Walid Khalidi | |
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![]() Walid Khalidi, 1947 | |
Born | 1925 (age 98–99) |
Occupation | Historian |
Parent | Anbara Salam Khalidi (step-mother) |
Relatives | Tarif Khalidi (half-brother) Usama al-Khalidi (half-brother) Rashid Khalidi (cousin) |
Walid Khalidi (Arabic : وليد خالدي, born 1925) is a Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is a co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in December 1963 as an independent research and publishing center focusing on the Palestine problem and the Arab–Israeli conflict, and was its general secretary until 2016.
Khalidi's first teaching post was at Oxford, a position he resigned from in 1956 in protest at the British invasion of Suez. He was Professor of Political Studies at the American University of Beirut until 1982 and thereafter a research fellow at the Harvard Center for International Affairs. [1] He has also taught at Princeton University.
He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has been influential in scholarship, institutional development and diplomacy. His academic work in particular, according to Rashid Khalidi, has played a key role in shaping both Palestinian and broader Arab reactions to the loss of Palestine, and in outlining ways for the former to ensure that they remain visible as a presence within the Middle East map. [2]
Khalidi was born, one of five children, in Jerusalem. His father, Ahmad Samih Khalidi, was dean of the Arab College of Jerusalem, and hailed from a family with roots in pre-Crusader Palestine. His step mother, Anbara Salam Khalidi (4 August 1897–May 1986), was a Lebanese feminist, translator and author, who significantly contributed to the emancipation of Arab women. Khalidi's early tutor was the director of Education in Palestine, G. B. Farrell. [3] His half-brothers are the historian Tarif Khalidi and biochemist Usama al-Khalidi.
Khalidi graduated with a B.A. from the University of London in 1945, then studied at the University of Oxford, gaining an M.Litt. in 1951. He then taught at the Faculty of Oriental Studies in Oxford, until he resigned, after the trilateral British, French and Israeli assault on Egypt in 1956, to take up teaching at the American University of Beirut. In the 50s he wrote 2 essays on Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, a Syrian Sufi scholar who had written on tolerance, and who practiced this in regard to Jews and Christians he encountered. [4]
Under his guidance the Institute of Palestine Studies, established in 1963, produced a long series of monographs in English and Arabic and several important translations of Hebrew texts into Arabic: 'The History of the Haganah', David Ben-Gurion and Shertok's diaries—texts that still await translation into English. [5] He has also produced ground-breaking work on the fall of Haifa and Deir Yassin. His best known works are Before Their Diaspora, a photographic essay on Palestinian society prior to 1948 and All That Remains , the encyclopedic collection of village histories which he edited. He became a senior research associate at the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard in 1982. [3] More broadly, his intellectual interests extend from modern European history to international relations, in strategic and military terms. [4]
Khalidi was critical of the Palestinian involvement in the Lebanese Civil War, recalling an argument with Yasser Arafat in which he told the Palestinian leader that the PLO "had no business" taking sides in the conflict. [6]
Khalidi's stated position on the Palestine question is for a two-state solution. [7] [8] Khalidi wrote in Foreign Affairs in 1988: "A Palestinian state in the occupied territories within the 1967 frontiers in peaceful coexistence alongside Israel is the only conceptual candidate for a historical compromise of this century-old conflict. Without it the conflict will remain an open-ended one." [9]
Khalidi was a Palestinian representative to the Joint Palestinian–Jordanian delegation to the Middle East peace talks launched at the Madrid Conference, prior to the Oslo Agreements. He holds no office in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) or any of its bodies. [10]
At the Palestinian Heritage Foundation's 15th Anniversary banquet, Khalidi was presented with an award for his commitment to the Palestinian cause, the Arab-American community, and the Arab nation. [11]
Moshe Brawer, professor of geography at Tel Aviv University wrote that Khalidi's encyclopedic work All that Remains suffers from "inadequate field research." Brawer criticized Khalidi's over-reliance on a modified version of the Village Statistics, which Khalidi acknowledged provide only rough estimates, while not making use of other sources such as the Village Files or RAF aerial photographs which would have yielded more accurate estimates. [12]
Ann M. Lesch of Villanova University wrote that "As scholarly documentation, All That Remains will become the definitive source for research into the Palestinian displacement in 1948." [13]
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war became a war of separate states with the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948, the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight, and the entry of a military coalition of Arab states into the territory of Mandatory Palestine the following morning. The war formally ended with the 1949 Armistice Agreements which established the Green Line.
Operation Nachshon was a military operation of the Haganah during the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine and part of Plan Dalet. Its objective was to open the Tel Aviv – Jerusalem road blockaded by Palestinian Arabs, and furnish arms and supplies to the besieged Jewish community of Jerusalem. The operation was also known as "The operation to take control of the Jerusalem road," following which participating units later broke off to form the Harel Brigade. Following attempts to take control of the road to Jerusalem were unsuccessful and led to the construction of a makeshift bypass—Burma Road.
Operation Yoav was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the Beersheba–Hebron–Jerusalem road, and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev. Operation Yoav was headed by the Southern Front commander Yigal Allon. The operation was named after Yitzhak Dubno, codenamed "Yoav" by his commanders in the Palmach. Dubno, a senior Palmach officer, was charged with planning and leading the defense of the kibbutzim Negba and Yad Mordechai. Dubno was killed in an air raid on Kibbutz Negba shortly after Egyptian forces began their offensive on Israel's southern front.
