The Palestinian diaspora (, al-shatat al-filastini), part of the wider Arab diaspora, refers to Palestinians living outside the region of Palestine, which includes the modern states of Israel and Palestine. 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.Sharon Farmer. The Silk Industries of Medieval Paris. Artisanal Migration, Technological Innovation, and Gendered Experience, Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania, 2017, p. 93. 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.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, 1992Between Argentines and Arabs: Argentine orientalism, Arab immigrants, and the writing of identity, Christina Civantos, SUNY Press, 2005, p. 6.Arab and Jewish immigrants in Latin America: images and realities, by Ignacio Klich, Jeff Lesser, 1998, pp. 165, 108.
The 1922 census of Palestine estimated the Palestinian citizens living abroad as 4,054 Muslims, 6,264 Jews, 10,107 Christians, and 181 Druze.
Since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Palestinians have emigrated to host countries around the world. In addition to the 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.John Tofik Karam, "On the Trail and Trial of a Palestinian Diaspora…" http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9070730 These refugees make up the majority of the Palestinian diaspora. Others emigrated for work and educational opportunities. In the decade following the 1967 war, an average of Palestinians per year were forced out of Israeli-controlled areas.Palestine Refugees: 50 Years of Injustice", The Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations", (28 Nov. 2002) 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 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 since 2001.
The issue of the Palestinian right of return has been of central importance to Palestinians and more broadly the Arab world since 1948. It is the dream of many in the Palestinian diaspora, and is present most strongly in Palestinian refugee camps. 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. 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.
Population figures In 2012, it was estimated that more than 6 million Palestinians live in the diaspora.
The countries outside Palestine and Israel with significant Palestinian populations are: Jordan Syria Chile (largest Palestinian community outside the Middle East). Lebanon Saudi Arabia Egypt United States (the largest concentrations in Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles; History of Palestinians in Los Angeles). Honduras Guatemala est. Mexico Qatar Germany Kuwait El Salvador Brazil Iraq Yemen Canada Australia Libya Puerto Rico est. Greece est. United Kingdom est. (2001)– (2017) Peru Denmark Colombia Japan est. Paraguay Netherlands 9000 Sweden 7000 Algeria 4030 Austria 4010 Norway 3825 The rest of Latin America, India, Russia, Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia has fairly small Palestinian populations.
Most of the estimated 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 - people of Palestinian origin residing in the city (~1% of the total population).
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.
Notable Palestinians in the diaspora Ricardo Abumohor, Chilean businessman, owner of Primera División club O'Higgins Sami Al-Arian, activist and professor Sama Alshaibi, Iraqi designer and conceptual artist Raed Arafat, Romanian physician and politician, founder of SMURD Alex Atala, Brazilian chef Belly, Canadian rapper Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador, former mayor of San Salvador Nagwa Fouad, Egyptian belly dancer Nathalie Handal, Haitian poet and playwright Rima Hassan, French politician and member of the European Parliament Sam Husseini, American writer and activist Antoine Izméry, Haitian businessman and activist Raed Jarrar, American architect DJ Khaled, American DJ and music producer Miguel Littín, Chilean film director Lina Meruane, Chilean novelist Belal Muhammad, American mixed martial artist and former UFC Welterweight Champion Ruba Nadda, Canadian film director Salvador Nasralla, Vice President of Honduras, former sports journalist Nasri, Canadian pop singer Mouin Rabbani, Dutch-Palestinian Middle East analyst Edward Said, Palestinian-American intellectual Rakad Salem, Iraqi politician Linda Sarsour, American political activist Rashida Tlaib, American politician, lawyer Jorge Yarur Banna, Chilean banker Gabriel Zaid, Mexican novelist and poet José Zalaquett, Chilean lawyer and human rights activist
See also 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries in the 20th century 1949–56 Palestinian exodus 1967 Palestinian exodus Palestinian exodus from Kuwait (Gulf War) List of Palestinians
References
External links Shaml - The Palestinian Diaspora and Refugee Centre The Palestinian Christian Diaspora in Jordan The French Le Monde Diplomatique ("The Diplomatic World") has two web sites with more accurate information on the Palestinian diaspora: The global Palestinian diaspora in the world (in French), Fébruary 2000; The Palestinian Refugee population in the Middle East (in French), Fébruary 2000.