Palestinian Historian Walid Khalidi Passed Away

Prominent Palestinian historian Walid Khalidi has died at 101 years old, marking the passing of one of the most influential scholars of modern Palestinian history. Throughout his career, Khalidi played a central role in documenting Palestinian society and shaping academic understanding of the Palestinian question and the broader Arab-Israeli conflict.

Born in 1925 in Jerusalem, Khalidi pursued his higher education at University of Oxford, where he began his academic career. In 1956, he resigned from his position there in protest of Britain’s participation in the Suez Crisis, the military assault on Egypt carried out by Britain, France, and Israel.

Khalidi later became one of the founding figures of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in 1963 as an independent research center dedicated to the study of the Palestinian cause and the Arab-Israeli conflict. He served as the institute’s secretary-general for decades, remaining in the role until 2016.

In addition to his institutional work, Khalidi built a distinguished academic career. He served as a professor of political studies at the American University of Beirut until 1982. He later became a fellow at the Harvard Center for International Affairs and a research associate at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. He also taught at Princeton University.

Khalidi was widely known for his scholarly work on the Nakba and on Israeli plans for the displacement of Palestinians. His research helped preserve historical records of Palestinian communities and brought international academic attention to the events surrounding the creation of Israel in 1948.

Among his most influential works are Before Their Diaspora, a photographic essay documenting Palestinian society before 1948, and All That Remains, an encyclopedic reference on Palestinian villages depopulated during the 1948 Nakba, which he edited.

Khalidi’s scholarship and institutional leadership left a lasting impact on Palestinian historiography and the global academic study of the Middle East. His work continues to serve as a key reference for researchers, historians, and students seeking to understand the history of Palestine.

©TNPP