Jerusalem has been at the heart of Israeli colonial policy in Palestine for more than 74 years. The city and its residents have been subjected to policies of forced displacement, ethnic cleansing, erasure and removal, Judaization, forced impoverishment, and a siege that has suffocated Jerusalemites. During this time, Israel has worked to strip the city of its historic Palestinian Arab character, in clear violation of international law. After former US President Donald Trump announced in 2017 that he would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of the occupying Israeli state and transfer the US embassy from Tel Aviv, Palestinians suffered a heightened campaign of attacks against the city, which continues to suffer the catastrophic repercussions of Trump’s decision.

Given the importance and urgency of this issue in light of the increasingly brutal colonial war on Jerusalem and its residents, the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and the Institute for Palestine Studies are holding a lecture titled “Jerusalem and the Battle for Survival,” presented by Nazmi Al-Jubeh, Professor of History at Birzeit University. The event, as part of the Annual Nakba Lecture series, will take place at 6PM on Saturday, 18 June 2022, in the main auditorium of the Arab Center in Doha.

The lecture explores the growing Israeli escalation in the city of Jerusalem, the geographical, demographic, and urban changes the city has been subjected to since its occupation in 1948, the impact of regional and international changes for Jerusalem and its population, and the Palestinian resistance to these enforced changes.

In 2021, the Arab Center and the Institute for Palestine Studies launched the “Annual Nakba Lecture,” with the first lecturer, Arab intellectual and General Director of the Arab Center, Azmi Bishara presenting “On the Continuity of the Nakba.”

Following the lecture, the Arab Center will launch the website: Jerusalem Story, which is the first website to present the complete story of Jerusalem, with content in the form of text, videos, photos, and infographics documenting life under the Israeli occupation and its settlement projects, with a focus on the daily stories of Jerusalemites, the history of their city, and the fabric of their social relations. It offers a directory of Palestinian organizations operating in Jerusalem, and a blog that explores the city of Jerusalem.

The Arab Center and the Institute for Palestine Studies will livestream the lecture on their social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube), and provide simultaneous translation into English.