This Week in Palestine: Archaeology

The State of Archaeology

 Message from the Editor

I would like to start by saluting Palestinian people everywhere for the resilience, willpower, patience, and strength that we’ve shown throughout the struggle. Our resistance continues and we proceed, coming up with innovative ways to overcome the Israeli occupation. From the new village of Bab El-Shams (Gate to the Sun) to the destroyed village of Iqrit and those villages under threat, Palestinians just won’t stop. Despite the brutality and vulgarity of the occupation, and the many losses incurred by our families, we refuse to give up. We continue to stand up and fight for our rights, for justice, for freedom, and for our homeland, Palestine.

Archaeology is one of the many tactics Israel uses to claim ground in Palestine. Many historical sites have been exploited to benefit the Jewish narrative. I’ve never heard a Palestinian deny a Jewish presence in Palestine, the place that joins Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. But for some reason, Israel constantly has the need to prove its “right” to Palestine and use archaeology to claim more land. On the other hand, Palestinian involvement in archaeology has been very limited, with efforts starting only relatively recently.

Thus, in this edition of This Week in Palestine, we decided to compile and document as much available information as possible about archaeology from a Palestinian perspective. In your hands is a useful resource that investigates “The Case of Archaeology” in Palestine. With an introduction from Hamdan Taha, the issue unfolds with contributions from Basem Ra’ad, Ali Qleibo, Iman Saca, Moain Sadeq, and Nazmi Jubeh, all of whom work in the field of archaeology as professors and researchers. We also highlight the accomplishments of archaeologists Dimitri Baramki and Tawfiq Canaan, two Palestinians who have made tremendous contributions to the field.

Look out for personal accounts from Hakam Shahwan and Yasmeen El-Khoudary that illustrate the way archaeology is employed to serve Israel’s national politics. Read through the issue carefully, it may lead to your own discoveries. After such a heavy issue, we look forward to warming your hearts with some Palestinian humour, the theme for next month. For now, I leave you in an archaeological mystery, with thanks to the authors, who have made this issue possible, and the entire team of This Week in Palestine.

Manar Harb
Content Editor

Two Decades of Archaeology in Palestine* By Hamdan Taha   Palestinian Ethnographic Archaeology By Ali Qleibo   Toward a Real Archaeology and History of Palestine By Basem L. Ra’ad   Community Archaeology A Fitting Approach to Doing Archaeology in Palestine By Iman Saca   The History and Archaeology of Gaza before Islam A Short Account By Moain Sadeq   Jerusalem: The State of Archaeology By Nazmi Jubeh   Dimitri C. Baramki 1909–1984 TWIP Collective

Artist of the Month ‘Ali Wazwaz   Book of the Month Nablus, City of Civilizations   Exhibition of the Month Outsiders   Personality of the Month Tawfiq Canaan   Picturesque Palestine Picturesque Palestine   Website Review Palestine Archaeological Databank and Information System (PADIS)