Preserving Cultural Heritage While Promoting Development
Terry Boullata
I WAS BORN in East Jerusalem in 1966. Despite growing up in a very protective middle class, city-dwelling family with minimal exposure to life in rural Palestine or to the politics of resistance, it was impossible not to hear my mother’s stories about her family—the Freij family—stories that often centered on the dispossession of their houses, family library and shops in West Jerusalem.
The details of my family’s plight in 1948 were well-drawn in my imagination: how the family escaped the bombing of their homes in Baqaa by Zionist military groups, forcing them to walk all the way to Bethlehem for refuge, but how they then returned to the Old City of Jerusalem to establish a new family business in the production of lemonade; how my Aunt Jamileh insisted on not registering her firstborn son in Bethlehem, but waited three months to return to register him within Jerusalem’s registrar.
The stories of cultural life before the Nakba were always nostalgic moments for our elderly, when they described how the cultural life then was so rich, rife with cinema houses, with theaters receiving famed Arab singers like Um Kulthoum, Abel Wahab and others in the YMCA Jerusalem or in Jaffa. The stories of Nabi Moussa Festival (Mawsim Nabi Moussa)11, in particular, dominated the Boullata family conversations, considering my family’s generations-long residence at the House of the Flags—Dar Bayrak12—of the Husseini Family complex in Aqabet Taqiyeh, the oldest street of the Muslim Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the Nabi Mousa Festival stopped around 1948 and never resumed, neither under Jordanian rule nor under Israeli occupation since 1967.
Such stories are never unique to one family or a community. Every family or community has its own stories left in the corners of centuries-old historic buildings, or in the Zaffa tradition at weddings, Thobes and dresses, or around a Maqam—or a shrine—or on the peaks and ranges of mountains throughout the West Bank. These sites are traditionally sanctified by Palestinians as pilgrimage sites for holidays and religious occasions (Mawassem) for prayer, religious ceremonies and rituals, circumcision celebrations and weddings, public and private occasions, and simple outdoor family recreation. All of these cultural ruins should be searched and restored, but with a new approach in order to galvanize a process of reconciliation with a broken history; to plumb the depths of history and culture that express and preserve the landscape and spaces, our cultural way of life, the Palestinian cultural identity—inclusive of the different passing civilizations—and to safeguard the outstanding universal values of our indigenous cultural heritage.
As the original people of historic Palestine, we have underestimated the value of taking positive control of our lives as families and communities, of building on our cultural identity despite all the injustices to heal the losses suffered through colonization by seeking collective self-determination. It remains imperative that the Zionist narrative, which has falsely maintained that Palestine is “a land without a people, for a people without a land,” be challenged.
Following years of direct political resistance, including imprisonment, and feeling constrained with family responsibilities, in addition to facing many health problems, I came to discover the value of reviving our culture and cultural heritage as a core avenue through which I could continue to contribute towards my country’s decolonization efforts.
Our heritage has always been the central pillar of our cultural identity and the emblem of our pride. It is a fount of inspiration and a vital source of creativity. Strengthening our heritage means reviving the past which lives within us and pointing us towards a future that will embed new concepts of Palestine on the global cultural map. Our heritage, the living memory of individuals and our society, is an authentic bedrock that carries the features of our people through history, confirms its treasures, voices our concerns and daily suffering, and expresses our common hopes and optimism. In the dire period of upsurge in violence and colonization, culture has the power to transform and cohere entire societies, to promote citizenship, to connect people individually and collectively, and to sustain social and economic development for future generations. The loss of our cultural heritage would mean not only the loss of our historical memory and of our cultural traditions and festivities (Mawassem), but also the loss of economic opportunities for sustainable development. Comprehensive development based on the country’s abundant heritage strengthens its rural and urban towns and cities and encourages the use of the country’s natural and cultural resources, as well as unleashing the energies of local youth and women.
Hence, it has been important to connect all the cultural activities, whether through the promotion and development of folk Dabke and Dabke groups, cultural songs, the rehabilitation of historic centers, Maqams and shrines and even the drive to change the status quo around our religious and cultural heritage sites, which were taken over and destroyed by Israeli settlers and to transform them into comprehensive Palestinian cultural icons of decolonization. It is important to connect the different dots, merging them towards a sustainable Palestinian cultural identity that reflects, not just the sumud (steadfastness) of the people, but also spurs them to a development process that benefits them and rewards their resilience over decades of dispossession, fragmentation and oppression.
