Birzeit professors explore urban transformations of Old City in new book

Director of the Master Program in Israeli Studies at Birzeit University Dr. Munir Fakher Eldin recently published a book on the urban landscape of the Old City in Jerusalem. Entitled “Jerualem Properties and Endowments: A Study of the Old City Estates in the Twentieth Century,” the book is co-written by Salim Tamari, professor emeritus of sociology at Birzeit University.

Published by the Institute for Palestine Studies and the Taawon Organization, the book highlights the features of the Old City’s urban space, and its historical and social significance, by exploring the types of property ownership and charitable endowments within that area in the 20th century.

Readers are presented with information on the forms of ownership and the approximate number of properties - with descriptions of each - in the Old City in the form of charts and graphs.

The book also features the results of the Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization Program, initiated by the Taawon Organization, in cooperation with the Mapping and Geographic System Department of the Arab Studies Society.

The information presented in the book, including the results of the Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization Program, is part of an effort to explore the historical context of ownership modalities and understand the causes and implications of the urban transformations in Palestine.