Introduction:

In this episode of Jerusalem Track, MIFTAH visited the Old City’s African Quarter. The African community is one of the many micro-communities located in Jerusalem’s Old City, facing the same challenges and restrictions imposed by Israeli occupation authorities against all Palestinian Jerusalemites.

The African community in Palestine dates back to the early 19th century when Muslim immigrants from Chad, Sudan, Nigeria and Senegal came and settled in Jerusalem after making pilgrimage to Mecca. Afro Palestinians have played an important role in Palestinian history since, and many have become leading political figures.

We met community leaders Mousa and Maali at the African Community Society, located right outside of the main gate of the Al Aqsa Mosque. Maali talks about her identity as a woman from the Afro-Palestinian community. Women from Jerusalem’s African community are persecuted on three fronts: 1. Being Palestinian, 2. Being a woman and 3. Being Afro-Palestinian. Her identity plays a unique role in Palestinian society and it is one that she is proud to hold.