The Palestinian cultural scene has witnessed over the past few months a revival of grassroots efforts to recover, collect, and organize Palestinian archival records. After all, in the absence of a state-backed archive, individual archival repositories offer a window into our collective past and a critical tool to document our national narrative. This issue of This Week in Palestine titled Palestinian Diaries and Memoirs is an effort to both complement and celebrate these endeavors. The TWiP team extends a special thank you to PADICO HOLDING for sponsoring this issue.
We offer our sincerest gratitude to this month’s contributing authors: Ali Qleibo, Palestinian anthropologist and artist; The Palestinian Museum; Sabrin Hasbun, Italian-Palestinian transnational writer; Abdul-Rahim Al-Shaikh, poet and professor of philosophy; Tarek Bakri, researcher and documenter from Jerusalem; Xavier Abu Eid, political scientist; Suad Amiry, author and architect; Jacob Norris, senior lecturer in Middle Eastern history at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom; Stephanie Elías Musalem, Palestinian journalist from Santiago de Chile; Hanna Safieh, one of the founders of the Confederation of Palestinian Communities in Latin America and the Caribbean-COPLAC; Muna Nassar, writer, freelancer translator, and literary personality; and Anas Abu Oun, project coordinator at El-Funoun Palestinian Dance Troupe.
In this month’s limelight section, you will read about our Personality of the Month, Palestinian historical sociologist Salim Tamari and his creative utilization of grassroots archives. You will get a glimpse into our Book of the Month, Wujood: The Grassroots Guide to Jerusalem, explore the works of our Artist of the Month Elias Halabi, and tour our Exhibition of the Month, Violence, Fast and Slow, currently on display at the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre. Finally, our Where to Go section takes you to The Iraqi Army Martyrs Graveyard in Nablus City, and its place in our collective history.

The TWiP Collective