The media usually talks about ‘the Palestinians’ as if they were a mono-cultural unit. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Palestinian community has a wealth of cultures, with roots in diverse regions, from Africa to Armenia and even India. Nine portraits of Palestinians that sketch the colourful diversity of this community.

‘My father came to Jerusalem in 1915 as a Christian refugee from Turkey. He ended up in a German orphanage and was trained as a shoemaker. He was a true craftsman and his store became famous. Jewish refugees who came here from Europe after World War II were amazed that he spoke German.’
Sami himself, who prefers to be called by his first name and makes a decidedly youthful impression, was born in Jerusalem in 1935. He became a tailor and gained the same excellent reputation in his trade as his father had in his. In addition, he became muktar (representative) of the Syriac community in his city, which numbers about 500 people. In this capacity, he has met numerous dignitaries over the years. In a book he wrote about his life, dozens of photos attest to that fact. ‘The Syriac Church is the first holy, universal and apostolic church of Christianity’, he says proudly.

With a little wink, Sami explains that he considers himself a man of five nationalities: Ottoman because of his father’s ancestry, British because he was born at the time of the British Mandate, Jordanian because East Jerusalem was Jordanian territory after 1948, Israeli because his city is currently under Israeli rule, and Palestinian because he is, above all, part of the Palestinian community.
As a muktar, Sami has traveled extensively, both in the Middle East and to the US, Canada and India. In the process, it was quite convenient that he speaks an impressive range of languages : English, Aramaic, Arabic, Hebrew, Armenian, Turkish and German.
Although officially retired, Sami is still in his tailor store every day. He gets frequent calls from American Jewish students who are sent to study in Jerusalem by their Orthodox parents. ‘Then I mend a pair of pants or a shirt and have a chat. Above all, you have to stay active, that’s important.’
In a friendly gesture, he confronts his clients with the wisdom that his eventful life and respectable age have taught him: ‘Respect everyone, hate no one and you will live as long as I have.’

‘I prefer to call Jerusalem Al Quds. That name expresses the Palestinian presence in this city much better. That presence, by the way, is distinctly diverse: French, Greek, Indian, Domari, African, Armenian… None of these are Arabs but they are all Palestinians. We consider these groups all part of the texture of Palestinian society. Everyone who was here before 1967, when Israel took control of East Jerusalem, is part of the Palestinian community.’
Raed Saadeh is not only the owner of the beautiful, historic Jerusalem Hotel, but also a strong advocate for tourism to Palestine. Among other things, his Jerusalem Tourism Cluster organizes the annual ‘Nablus Road Open Days’ activity, which aims to showcase the diversity of this important street – and, in fact, of all of Palestine.
‘Walking down Nablus Road,’ he explains ‘you will pass, among others, the White Sisters, the Schmidt Schule, the Garden Tomb, the Dominicans, the Saad wa Said Mosque, the America House, the British Council, the Jerusalem Prayer House, the Anglican St George’s School, the American Colony Hotel and a host of Palestinian institutions. Such richness! In all, as many as 35 locations are participating in the Open Days. So much cultural diversity on one street!’

Mr. Saadeh does not only speak enthusiastically about the diversity of his city, but is also able to make it visible and tangible for visitors. To illustrate this, he takes us to the interactive exhibits on the bottom floor of his hotel. There is a large scale model of Al Quds with 26 movable parts representing buildings and communities. When you put them in their proper place, a large screen provides background information. There is also an Augmented Reality Mirror, in which you see yourself dressed in a variety of historical costumes: both funny and educational. And there are VR glasses, which take you back to various periods and locations in the city.
It is tempting to stay here for the rest of the day. But if you do, you have, of course, misunderstood the message. That message is: get out, walk into the city and soak up the views, sounds, smells and colors of the impressive and extremely diverse city we know as Jerusalem, but which is also called Al Quds.

We met him before at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where he and his congregation have their own chapel: the Chapel of St Nicodemus. Then he wore a handsome purple vestment, quilted red and yellow, and led the Syriac worship service, one of the several Christian denominations that abound in Jerusalem. Now he welcomes us to his modest room at St. Mark’s Monastery: Daroyo (‘Father’) Boulus. ‘Boulus is Aramaic for Paul,’ he explains, ‘the language that Jesus spoke and that I also master.’ There are not very many people left in Jerusalem who speak Aramaic, and one of the tasks Boulos has set himself is to revive this ancient language.

