Who are the Palestinians?
Rashid Khalidi is Professor of Middle East History, Director of the Center for
International Studies at the University of Chicago, author of Palestinian Identity and a former Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center.
The Balfour Declaration which established the British mandate over Palestine did not even mention the Palestinians as people. That non-recognition is emblematic of the difficulties they have faced in trying to achieve a self-identity that would support political self-government. Yet Palestinian identity is a fact. Rashid Khalidi depicts its historic roots and current expression.