1948 War

Bio 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

Short Take Sheikh Jarrah: The Northern Gateway to Jerusalem

The neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah has historically been the northern gateway to the Old City and a home to powerful Palestinian families and consulates.

Personal Story “It’s Not My Village Any More”

A survivor of the Deir Yasin massacre tells her haunting story.

Personal Story A War without Chocolate

Betty Majaj, a nurse in Jerusalem, lived through the demise of the New City and its reincarnation into West Jerusalem. This is her story. 

Personal Story The Baq‘a Zone Ghetto: A Memoir of a Palestinian Jerusalemite Who Remained in West Jerusalem after the War

Jacob Nammar, whose family established the al-Nammamreh neighborhood in al-Baq‘a, shares the trauma his family went through as one of the few Palestinian families who remained.

Photo Album The Meo Family Shop by Jaffa Gate: A Mirror of Family, Community, and City History

A photo album of the Meo family business, a Jerusalemite Old City landmark for 124 years

Photo Album “Present Absentees” Look Back: A Jerusalemite Family’s Journey from West to East, 1930–2021

A photo album depicting the story of the Sabella family, part of the Jerusalem elite, before and after the 1948 War

Feature Story Voices of Jerusalem

What does Jerusalem mean to Palestinians who identify as Jerusalemites? We posed this question to more than a dozen Jerusalemites worldwide.