By Walid Khalidi, www.palestine-studies.org/ – 30 Nov 2009
On 30 November 2009, Walid Khalidi, renowned Palestinian historian and co-founder and General Secretary of the Institute for Palestine Studies, was the keynote speaker at a special UN event commemorating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Focused on Jerusalem, the address emphasized the recent vintage of the Jewish-Muslim conflict over the holy city, which began only with the advent of Zionism. While Khalidi ends by outlining what he sees as the “pillars” of an honorable and peaceful solution for Jerusalem today, he devotes most of his speech to a historical overview of the city, with particular emphasis on the millennium-plus period of Muslim rule (including Islam’s relationship to its Judaic and Christian antecedents), the 1947 UN resolution, and the transformation of the city since its conquest in 1967.
The commemorative event at which Khalidi spoke, which was held in the UN’s Trusteeship Council Hall, was sponsored by the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
