Connection to the land
The Palestinians are a people with a long history and deep roots in their land and traditions. For thousands of years, Palestine has been a focal point of major historical events. Palestine belongs to the famed Fertile Crescent of human antiquity, home to some of the first agricultural communities in the world.
Historic Palestine comprises an area about the size of Vermont. Today, the majority of Palestinians in the world are refugees, and most are in the diaspora, outside of historic Palestine. Nonetheless, Palestinians have retained a strong sense of a shared common identity.
In the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, many Palestinians are refugees from villages, towns and cities that became Israel. Some of these displaced live in refugee camps, while others live in towns and cities across the Palestinian territories. Within present-day Israel, the largest Palestinian populations are in Galilee in the north, particularly the city of Nazareth, and in East Jerusalem.
“The land we carry in our blood,” as famed Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish expressed it.
“I decided to go back to the farming methods of my ancestors and opened my own organic farm. Safe organic farming is all about the proper management of water, using compost, and most of all, treating the soil as a living organism. With my strawberries, I am trying to bring back the old days and underscore the need to alter the farming culture here away from fertilizers. Every farmer should make the decision to organically farm.” – Ayman, farmer (Beit Lahia, Gaza)
Traditional Palestinian society is predominantly agricultural. Historically, most Palestinians have lived in small villages, often among extended relatives. Land is especially valued and treasured in Palestinian culture. “The land we carry in our blood,” as famed Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish expressed it. In contrast to some other agricultural societies, farmwork was generally undertaken communally.
Over the course of many centuries, Palestinians have extensively terraced the rocky hills of their homeland. These stone retaining walls, known as senasil, still crisscross the hillsides of the West Bank and are recognized by UNESCO as world heritage sites. Houses too have over the years been built of stone rather than brick or timber, taking advantage of the resources most abundant in the region.
Palestine’s Mediterranean climate has made it ideal for growing crops like citrus and olives. Oranges, shipped from Jaffa, became famous and prized fruit in northern Europe in the late 19th century, before refrigeration. Further back in time, Gaza City was once well-known as an ancient trading port.
Olive trees are so closely associated with Palestine that they are almost synonymous with the region. The area was perhaps the first place where humans began to cultivate the crop.
A quintessential West Bank scene — terraced hills and olive trees.
Although there is much room for further development, modern Palestinian society is highly educated with a substantial professional class. Since the latter half of the 20th century, it became more common for women to work outside of the home and family farm.
Modern Palestinian culture reflects a confluence of the many peoples in Palestine throughout history, including Arabs, Armenians, Canaanites, Europeans, Greeks, Hebrews, Romans, Samaritans, Turks, Nabateans and nomadic tribes.
The Bedouins are the traditionally nomadic peoples of Palestine. Although they lead more settled lifestyles today, many retain pastoral ways of living. There are Bedouin communities across the West Bank, many of whom lived in the Negev before being expelled during the formation of Israel. A significant Bedouin population still lives in southern Israel, and a smaller number reside in Gaza. Palestinian Bedouin tribes include the Azazme and the Ramadeen in Hebron Governorate; the Jahaleen and the Ka’abneh, in the Jerusalem Governorate; and the Rashaydeh, in the Bethlehem and Jericho governorates.
Befitting this rich history, Palestinians are diverse in appearance, with for instance, European and African features quite common. Within this diversity, Palestinians share a common cultural identity with the wider Arab world.
Modern Palestinians speak Arabic, using a Levantine dialect colloquially. Aramaic and Greek were the principal languages in Palestine until the 7th century when Arab Islamic forces arrived, leading to the widespread adoption of Arabic as the lingua franca, and of Arab culture more generally.
A boy in West Bank, Palestine holds olives at a processing plant.
Although there is much room for further development, modern Palestinian society is highly educated with a substantial professional class. Since the latter half of the 20th century, it became more common for women to work outside of the home and family farm.
Modern Palestinian culture reflects a confluence of the many peoples in Palestine throughout history, including Arabs, Armenians, Canaanites, Europeans, Greeks, Hebrews, Romans, Samaritans, Turks, Nabateans and nomadic tribes.
The Bedouins are the traditionally nomadic peoples of Palestine. Although they lead more settled lifestyles today, many retain pastoral ways of living. There are Bedouin communities across the West Bank, many of whom lived in the Negev before being expelled during the formation of Israel. A significant Bedouin population still lives in southern Israel, and a smaller number reside in Gaza. Palestinian Bedouin tribes include the Azazme and the Ramadeen in Hebron Governorate; the Jahaleen and the Ka’abneh, in the Jerusalem Governorate; and the Rashaydeh, in the Bethlehem and Jericho governorates.
Befitting this rich history, Palestinians are diverse in appearance, with for instance, European and African features quite common. Within this diversity, Palestinians share a common cultural identity with the wider Arab world.
Modern Palestinians speak Arabic, using a Levantine dialect colloquially. Aramaic and Greek were the principal languages in Palestine until the 7th century when Arab Islamic forces arrived, leading to the widespread adoption of Arabic as the lingua franca, and of Arab culture more generally.
A view of the Dome of the Rock from atop the Austrian Hostel in the Christian quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Uniquely, Palestine is a holy land in three of the world’s major religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Jerusalem is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock Mosque in Islam. The Ummayad Dynasty built the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem in the 7th century CE. In Judaism, Hebron is the location of the tomb of Abraham, and Jerusalem is the site of the ancient first and second temples. In Christianity, it is the birthplace of Jesus Christ and home to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and, in Bethlehem, the Church of the Nativity.
Islam and Christianity are the two major religions practiced by Palestinians today. Christians in Palestine include the Eastern Orthodox (or Greek Orthodox) Church, Greek Catholic (or Melkite) Church, Roman Catholic Church and Anglican, Coptic, Ethiopian and Armenian churches.
Tomb of Jesus Christ, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.
Islam is the largest religion in Palestine. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries large numbers of Palestinian Christians emigrated abroad, and many more became refugees during the formation of Israel. This resulted in a substantial drop in their percentage of the population, now in the low single digits, particularly in Gaza, although some churches remain, including the ancient Saint Porphyry. Bethlehem retains a relatively large Christian community.
In the diaspora, communities are particularly strong in neighboring Arab countries, the Gulf, Western Europe, North America (especially the U.S.) and Latin America (notably, Chile, Colombia and Honduras).
Source: Anera