Community-based eco-tourism has been the flagship of several cultural organizations and networks such as the Rozana Association for the Development of Architectural Heritage, Palestine Heritage Trail and the Network of Experiential Palestinian Tourism Organizations (NEPTO). They are involved in designing, delineating and leading a number of thematic tours and trails (the Nativity trail, Masar Ibrahim and the Sufi trails). Their core focus is to advance community encounters and explorations of ecological, cultural, historic and solidarity tourism based on empowered and welcoming local communities. Experiential cultural tourism benefits communities and helps to protect the natural and cultural heritage of the local people. Their programs employ the rehabilitation of historic centers to foster modern functions that serve the entire community, or rehabilitating historic Maqams or shrines, building the capacities of youth with trek guiding skills, encouraging women with hospitality skills to establish homestays and promote art, crafts and artisan works. Their programs also advance fair trade, environmental and wildlife protection and the organizing of cultural, heritage and agricultural festivals. The resultant cultural interaction with local and foreign visitors fosters harmonious relations among peoples, promotes acceptance of diversity, and enriches people’s lives, simulating their creativity to respond to new challenges. It is not the denial but rather the recognition of differences that keeps the world together.
Since 2007, my daughters and I have spent our summers volunteering at the annual iconic event, The Birzeit Heritage Week, which encourages a variety of cultural activities from across all of historic Palestine to take place in the partially rehabilitated historic area of Birzeit town. It is a model of what the Birzeit historic area (old town)—with its flagged stones of the Mamluk and Ottoman era and houses and attics—could become 365 days a year: a vibrant community and cultural zone that will draw visitors from near and far. It engages the local community, civil society organizations and businesses in a dynamic, holistic process of activities and programs that seeks to foster contemporary functions for the old houses and spaces in the historic area, illustrating the value of culture, cultural heritage and architectural heritage and capacities in the ensuing development of rural Palestine. It aims to engage the local communities, including both youth and women in a dynamic process, drawing their attention to planning and protection requirements in order to safeguard the outstanding universal values of our indigenous cultural heritage and the potential values and benefits it produces to galvanize and encourage local production, hence enhancing our awareness of our common identity and its expression through food, storytelling, folklore, culture and handicrafts.
Every year, aside from my small family, a number of young Palestinian men and women are also involved in the organization as well as in the designing of the festival. Their participation is channelled through different committees where they lead, organize, design, prepare and implement the master plan for action. Their dedicated participation primarily ensures establishing lifelong connections and friendships, gender-equal opportunities for participation and, subsequently, an accumulation of leadership skills which are indispensable in generating awareness, commitment and capacities in the fields of promoting culture and cultural heritage. It is also a platform that seeks opportunities for exchange with world cultures, expanding, diversifying participation and completing the cultural mosaic. The flags of participating countries are raised on top of Birzeit municipality, creating a first-hand encounter with the Palestinian community and breaking the isolation matrix of colonial control, of its fragmentation by checkpoints and walls. Needless to say, the heritage week has also been instrumental in promoting the role of Palestinian women in protecting our heritage, preserving it and transmitting it from one generation to the next. This is particularly highlighted through the Flower of the Countryside Tradition where each year, a group of young female contestants from the countryside, aged between 16 to 18 years, compete while wearing the traditional bridal dresses of their villages and families as were worn before the Nakba in 1948. The winner is chosen by leading Palestinian cultural experts and arbitrators, including historian Dr. Sharif Kana’neh, Sonia Nimmer, Ph.D., Nabil Alqam and Munir Nasser, Ph.D. The competition is based on several standards, including 1) the bridal village parade (zaffa) singing traditional songs, 2) the contestant’s knowledge about her village, including the roots for its name, 3) details of the traditional dress, its function and the accessories she is wearing and 4) her knowledge in reciting a folk story from her village. Three times, female contestants from Palestinian towns in 1948 areas won these contests celebrating a commitment to Palestinian culture that goes beyond the imposed colonial borders.
In 2010, the same model was implemented within the Old City of Jerusalem that possesses a fascinating array of authentic local cultures and cultural communities due to its important religious, cultural and architectural heritage. Indian, Moroccan, African, Coptic, Assyrian and other diverse cultures have settled inside the city, reflecting its rule by various dynasties such as the Romans, the Arabs, the Crusaders, the Muslims and others who over the past 15 centuries have left abundant traces of their cultures and heritage throughout the different corners and communities of the city. However, these rich varieties are not reflected in the current cultural and tourist programs due to Israeli policies of neglect, de-development, brain-drain and disenfranchisement of the Palestinian cultural and tourist sector, as well as by the inability of Palestinians to control the political, economic and urban processes that shape their lives.