Plan Dalet was a Zionist military plan executed in the civil war phase of the 1948 Palestine war for the conquest of territory in Mandatory Palestine in preparation for the establishment of a Jewish state. The plan played a central role in the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight known as the Nakba.
The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) is the oldest independent nonprofit public service research institute in the Arab world. It was established and incorporated in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1963 and has since served as a model for other such institutes in the region. It is the only institute in the world solely concerned with analyzing and documenting Palestinian affairs and the Arab–Israeli conflict. It also publishes scholarly journals and has published over 600 books, monographs, and documentary collections in English, Arabic and French—as well as its renowned quarterly academic journals: Journal of Palestine Studies, Jerusalem Quarterly, and Majallat al-Dirasat al-Filistiniyyah. IPS's Library in Beirut is the largest in the Arab world specializing in Palestinian affairs, the Arab–Israeli conflict, and Judaica.
Rashid Ismail Khalidi is a Palestinian-American historian of the Middle East and the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University. He served as editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies from 2002 until 2020, when he became co-editor with Sherene Seikaly.
Hasib Sabbagh was a Palestinian businessman, activist, and philanthropist.
Arab al-'Arida, is a depopulated former Palestinian Arab village and 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) south of the city of Beit She'an.
During the 1948 Palestine war in which the State of Israel was established, around 700,000 Palestinian Arabs, or 85% of the total population of the territory Israel captured fled or were expelled from their homes. The causes of this mass displacement have been a matter of controversy among historians, journalists, and commentators, though today most scholars consider that the majority of Palestinians were directly expelled or else fled due to fear.
Menuha is a moshav in south-central Israel. Located to the north of Kiryat Gat and south of Kiryat Malakhi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lakhish Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 668.
Nur ad-Din Masalha commonly known in English as Nur Masalha is a Palestinian writer, historian, and academic.
Malkia is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located near the Lebanese border and Kiryat Shmona, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 445.
Abu al-Fadl was a Palestinian village in the Ramle Subdistrict, about 4 km (2.5 mi) northwest of Ramla in, what was until 1948, Mandatory Palestine. The village was also known as al-Satariyya. In 1945/44, the village had a population of 510.
Khiyam al-Walid was a Palestinian Arab village in the Safad Subdistrict located 25.5 kilometers (15.8 mi) northeast of Safad along the Syrian border. It was on situated on a hill 150 meters (490 ft) above sea level on the eastern edge of the Hula Valley. In 1945, there were 280 predominantly Muslim inhabitants. It was depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War.
The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the State of Israel, and over 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled. It was the first war of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the broader Arab–Israeli conflict.
Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people that espouses self-determination and sovereignty over the region of Palestine. Originally formed in the early 20th century in opposition to Zionism, Palestinian nationalism later internationalized and attached itself to other ideologies; it has thus rejected the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the government of Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War. Palestinian nationalists often draw upon broader political traditions in their ideology, such as Arab socialism and ethnic nationalism in the context of Muslim religious nationalism. Related beliefs have shaped the government of Palestine and continue to do so.
Elias Shoufani was a Palestinian author and historian whose studies were mostly about the history of Islam and the Israeli affairs. He was one of the leading Arab scholars in the latter topic. He was a member of the Fatah movement until 1983 when he joined the dissident group in Damascus, becoming part of the Fatah upraising.
Camille Mansour is a Palestinian academic. In addition to his teaching post at different universities he has worked at the Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS), Beirut, Lebanon, in various capacities, including the secretary-general of its board of trustees.
Fuad Saba (1902–1984) was a Palestinian accountant, businessman and politician during the Mandatory Palestine. He was one of the early Palestinians who received an accounting certificate. He was among the community leaders of the Arab Anglicans in Palestine. He was also a leading politician in the Mandatory Palestine who attempted to end the Jewish settlement in Palestine.
Burhan Dajani was a Palestinian academic, jurist and economist. He served as the secretary general of the Beirut-based Union of Arab Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture and taught economics at the American University of Beirut.
Proposal by Dr. Walid Khalidi Date: 1978, 1988 Source: W. Khalidi, "Thinking the Unthinkable: A Sovereign Palestinian State," 56 Foreign Affairs 695, 1978. idem, "Toward Peace in the Holy Land," 66 Foreign Affairs 71, 1988. Background: Walid Khalidi was professor of Political Studies at the American university of Beirut until 1982 and currently is a Research Fellow at the Harvard Center for International Affairs. In the past he was a member of the Palestinian national Council and carried out various political missions for the Palestinian Liberation Organization. National Aspirations # East Jerusalem will be the capital of "Arab Palestine," and West Jerusalem of Israel. # The two states would agree to arrangements for "freedom of residence between two capitals." # Both parts of the city would be "demilitarized in part or wholly for essential internal security forces." Holy Places # Extraterritorial status would be granted to the Holy Places of Jerusalem in East Jerusalem, and freedom of access to them should be guaranteed. # An "interfaith council" would be set up, composed of senior representatives of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The council will be chaired by a representative of the U.N. or by rotating chairmanship among the members. # The council "could oversee the special interests, Holy Places and institutions of each religion and act as an arbitration and conciliation body for disputes or claims arising with regard to them." Municipal Administration # Two "separate municipalities of each sovereign state" would provide services to the city's residents. # "A joint inter-state great municipal council would operate and supervise certain essential common services."