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.
The West Side Story Betty Dagher Majaj

A nurse from Lebanon who married a Jerusalemite and moved to the city right before the Nakba and embraced the responsibilities thrust upon her for caring for the sick, wounded, and disabled of the city over decades

Jack Persekian

An artist, curator, and cultural institution builder who believes that Jerusalem is more than a symbol of holiness

The West Side Story Hala Sakakini

A Palestinian educator and writer who wrote an iconic, vivid narrative recounting her family’s exile from Qatamon and Jerusalem in 1948

Find alphabetically by first letter of last name

Henry Cattan

A Jerusalemite jurist and lawyer who wrote widely on the status of Jerusalem and the Palestinian claim to Palestine