As a Jerusalemite, I did not think twice about volunteering, with my daughters, at The Jerusalem Tourism Cluster (JTC), a Jerusalem-based NGO working to design and coordinate networking of cultural and tourist activities in order to benefit local businesses and communities in Jerusalem. I contributed to their diligent work to re-introduce the city in its different historic periods reflecting all the cultures, the heritage, the religions and the architectural mosaics it has acquired over the centuries, while aiming to benefit the surrounding local communities as deemed possible through special events, tours and. trails. I introduced their mission and their cultural ideas to several expatriate communities residing in Jerusalem as well as to local schools. My family and I, again, became attached to their key event entitled, the Nablus Road Open Days event, created and implemented for three consecutive years.
To reverse the marginalization and impoverishment of East Jerusalem City due to the systematic Israeli colonial policies which were designed to accelerate Israeli-Jewish development while obstructing, cutting off and detaching the Palestinian population in Jerusalem from its natural hinterland and historic markets, al-Hoash began to implement a number of donor-funded projects and activities to develop cultural-tourism sectors in East Jerusalem. These included Palestinian Jerusalemites who were with key civil society organizations, led by Jerusalem Tourism Cluster, including the Arab Hotel Association, al-Ma’mal for Contemporary Arts, the Palestinian National Theater and the Palestinian Art Court. A key figure for such activities was Mr. Raed Saadeh,13 a Jerusalem hotelier and cultural activist who led different cultural organizations.
Although, many of the programs were funded by foreign donors, yet the core ideas, the efforts and the objectives were all Palestinian. Many might debate the impact of donors’ funds, but should be reassured by the fact that there was no conditional funding attached or interference from donors in any phase of implementation. Seed funds to jump-start cultural programs have been of major importance to cover those crucial expenses within activities that voluntarism could not cover. Writing proposals, preparing ideas for the media, organizing the volunteers to build booths or to secure the safe flow of participants and people were all excluded from any cultural expenses. This is where several volunteers and I stepped in, working energetically, including working through long sleepless nights.
The key event that reflects the culmination of cultural resistance in East Jerusalem was the Nablus Road event. Nablus Road Open Days was initiated in 2016. It required that we organize a variety of decentralized activities to reflect the richness of this historic road, thereby promoting networking among participating institutions. The history that this street represents with its many institutions and historical buildings is tremendous. Nablus Road is one of the important streets in East Jerusalem, connecting the Old City from Bab Amoud/Damascus Gate towards the north and includes a number of important religious, tourist, cultural and sports institutions with beautiful, secluded gardens, monasteries, hotels and institutions that provide a good sampling of the myriad worlds to be found only in Jerusalem. The event aimed at providing an opportunity to revive Palestinian cultural identity in the area around the walled Old City, through converting the historic Nablus Road into a Palestinian cultural-tourist destination, providing a bridge between cultural diversity, identity and economic prosperity while capitalizing on and promoting existing services along Nablus Road.
Under the management of JTC and the Arab Hotel Association, together with hundreds of volunteers, I immersed myself in long months of preparations to install a number of exhibits, displays and performances targeting children and families in the variety of spaces available within the different institutions along Nablus Road. For three days, Nablus Road was bustling with thousands of families and visitors bringing life to the heart of East Jerusalem.
We also ensured the creation of opportunities for local artisans, artists, producer groups and other suppliers to promote and sell their work, bolstering local businesses and income generation. Children walked round with painted faces and balloons, teenagers met and fell in love with their city, families were proud to walk through their street while taking ownership of their own space. The event was conducted for three continuous years until the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country. Some love stories were celebrated with marriage a few years later, like Ghassan and Rania, who met as volunteers at the event.
The event managed to bypass several Israeli obstacles through mobilizing and networking among the diverse cultural, sport, religious and tourist organizations and being based on an identified diverse heritage. Insofar as all activities were conducted within the participating institutions along Nablus Road, whether a Nuns’ convent or the Dominican Church or the Anglican Church, a hotel or a school, we were able to bypass the entire Israeli colonial system that demands permits for events in the public arena. Thousands of people would walk along the road as passers-by while the actual events were only conducted indoors, with each activity conducted inside its specialized organization. Theater performances were conducted at the Palestinian National Theater—al Hakawati—while children’s inflatable castles and slides were installed on the grounds of St George School. English literature exams were conducted at the British Council and artisan booths were all installed in the big yard of the Dominican Church, while other arts exhibitions and singing performances were under the Church’s protection. We were able to evoke pride and enthusiasm among the thousands of local and foreign visitors, not only for our ability to defy Israeli policies, but also for our ability to create a successful cultural tourism model in the heart of our city, based on steadfastness, on networking and coordination among the different institutions and organizations existing along the Road, and on the readiness to defy the abyss that has been imposed on us for so long.
