The young Palestinians active in the current Jerusalem protests were infants when the PLO’s headquarters in Jerusalem were ordered temporarily closed for six months on Aug. 9, 2001, along with nine other Palestinian organizations. Fourteen years later, the six-month closure has been repeatedly renewed along with the Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce.

A question that has been publicly asked is whether the reopening of Orient House would help in restoring a local Palestinian leadership that has been decimated for the past two decades.

Faisal Husseini, the son of Palestinian leader Abdel Qader Husseini, who was killed in the 1948 war, attempted to establish himself as a local leader by getting involved in public affairs. Under Faisal Husseini’s guidance, the Arab Studies Society was established in 1980, registered in Israel as a public institute and was located in the historic Orient House building, which the Husseini family owns. Like any think tank, the society held lectures and conferences and housed a big public library.

The website of the Arab Studies Society says Orient House was the site of many diplomatic functions, including a tea party in honor of German Emperor Wilhelm II when he visited Jerusalem in 1898. Hashemite Emir Abdullah, former King Ali and Prince Zeid accepted condolences at Orient House when their father, Sharif Hussein bin Ali (who had been sharif of Mecca), was buried in the Haram al-Sharif in 1931.

Ishaq Buderi, who has administratively headed the Arab Studies Society since its launch, told Al-Monitor that after the first intifada began in 1987, Husseini’s efforts were focused on the political and then the negotiations process. “Orient House eventually became the leading address for diplomats and politicians in the runup to the Madrid talks; the Arab Studies Society became its academic arm and think tank.”

Continue Reading »