West Jerusalem

What was life like for the Palestinians who lived in West Jerusalem before 1948? West Jerusalem holds a complex and layered history. Before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, West Jerusalem was not the exclusively Jewish area we see today. It was home to a thriving Palestinian community, part of the “New City” that was growing beyond the walls of the Old City. This New City was a cosmopolitan hub, where Palestinians built homes, businesses and lives. They contributed to the development of this emerging urban center, enjoying a diverse and vibrant cultural scene. However, the events of 1948 dramatically altered the landscape of West Jerusalem. During the war, the area was violently emptied of its Arab population, with an estimated 30,000 Palestinians fleeing or being evicted from their homes. This tragic displacement left only a small fraction of the original Palestinian population, around 750 people, mainly Greeks residing in the Greek colony neighborhood. The war’s aftermath saw the division of Jerusalem, with West Jerusalem coming under Israeli control and East Jerusalem under Jordanian rule. The Green Line, a demarcation line established in 1949, solidified this separation. The once-cosmopolitan New City was transformed into an exclusively Jewish area. The Palestinian presence in West Jerusalem was almost entirely erased, leaving behind a legacy of displacement and loss.