Organizations on the Ground

Notes

The association was established in 2006 in response to Israeli closures and restrictions on the residents of the Bir Nabala enclave and its encirclement by the Separation Wall, which has severely curtailed economic life. The association focuses on development and cultural heritage, through arts and music programs such as conducting glass painting, ceramics workshops for women, and folk dance workshops in schools. 

The village name, Bir Nabala, derives from the ancient well that provided village water and is now considered an important antiquity.

Notes

In 1999, Al-Quds University created the Community Action Center, a semiautonomous association, which aims to empower the Palestinian community in occupied Jerusalem. Located in the Old City of Jerusalem as well as in al-Abraj Building in Abu Dis, the center aims to empower disadvantaged Palestinian Jerusalemites to access their rights and entitlements and negotiate the complex procedures that control the flow of these rights. 

Notes

The library aims to revive the Palestinian educational and cultural scene in Jerusalem by making its books, manuscripts, electronic databases, and computers available to all students, not only its own. Its cultural programs, open to all Jerusalemites, include lectures, seminars, and book exhibitions.

Notes

Al-Ruwah (“Narrators”) Theatre emerged from the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1987 to give voice to the concerns of Palestinians. Since its establishment, it has presented more than 15 theatrical productions for adults and children, performing in cities, villages, refugee camps, and schools. It has also organized and led hundreds of training workshops and activities.

Al-Ruwah plays deal with topics drawn from daily life, impacted by the political fluctuations in Jerusalem since the First Intifada followed by the Oslo Accords and on through the Second Intifada and the construction of the Separation Wall. Their plays reflected the community concerns emanating from these events and from the situation in general, such as the identity of Palestinian Jerusalemites.

The main character in these plays is the Palestinian traditional storyteller or narrator (hakawati). In the past, people crowded around these storytellers, who used interactive techniques to involve the audience as they told stories, embodying the roles of story characters.