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Palestinian diaspora

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The Palestinian diaspora (Arabic: الشتات الفلسطيني, al-shatat al-filastini), part of the wider Arab diaspora, refers to Palestinians living outside the region of Palestine and Israel. There are about 6.1 million members of the Palestinian diaspora, most of whom live in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Chile.

History

Migration of Palestinians is not a modern phenomenon. Silk workers from Tiberias are mentioned in 13th-century Parisian tax records.[1] However, large-scale emigration of Arab Christians began in the mid-19th century. Contributing factors included economic opportunity, avoidance of military service, and localized conflicts.[2][3][4]

The 1922 census of Palestine listed 4,054 Muslims, 6,264 Jews, 10,107 Christians, and 181 Druze living abroad.[5]

Since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Palestinians have emigrated to host countries around the world.[6] In addition to the 700000 Palestinian refugees of 1948, hundreds of thousands were displaced in the Six-Day War. After 1967, young Palestinian men were encouraged to migrate to South America.[7] These refugees make up the majority of the Palestinian diaspora.[6][8] Others emigrated for work and educational opportunities. [9][10] In the decade following the 1967 war, an average of 21000 Palestinians per year were forced out of Israeli-controlled areas.[11] Emigration continued during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Population

In the absence of a comprehensive census including all Palestinian diaspora populations and those that remained within the area once known as the Mandatory Palestine, exact population figures are difficult to determine. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the number of Palestinians worldwide at the end of 2003 was 9.6 million, an increase of 800000 since 2001.[12]

Nazareth-born singer Elyanna, 2024

The issue of the Palestinian right of return has been of central importance to Palestinians and more broadly the Arab world since 1948.[6] It is the dream of many in the Palestinian diaspora, and is present most strongly in Palestinian refugee camps.[13] In the largest such camp in Lebanon, Ain al-Hilweh, neighborhoods are named for the Galilee towns and villages from which the original refugees came, such as Az-Zeeb, Safsaf and Hittin.[13] Even though 97% of the camp's inhabitants have never seen the towns and villages their parents and grandparents left behind, most insist that the right of return is an inalienable right and one that they will never renounce.[13]

Population figures

In 2012, it was estimated that more than 6 million Palestinians live in the diaspora.[14]

The countries outside Palestine and Israel with significant Palestinian populations are:

Most of the estimated 100000 Palestinians in the European Union (EU) are in Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. Outside the EU is the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland. Germany's capital, Berlin, has one of the largest Palestinian communities outside the Middle East with about 30000-40000 people of Palestinian origin residing in the city (~1% of the total population).[16]

In the United States, this includes a Palestinian community of 800-1000 in Gallup, New Mexico, highly involved in the area's Southwest jewelry industry.[17] [citation needed]

Notable Palestinians in the diaspora

See also

References

  1. ↑ Sharon Farmer. The Silk Industries of Medieval Paris. Artisanal Migration, Technological Innovation, and Gendered Experience, Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania, 2017, p. 93.
  2. ↑ The Lebanese in the world: a century of emigration, Albert Habib Hourani, Nadim Shehadi, Centre for Lebanese Studies (Great Britain), Centre for Lebanese Studies in association with I.B. Tauris, 1992
  3. ↑ Between Argentines and Arabs: Argentine orientalism, Arab immigrants, and the writing of identity, Christina Civantos, SUNY Press, 2005, p. 6.
  4. ↑ Arab and Jewish immigrants in Latin America: images and realities, by Ignacio Klich, Jeff Lesser, 1998, pp. 165, 108.
  5. ↑ Palestine Census ( 1922).
  6. 1 2 3 "The Palestinian Diaspora". Le Monde Diplomatique. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
  7. ↑ John Tofik Karam, "On the Trail and Trial of a Palestinian Diaspora…" http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9070730
  8. ↑ "Middle East: Palestine from www.persecution.org". www.persecution.org. February 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
  9. ↑ "Saudi Arabia finances study abroad for Palestinian students". The embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C. 2007-04-25. Archived from the original on 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
  10. ↑ "Swarthmore Senior Founds Organization for Palestinian Students in U.S." Swarthmore. March 27, 2006. Archived from the original on July 19, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
  11. ↑ Palestine Refugees: 50 Years of Injustice", The Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations", (28 Nov. 2002)
  12. ↑ "Statistical Abstract of Palestine No. 5" (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. October 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-12-11. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
  13. 1 2 3 "One Day We'll Rise Again - and Return". Al-Ahram Weekly. 28 October – 3 November 1999. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
  14. ↑ "The Palestinian Diaspora | Global Exchange". Archived from the original on 2013-01-01. Retrieved 2012-12-12.
  15. ↑ Courbage, Youssef; Nofal, Hala. "Palestinians Worldwide: A Demographic Study" (PDF). Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  16. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.schule-ohne-rassismus.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ↑ Leduff, Charlie (18 July 2003). "Gallup Journal; Tension over Who Prospers in an Indian Capital". The New York Times.
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