Like many Palestinians, the stories of Nakba and my family kept digging at the depths of my soul. When an Israeli-Dutch filmmaker and friend, Benny Bruner, with whom I worked in covering stories of Palestinians around the Wall, contacted me to present an important film project about the private libraries stolen from Palestinian homes during the Nakba, I jumped on the idea and simply opened channels for him to a trusted European donor that provided the required seed funds to initiate his important film. I also helped him to connect with elderly Palestinians who had witnessed the theft of their libraries. The Great Book Robbery was broadcast in 2012 on Al-Jazeera TV. It unraveled the systematic theft of hundreds of Palestinian private libraries by the Israeli army and its precursor, the Haganah, in cooperation with the Israeli National Library. The books included priceless volumes of Palestinian Arab and Muslim literature, including poetry, works of history and fiction. Thousands of the books were destroyed and recycled for paper, while many others remain in the Israeli National Library, designated as “abandoned property,” although many of the Palestinian owners are still suffering through the atrocities of their losses.
All the above modest personal stories that I have lived through with my family are nothing compared to the Israeli revenge policies faced by many of the cultural organizers and activists. I was just a volunteer in all these creative cultural events. Israeli police and tax agents’ raids on hotels, restaurants and shops in Jerusalem, or the several police orders to close the theaters just one hour before the performance, as well as Israeli army destruction of rehabilitated Maqams/shrines, the arrest of tour guides and hikers in the West Bank, were all but a small price that had to be endured following the evident success of the cultural events. No regret or complaint was ever expressed, as we all understand well that fighting for our Palestinian cultural identity and heritage is priceless and remains an important pillar for the decolonization of our beloved country. Tomorrow will definitely be a better day as we remain armed with the inspiring heritage of our ancestors and the dreams of our beloved children.
Our national poet, Mahmoud Darwish, has said it all:
On this land, we have what makes life worth living,
April’s hesitation
The aroma of bread at dawn
A woman’s beseeching of men
The writings of Aeschylus
Love’s beginning
Moss on a stone
Mothers standing on a flute’s thread
And the invader’s fear of memories
We have on this land all of that which makes life worth living…
On this land
The mother of all beginnings
And the mother of all end
She was called Palestine
Her name later became Palestine
My lady …
Because you are my lady
I have all of that which makes life worth living.
11 Since Salah Eddin Ayyoubi, who defeated the Crusaders in 1187, and throughout the period of Ottoman rule, the Nabi Musa festival emerged as the largest Islamic festival in the region, consisting of a one week celebration and pilgrimage to Moses’ tomb, southwest of Jericho. It culminated in a gathering at the shrine on the Friday preceding the Greek Orthodox Easter weekend. Salah al-Din invented the phenomenon of religious “seasons”, distributing them geographically at a specific time that falls between March and April of each year to cover entire Palestine, around the period when the Christian pilgrims came to visit the holy places; keeping the country in a state of full alert, to prevent the exploitation of pilgrimage through aggression. However, the festival evolved into an active element in the formation of Palestinian nationalism and a resistance mobilizing event against the colonial British where political riots erupted in April 1920 and in 1921.
12 The house of Hajj Amin Al-Husseini was the home of flag until they decided to gather at Haram Sharif Square in 1937. Women participated in this occasion by ululating to greet the masses or spraying rose water and dressing specifically for the procession. The delegations of the procession would arrive from the neighboring villages of Jerusalem carrying their banners. The daluna, the folk dabkes were all part of the procession together with traditional food.
13 Raed Saadeh is the co-founder and chairman of the Jerusalem Tourism Cluster and the co-founder and chairman of Rozana Association for Rural Tourism Development, based in Birzeit. Mr. Saadeh is also the owner and general manager of the Jerusalem Hotel, a boutique hotel in Jerusalem, a former president of the Arab (Palestinian) Hotel Association (AHA), and the co-founder of the Network for Experiential Palestinian Tourism Organizations (NEPTO).