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.

Representation Yusuf Diya’ al-Khalidi

A prominent Ottoman politician who served as mayor of Jerusalem and Jerusalem representative and was a prolific writer, talented linguist, and scholar

Education Hind Taher al-Husseini

A formidable figure who dedicated her life to the care of orphans, education of girls and women, preservation of Palestinian culture, and social service

Representation Raghib al-Nashashibi

A controversial long-running mayor of Jerusalem who opposed the Zionist agenda while maintaining close ties with British Mandate authorities

Find alphabetically by first letter of last name

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

Fatima Budeiri

An Arabic-language teacher and media personality who became the first Palestinian woman to work as a radio broadcaster