‘When COVID-19 broke out and the country went into lockdown, I sat here in my room and asked God: what do you want me to do? Shall I use my solitude to translate the gospel into Aramaic? The next day I noticed that there was a dove in my window. I understood this was a sign from God and got to work. I worked ten hours a day on the translation: five hours in the morning and five hours in the evening, following the same ritual each time. Phone off, candle lit, incense, hand on the Bible to bless it and then get to work. It took me 40 days to translate the four gospels. In total, I hand-wrote them twelve times to make sure they were perfect. The whole project took me two years. A dictionary? No need. If you search for ‘Syriac dictionary’ on Google, you will get to a translation site. I benefited greatly from that.’
In the corner of the room are huge stacks of the translated gospels: Father Boulus has printed 500 of them. All in a fourth-century font. ‘There is also a modern letter type, but I think that old font gives my translation more historical value. I want to stay as close as possible to the time when the gospels were written: in the first century.’

‘My grandfather came from Chad. My father was born in Jerusalem and married a Palestinian woman. As a child, I participated in the activities that the older generation organized for us, and when I became an adult myself, I decided that I wanted to contribute to the realization of activities for our community.’
Seated on a wall on Ala-Al Deen Street, where the African Community Society occupies two buildings opposite each other, Ma’ala tells her story. About 50 African Palestinian families live on this street, about 300 people all together. Long ago, their homes were built as overnight accommodations for pilgrims. The Ottomans turned them into prisons. At the beginning of the British Mandate, in 1918, African Palestinians were allowed to settle there.

‘We did a survey of the needs of the families and the children. We try to respond to that. We help with the resources so that the people can organize things themselves. One example are the summer camps. During one of these camps, one group took a course in percussion, using African drums. Another group did dabke: a traditional folk dance that is popular Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. Soon we hope to introduce afro dabke: a mix of African dance, with percussion, and dabke. That should be fun.’
One of the African Community Society’s goals is to better integrate Africans with the rest of the Palestinian community in Jerusalem, Ma’ali explains. ‘In addition to summer camps, where participants sleep at home, we want to organize trips, for example to Ramallah, Bethlehem and the Golan Heights. We are also organizing extra-curricular lessons, usually led by students who are proficient in subjects such as Arabic, English, mathematics and physics. Our children need to be confronted with success stories and get into contact with individuals who can serve as role models. Then there is a greater chance that they themselves will want to pursue an education. Because in that area there is still a lot to be gained.’

Hagop Karashian has an understated, almost modest way of speaking. But everything he says is worth hearing. He takes us to a corner in his fine ceramics store and begins to speak. In a soft tone, but we hang on his every word.
‘In 1919, during the British mandate, Governor Sir Ronald Storrs wanted all the ceramic tiles of the Dome of the Rock restored. This had not been done since the 16th century. So he had three ceramics craftsmen come over from Turkey. One of them was my grandfather. The Armenian Genocide in Turkey was still in full swing at that time. They made some trial tiles that were very much to the liking of the British. But objections arose to Armenian Christians doing work for one of Islam’s holiest sites, so on second thought their commission was cancelled. So my grandfather and his colleagues opened a ceramics workshop, the first in Jerusalem. My father and I followed in his footsteps. As a matter of fact, my father is responsible for all the trilingual street name tiles in Hebrew, Arabic and English.’

Although Hagop represents only the third generation of Karakashians in Jerusalem, the Armenian community here is in fact very old. Armenia was the first country to accept the Christian faith, in the year 301. Many Armenians came to Jerusalem as pilgrims. ‘From the fifth century onwards, the Armenian community grew larger: they bought land, built a church, and so the Armenian Quarter came into being. Today however, the Armenian community is as small as about 1,200 people.’
A major inspiration for the ceramics Karakashian designs is the Tree of Life, as displayed in a famous Byzantine mosaic in Jericho. In addition, birds are also popular motifs. He shows the design of a vineyard with birds eating from the grapes. The vine symbolizes Jesus, and the birds eat from it to obtain eternal life.
Which are his customers? ‘Mainly locals, both Palestinians and Israelis, sometimes diplomats. Tourists like to attend our workshops.’ And then, softly and with a smile: ‘Afterwards they have a lot of respect for our profession.’