Housing a Nation’s Memory: The Story of the Palestine Heritage Museum in Jerusalem

The museum is not merely a space for displaying artifacts; it has a deeper mission: to present Palestinian heritage and its various tools in accessible and unconventional ways, and to introduce both local and global audiences to its features and its importance in shaping Palestinian society and identity. It also aims to raise awareness among younger generations, especially school and university students, about the importance of heritage as a vital source of knowledge.

The museum contains 15 exhibition halls. Three of them focus on the museum’s history, its collection, the history of the Dar Al-Tifel Al-Arabi Foundation, the circumstances of its establishment, its connection to the 1948 Deir Yassin massacre, and an introduction to its founder, the late Hind.

The remaining halls address themes related to Palestinian material heritage, presented through tools and artifacts. These are divided into categories such as straw crafts, pottery and their methods of production and use, agricultural tools, kitchen utensils, metalwork, spinning, and weaving. From there, the exhibition transitions into Palestinian dress, presented across three themes. Tala shared the meaning behind each theme:

Men’s clothing also has its own exhibition hall. Other halls are dedicated to furniture and professions, including comparisons between traditional crafts and contemporary professions that evolved from them.

During the tour, the team asked Tala about the most unusual or captivating items in the museum. She explained that it depends largely on the visitor’s cultural background and interests, and some objects attract the curiosity of certain visitors or researchers more than others.

Tala, who has worked at the museum for 15 years, provided examples of items that generally draw attention, including the kharraja (a distillation device once used to extract medicinal oils and produce arak), and the safartas (a container used to store and transport food).

Some visitors are also drawn, she noted, to the concept of mourning and how it is expressed in Palestinian dress, as well as to the bride’s qubqab (wooden clogs) for their elevated heels, or to hakawati (cultural storytelling) and its connection to modern forms of entertainment.

The museum plays a vital role in preserving both tangible and intangible Palestinian heritage, serving as a living platform to safeguard Palestinian identity and confront attempts of erasure.

Additionally, the museum focuses on documenting and archiving its collections, recording their historical information, and the associated customs, traditions, and social concepts. It includes a dedicated section for restoring old textiles such as garments and fabrics. Furthermore, it seeks to pass on traditional skills and customs to different generations in the local community through workshops and activities.

Tala noted that the museum attracts a diverse audience from the local community as well as international visitors, but the largest number of visitors are school students. The museum also strives to coordinate with tourist groups, although it has been difficult to do so since the coronavirus pandemic in 2020–21, followed by the ongoing Gaza genocide, then the US-Israel war on Iran, and general conditions of political unrest in the city, the country, and the region at large, which have significantly reduced the number of visitors.

Tala emphasized, however, that many researchers and artists still visit the museum to obtain information and enrich their work on heritage as well as both tangible and intangible cultural legacy.

As for activities and programs aimed at making the visitor experience more engaging, Tala shared that the museum offers guided tours of its permanent exhibitions, alongside year-round workshops inspired by heritage themes reflected in the displays and led by both local and international artists. It also organizes annual heritage markets and festivals, and hosts a range of cultural events, including seminars, lectures, and workshops, in collaboration with partner institutions and external organizations.

These events require an immense amount of planning alongside the numerous challenges that the museum continuously faces. These include the difficulties in public access, the decline in tourism, and the economic crisis that directly impacts the cultural and educational sectors in the city. Indeed for a period a few years ago, the museum had to close temporarily for lack of funding (see A Symbol of Palestinian Identity, Palestine Heritage Museum Faces Difficulties Reopening). Despite these challenges, when asked about plans to expand the museum, update exhibits, or introduce modern technologies, Tala shared that in addition to developing the permanent exhibition, they are currently working on incorporating virtual reality technology into the displays and developing virtual tours for audiences.

The focus on modern technology is closely tied to the museum’s role in strengthening Palestinian identity among younger generations. Its academic department seeks to develop new tools to connect with the youth by engaging them through their interests and creating links between them and their heritage and authentic identity.

“We aim to reconnect generations with the origins of things, by tracing how customs and traditions have evolved into their present forms, through programs developed in partnership with other institutions,” Tala said.

With these words, Tala concluded our tour, through which we sought to capture images of a history that has been documented, narrated, and continues to be told, in an effort to preserve Palestinian identity in all its expressions for future generations.

To learn more, visit the museum website.