British Mandate

Photo Essay King David Hotel, a Focal Point in British Mandate Jerusalem Whose Bombing Was a Pivotal Turning Point

For Palestinian Jerusalemites, the city’s first luxury hotel will always be linked to a terrorist act that signaled the end of their lives in Jerusalem.

Photo Jerusalem Municipality Staff, 1934

A glimpse back into days when all of Jerusalem’s population had electoral representation 

Bio Abd al-Hamid al-Sayih

A religious and legal scholar and nationalist who was the first Palestinian Israel exiled from Jerusalem in 1967

Photo Three Jerusalemite Boys Posing on a Road with Their Arms Linked

A glimpse of boyhood in British Mandate Palestine

Bio Musa Kazim al-Husseini

Musa Kazim al-Husseini, the “undisputed leader of the Palestinian Arabs,” held important political positions in Jerusalem until his death at age 81

Short Take Amin al-Husseini’s Dream Home, Karm al-Mufti: An Elegant Residence during the Mandate Bulldozed by Israel

The mufti’s luxurious home in Sheikh Jarrah is a microcosm of the city’s rich and vibrant Palestinian past—and of its erasure by Israeli authorities.

Bio ‘Abd al-Hamid Shuman

A committed Arab nationalist who founded the Arab Bank in Jerusalem in 1930 and led much of Palestine’s banking activity

Bio Raghib al-Nashashibi

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

Photo Album Khalil Raad’s Lens: Scenes from Pre-Nakba Palestine

Khalil Raad’s photographs captured Palestinian tradition, resilience, and history before and after the Nakba.