The Afro-Palestinians of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Nation

This chapter discusses the history of the Afro-Palestinian community of Jerusalem and how Afro-Palestinians relate to the Palestinian nation at large. It thus tackles the nexus of migration, race and religious identity in the context of emerging and competing national narratives. To do so, the chapter first gives a historical background on the Afro-Palestinian community. This is followed by a brief discussion of Palestinian history and the literature on Palestinian identity formation. The subsequent two core sections discuss internal and external perspectives: how do the Afro-Palestinians view themselves, and how are they embedded into the wider Palestinian society? The chapter argues that Renan’s notion of collective suffering serves as a good explanatory frame as to why Afro-Palestinians consider themselves to be Palestinians and try to overcome their status as a diaspora community. Afro-Palestinians’ central role in the national struggle helps them to at least partially overcome racial stigmatisation and be recognised by the rest of society.