Being Palestinian: Personal Reflections on Palestinian Identity in the Diaspora

by Yasir Suleiman (Editor), Nabil Matar (Contributor)

What does it means to be Palestinian in the diaspora? This collection of 100 personal reflections on being Palestinian is the first book of its kind. Reflecting on Palestinian identity as it is experienced at the individual level, issues of identity, exile, refugee status, nostalgia, belonging and alienation are at the heart of the book. The contributors speak in many voices, exploring the richness and diversity of identity construction among Palestinians in the diaspora. Included are contributions from Palestinians living in the Anglo-Saxon diaspora, mainly the UK and North America. They come from a variety of professional backgrounds: business people, lawyers, judges, fiction writers, poets, journalists (press, TV and radio), film-makers, diplomats and academics. Men and women, young and old, Christians and Muslims offer essays, as do Palestinians from different generations (first, second and third generations). This mix of professional, gender, faith and generational categories ensures that a variety of voices are heard. The editor sets the scene with an Introduction, and his Epilogue deals with issues of identity, exile and diaspora as concepts that give sense to the personal reflections. Key Features The first book to gather personal reflections on what it means to be Palestinian Contributes to the debate on what it means to be Palestinian Asks what the diaspora is for Palestinians Looks at how being Palestinian varies across gender, generation, religious affiliation and professional interest.

FROM APF:

Is being Palestinian a 'pain in the neck', or a 'sentence to suffer gladly'? Does Palestinian identity reside in cross-stitch embroidery, sweet knafeh and the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, or defending the rights of oppressed communities around the world? Does being Palestinian in diaspora mean anything at all?



In this ground-breaking volume, the first of its kind, 102 contributors from North America and the United Kingdom reflect in their own words on what it means to be Palestinian in diaspora. Exploring how Palestine is both lost and found, bereaved and celebrated in diaspora, and the tangled ties between 'home' and 'homeland', Being Palestinian takes the reader on an intimate journey into the diaspora to reveal a human story: how does it feel when you cannot find Palestine under 'P' in the encyclopaedia your father brings home? Why grow fig and orange trees in the Arizona desert? What does it mean to know every inch of a village that no longer exists?



Touching, troubling but full of character and wit, the reflections in Being Palestinian offer a radically fresh look at the modern Palestinian experience in the West.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Middle East

384 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2016

About the author

Professor Suleiman is Chair of the Panel of Judges, British-Kuwaiti Friendship Society Book Prize in Middle Eastern Studies. He serves as Trustee on the Boards of the following organizations: Arab-British Chamber Charitable Foundation, International Prize for Arab Fiction (in association with the Man-Booker Prize), Banipal Trust for Arab Literature and is trustee of the Gulf Research Centre-Cambridge. He is also Chair of the Advisory Board of the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World, Chair of the Centre for the Study of the International Relations of the Middle East and North Africa (CIRMENA), Board Member of the Islamic Manuscript Association, Member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Evaluation and Research in Muslim Education, Institute of Education, Member of the Advisory Board of The Doha Institute, Qatar and Member of the Advisory Board of Our Shared Future, a joint project of the British Council, USA and Carnegie Foundation. He is a member of the editorial boards of a number of journals and book series.

Professor Suleiman is Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, formerly Head of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies and Founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies.

Reviews

[Majd Hamad]

9-4-2018
Salman Abu Sitta's & Haya Ilayan's pieces are beautiful!

[World Literature Today]

"One hundred and two Palestinians in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States have contributed essays of about one thousand words each to this book edited by Yasir Suleiman, chair of Modern Arabic Studies and a fellow of King’s College at the University of Cambridge. The contributors were asked to write on what it means to be Palestinian in the diaspora and to speak from the heart, avoiding politics and intellectual intrusions. Difficult as this task may appear, I believe they have succeeded—some of them having recourse to autobiographical memories and others to analysis of personal feelings; but they all spoke of the unforgettable effect on them of being forcibly dispossessed of their homes and homeland when Israel was created in 1948." - Issa Boullata

This book was reviewed in the September/October 2016 issue of World Literature Today magazine. Read the full review by visiting our website:

http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2...

[Anthony Kephart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book serves as a vital resource, fostering empathy and relatability for the thousands of Palestinians compelled to live in the diaspora. The term "diaspora" refers to a community of people who share a common heritage or homeland but reside in different parts of the world, originating from the ancient Greek word meaning "to scatter about." At the time of the book's conception, its creator and editor, Yasir Suleiman, was living in Scotland as a Palestinian Arab in the diaspora.
The book features short-form writings from over 100 Palestinian Arabs residing in countries other than their homeland of Palestine. Living outside of Palestine is not a choice for many; instead of diaspora, many prefer the term "exile" as they are denied the right to return to Palestine as residents. Contributors were given no specific direction other than the book's title and a word limit of 1,000 words. The collection includes reflections on realities and emotions through personal journaling, storytelling, and poetry.

This review was written on February 21, 2025, nearly a decade after the book's publication. It was published several years before the October 7, 2023, collective punishment of Palestinians enforced by the Israeli military under the guise of defending themselves from HAMAS. Reading these stories of tragedy, heartache, loss of land, and loss of life, knowing that the worst is yet to come, is both heartbreaking and necessary. Such literature is essential to remove the apathetic glaze over the eyes of Americans regarding the injustices and war crimes being committed.

Use this book to educate yourself and others. We cannot combat hate with uneducated debates or shared social media posts. Americans often lack awareness of cultures other than their own. If they truly understood what they are witnessing on their TVs and live-reels on their phones… the hope would be… that they would no longer support the American government’s use of their tax dollars for such evil and disregard of human life.

Free Palestine and stop hate with education!

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moving personal histories of being Palestinian--How can one support Israel and the Zionists? Only by denying the rights of the Palestinian, and ignoring the crimes of the Zionists, who use the Nazis as an excuse to become themselves worse than Nazis.

[Greg Soden · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating collection of pain, heritage, and hope.