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Mahdi Abdul Hadi, founder of PASSIA

Credit: 

PASSIA

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Perspective: Jerusalem Thanks and Bids Farewell to Mahdi Abdul Hadi

“Be patient, do not rush to make judgments. Be patient, because the picture is not as you see it.” This was the oft-repeated phrase of professor and friend Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi to me. I have known him since the 1980s, when I would visit his Wadi al-Joz office, dropping by the offices of the Palestinian Academic Society of International Affairs (PASSIA) looking for a comment from a political analyst for the media. It was not just me; Dr. Abdul Hadi’s office was the address for foreign media and for researchers and diplomats as well.

He was always a reliable reference for analysis and providing a strategic vision—always welcoming, explaining, and providing generous information and interpretation.

We media people and others spent time at the PASSIA offices. During the First Intifada, Mahdi’s office was a national beehive. It was inclusive of all sectors of Jerusalem society and all colors of political life.

The door of Dr. Mahdi’s office, or rather PASSIA’s office, always remained open when it was difficult for us to understand some of the political, factional, local, and even international events. He was the address for so many of us that it was a running comment that PASSIA was the Palestinian Foreign Ministry long before the Palestinian ministry existed, and he was truly the best representative that Palestinians could have explaining our people’s aspirations and challenges.

As the founder and chairman of the board and director of PASSIA, Dr. Mahdi was able to provide space and opportunities for researchers, local and foreign. The place was the first reliable study center of its kind in Jerusalem, and many graduated at his hands. Visiting his office, you would often run into diplomats and young researchers as well as traditional leaders. His was the melting pot in which expertise, diplomacy, and research were fused, for he was an unparalleled component in Jerusalem and will not be matched.

The Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA)

An independent think tank that undertakes specialized, scientific research on Palestine issues generally and on Jerusalem specifically

The entrance to PASSIA, a Palestinian think tank in Jerusalem

The entrance to PASSIA in East Jerusalem's Wadi al-Joz/Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood

Credit: 

PASSIA

Mahdi Abdul Hadi and guests in the PASSIA offices, Jerusalem

Mahdi Abdul Hadi and guests in the PASSIA offices, Jerusalem

Credit: 

PASSIA

Mahdi Abdul Hadi gives a media interview in the PASSIA offices, Jerusalem

Mahdi Abdul Hadi gives a media interview in the PASSIA offices, Jerusalem

Credit: 

PASSIA

I remember saying to him: “Doctor, we want to understand what is happening, how it happened, and why now? And you are the address and the professor!” His response was: “Come to the office at the relevant time, usually after work, when it is quiet and comfortable to talk.”

The years passed, and fate had it that I participated with Dr. Mahdi in the first Waqf Council in its comprehensive expanded form that represents the Jerusalem community, and that was in 2019. The council was a real revolution in the relationship of the department of waqf with the Jerusalem community. The council became the most important, first, and comprehensive address for everything related to Jerusalem, its people, and anything to do with the department of waqf.

Dr. Mahdi was the leader of change, trying to give the council a greater role than it has, always saying that communication must be daily between the council and the Jerusalem community, Arab and international, to protect the al-Aqsa Mosque and al-Haram al-Sharif, and he had big dreams and wide plans, for love in the city embraced him throughout his life.

The members of the Waqf Council would wait for Dr. Mahdi’s comments on many topics that arose, as he was like a guide for many of them.

We will miss you, our teacher and friend, Dr. Mahdi, and certainly the council will not be the same without you, without your experience and contributions, and without your observations, hints, and ideas.

Jerusalem thanks you, Dr. Mahdi—you gave her a lot; you gave her a diplomatic address and a destination for every visiting diplomat and every politician, you honored her sons through PASSIA’s must-have annual diary and the wide variety of other PASSIA publications. You gathered Jerusalem’s sons at your roundtable, both in public and in private, raised her concerns with all sincerity, and left imprints that neither Jerusalem nor its people can forget.

Jerusalem will miss you, her righteous son who raised her name high. The holy city will not forget you and its loyal people will always keep your memory a star in the sky of the city. Thank you, Dr. Mahdi, from Jerusalem and its people.

May God have mercy on you, our friend and professor, Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi.

Mahdi Abdul Hadi

Mahdi Abdul Hadi

Credit: 

PASSIA

Mahdi Abdul Hadi, born on March 22, 1944, in Nablus, was a well-known and respected Palestinian political scientist, historian, columnist, author, and founder and member of various Palestinian, Arab, and international institutions. His family traced its roots in Jerusalem back to the seventh century. Later they expanded to the Nablus and Acre areas where they were landlords. Abdul Hadi spent his early childhood in Jaffa. In 1948, he and his family became refugees in Lebanon. They returned to Nablus in 1950 under Jordanian rule.

A member since 2019 of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, Abdul Hadi was also the founder and longtime director of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA).

Abdul Hadi, trained as a lawyer, spent most of his life in Jerusalem. He held a PhD from the School of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom. He devoted most of his life to academic research and dialogue, as well as the publication of this research, with the aim of providing a deeper understanding of Palestinian issues, past and present—the land, the people, their rights, their leadership, and their cause—to interested audiences. Jerusalem was always of paramount importance in this work.

He founded and cofounded forums and institutes. For example, he cofounded the al-Fajr Palestinian daily newspaper in Jerusalem in 1972 as well as the Palestinian Council for Higher Education (1977–80), established to promote cooperation and coordination among Palestinian higher education institutions in the era before the Oslo Accords and the Palestinian Authority (mid-1990s).

On PASSIA’s official website, its founder was eulogized as follows:

Dr. Mahdi was a distinguished academic, advocate, and patriot who devoted his life to the Palestinian cause. Through reliable research and tireless dialogue, he worked to illuminate every facet of the struggle for justice and to foster a deeper understanding of Palestinian perspectives, undeterred by the challenges he faced.

He will be remembered by countless individuals around the world as a brilliant political analyst, whose wisdom and counsel shaped lives and influenced critical decisions. His vast knowledge, experience, and steadfast leadership inspired change, marked by courageous decision-making in every role he undertook—whether as the director of a think tank, a Board member, or a member of the Waqf Council.

Dr. Mahdi’s unwavering love for Palestine and Jerusalem defined his life’s work. Jerusalem, in particular, held a special place in his heart, and its fate was a cause he championed with deep passion and commitment.1

Notes

1

Dr. Mahdi Fouad Abdul Hadi (22 March 1944–15 January 2025),” PASSIA, accessed January 17, 2025.

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