite artist and art historian who was exiled in 1967 and spent the rest of his life creating art that would convey, and lead him back to, the city of his birth