Palestine 108: 10 Palestinians to Know
Notable Palestinian figures both past and present
Welcome to Palestine 108! This is the eighth post in our series meant to provide introductory information on Palestine's history, culture, and politics. If you’ve wanted to learn more about the situation in Palestine but have felt confused or overwhelmed by the amount of information out there, this series is for you!
In this post, we will be highlighting some of Palestine’s most notable figures throughout history. This post primarily touches on political figures, scholars, and activists, but you can read more about Palestinian artists here!
Fadwa Tuqan (1917-2003)
Tuqan was a poet whose work largely focused on the struggles of Arab women living under the oppression of patriarchal society. Her poetry drew on her own experiences growing up in a conservative family and is something many women still resonate strongly with today. She often drew comparisons between the fight for Palestinian liberation and the struggle against the patriarchy, at times juxtaposing the resilience of the land and the strength of women. Tuqan’s writing is popular across the Middle East because of the way that she both challenges the societal limitations placed upon women and encourages those fighting for an end to the Zionist occupation.
Edward Said (1935-2003)
Said is one of the most influential Palestinian Americans because of his extensive work challenging common cultural representations of the Middle East. He received a BA in English from Princeton and an MA and PhD from Harvard in English Literature. As a literature professor at Columbia University, he established the post-colonial studies program. He is most well-known for his book, Orientalism, a cultural critique of the modern Western perceptions of the Middle East. Said was the only professor in Columbia’s history to have bulletproof windows in their office. He also loved music, as exemplified in the several books he wrote and his establishment of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.
Alex Odeh (1944-1985)
Alex Odeh was an activist who dedicated his life to defending Arab and Palestinian-American civil rights. He focused on combating the harmful stereotyping of Arabs, and also advocated for building inter-faith community connections between Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Throughout his career Odeh was the target of numerous death threats, and in 1985, while serving as the West Coast regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discriminatory Committee, he was assassinated by a pipe bomb. Despite evidence that the Jewish Defense League was likely responsible for the bombing, no arrests were ever made, and the case is still open today.
Leila Khaled (1944-present)
Khaled is a freedom fighter best known for her work as a member of the PFLP. After becoming involved in the resistance as a teenager, she became the first woman to hijack a plane in 1969. No passengers were injured, but the plane was blown up by the PFLP after everyone disembarked. During the flight, she forced the pilot to fly over Haifa so she could see the town where she was born, and where Palestinians were later displaced from. She participated in another plane hijacking before being arrested, though she was later released as part of a hostage exchange. Khaled has continued to remain active in the movement for Palestinian liberation, and she will always be a symbol of women’s involvement in the resistance.
Hanan Ashrawi (1946-present)
Politician and activist Hanan Ashrawi began her career in the 1990s as a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Leadership Committee. In 1991, she served as an official spokesperson for the Palestinian delegation at the Madrid Peace Conference. She has worked for the Palestinian Authority, Birzeit University, and the Palestinian Legislative Council. In 2009, she was elected as a member of the Executive Committee of the PLO, becoming the first woman to hold a seat in the highest executive body in Palestine. Ashrawi has founded multiple organizations that work to support the Palestinian cause, and she serves on the board of many others across the world.
Rashid Khalidi (1948-present)
As a Palestinian-American historian of the Middle East, Khalidi became the Edward Said Professor Emeritus of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University. Unfortunately, he and Said never worked side-by-side because of Said’s early death from Leukemia. He received a BA from Yale and a PhD from Oxford. Khalidi is most well-known for his book, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine, which is broken down into several “declarations of war” on the Palestinian people between 1917 and 2017. His uncle, Husayn Fakhri al-Khalidi, was mayor of Jerusalem from 1935 to 1937 and the 13th Prime Minister of Jordan in 1957.
Yasser Arafat (1929-2004)
Arafat paved the way for the fight for liberation with his role in the establishment of Fatah. As a political leader, he was also a chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and was president of both the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Throughout his life, he was an Arab nationalist and socialist. He was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the negotiations of the Oslo Accords. Arafat relocated around the Middle East several times depending on where his leadership was needed until his passing in 2004. He is sometimes criticized for being too submissive to Israel but is still largely regarded as a martyr by Palestinians.
Marwan Barghouti (1959-present)
Barghouti is known as the leader of the First and Second Intifadas. At 18, he was arrested in Israel for his involvement with Fatah. He became fluent in Hebrew and finished high school during his four years in jail. Soon after, he received BAs in History and Political Science before receiving an MA in international relations. He remained working with a paramilitary Fatah offshoot, Tanzim, where he became the leader. He was most recently arrested in 2002 and charged with 5 life sentences concerning an attack in Israel. Despite multiple exchange negotiations, Barghouti remains in prison and vehemently calls for a Third Intifada.
Yahya Sinwar (1962-2024)
As a resistance fighter, Sinwar served as the political and military leader of Hamas until he was killed by the IOF in October of last year. He was born in a refugee camp in Khan Younis after his family was displaced in 1948. Sinwar became involved with Hamas in his early 20s, and served 22 years in prison before being released in a 2011 prisoner swap. Even though there are conflicting feelings towards his tactics as the leader of Hamas, his murder was felt throughout the Palestinian resistance movement, and he is widely regarded as a martyr. In the video showing his death, he wears military fatigues and a keffiyeh, and throws a stick at the drone despite his injuries. He was preceded by Ismail Haniyeh, the former chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau until the IOF killed him in July of 2024, but Sinwar’s successor has not yet been named.
Shireen Abu Akleh (1971-2022)
Abu Akleh was a journalist and reporter for Al Jazeera for 25 years. Because she was in on-the-ground footage in the middle of direct conflict, she was celebrated as a cultural figure who always shone a light on the horrors unleashed on Palestinians. She served as a role model to women and girls across the Middle East because of her icon status. While covering a raid in Jenin, she was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier, despite wearing a blue “Press” vest. Israel investigated her death, ruling she was hit with “indiscriminate” gunfire, however, Forensic Architecture refuted this and claimed she was deliberately targeted. When the US Department of Justice investigated her death, Israel refused to cooperate. Her death drew widespread criticism of Israel.
Any other people you’ve been wanting to learn about? Shoot us a message here and we’ll be happy to help!
I hadn’t heard of Fadwa Tuqun before! Just ordered a collection of her poems. Thanks for the list!
So sobering. So much suffering. Our leaders are a sham. The institution prefers not to see.