Al-Quds Arab Capital of Culture ( ar, القدس عاصمة الثقافة العربية) was the name given to

Arab Capital of Culture The Arab Capital of Culture is an initiative taken by the Arab League under the UNESCO Cultural Capitals Program to promote and celebrate Arab culture and encourage cooperation in the Arab region. Cultural capitals Map See also * * ...

programme in 2009. The programme, organised by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

and the Arab League, is designed to promote

Arab culture Arab culture is the culture of the Arabs, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast. The various religions the Arab ...

and encourage cooperation in the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

. The 2009 event was the 14th programme since its establishment in 1996. Al-Quds is the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

name for

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, the proclaimed capital of the State of Palestine, although the seat of government and

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

capital is Ramallah. Many of the events were held in the

Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The ...

controlled by the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

. The opening event scheduled for January 2009 was delayed due to the Gaza War.Israel bans Palestinian cultural events

Ynet News Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the ''Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and writ ...

, 2009-03-20. It was held on March 21, 2009.Jerusalem Capital of Arab Culture 2009 festival begins Saturday
. Al-Quds Arab Capital of Culture Official Website

Launching of the events

Palestinian President The president of the State of Palestine is the head of state of Palestine. Yasser Arafat became the first titular president of the State of Palestine in 1989, one year after proclamation of independence. The title was originally titular, in par ...

Mahmoud Abbas officially launched the celebration of Jerusalem as the Capital of Arab Culture for 2009 at a ceremony in

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

. Simultaneous ceremonies were supposed to take place in Jerusalem, Gaza, Nazareth and Mar Elias refugee camp in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. These synchronized celebrations in five locations reflect the desire of building a cultural bridge between the

Palestinian people Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

in Palestine and the Palestinians in the diaspora. Israeli Internal Security Minister

Avi Dichter Avi Dichter ( he, אָבִי דִּיכְטֶר, ; born 14 December 1952) is an Israeli politician. A former Minister of Internal Security and Shin Bet director, he resigned from the Knesset and left Kadima in August 2012 in order to become M ...

instructed police to suppress PNA-sponsored events calling Jerusalem the "capital of Arab culture" because they constituted a violation of the interim agreement, which includes a clause stating that the PA is prohibited from organizing events in Israeli territory. On Dichter's orders, police shuttered eight planned events and detained twenty organizers and participants for questioning.Police arrest 20 at Palestinian 'culture event'

. 2009-03-21 The blocked events included a soccer match scheduled at a school on

Nablus Road Nablus Road (, ''Derekh Shekhem'', "Shechem Road") is one of the traditional routes radiating from Jerusalem's walled city. Starting at the Damascus Gate, it is the ancient road north. Places of interest * American Colony Hotel * Armenian Ceramics ...

, a conference for young women at the Al-Hiya'la Center, and marches in the

Wadi al-Joz Wadi al-Joz ( ar, وادي الجوز; he, ואדי אל-ג'וז), also Wadi Joz, an abbreviation of "Valley of Josaphat" or Valley of the Walnuts, is a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, located at the head of the Kidron Valley, north o ...

and

Sheikh Jarrah Sheikh Jarrah ( ar, الشيخ جراح, he, שייח' ג'ראח) is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, north of the Old City, on the road to Mount Scopus. It received its name from the 13th-century tomb of Sheikh Ja ...

neighborhoods. In addition, a group of Arab students was blocked from rallying at the

Temple Mount The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...

with PLO flags. A similar ceremony was blocked on the Haroun al-Rashid road. Events in

Ras al-Amud Ras al-Amud ( ar, راس العامود ) is a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem (which is under Israeli occupation), located southeast of the Old City of Jerusalem, overlooking the Palestinian neighborhoods of Silwan to the south and A ...

and

al-Tur At-Tur ( ar, الطور, lit. "The Mount" in Arabic) is an Arab-majority neighborhood on the Mount of Olives approximately 1 km east of the Old City of Jerusalem. At-Tur is situated in East Jerusalem, occupied and later effectively annexe ...

were also shut down.

Reactions to the Israeli ban

Palestinian president The president of the State of Palestine is the head of state of Palestine. Yasser Arafat became the first titular president of the State of Palestine in 1989, one year after proclamation of independence. The title was originally titular, in par ...

Mahmoud Abbas condemned the ban, emphasizing that "there will be no peace without Jerusalem."Abbas: Occupation will be removed from Jerusalem

. 2009-03-21 *

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

member

Ahmad Tibi Ahmad Tibi ( ar, أحمد الطيبي, , he, אַחְמָד טִיבִּי, , sometimes spelled Ahmed Tibi; born 19 December 1958) is a Palestinian-Israeli politician. The leader of the Ta'al party, he has served as a member of the Knesset s ...

said: "I guess the occupation feels threatened by the Palestinian culture and narrative. This is a struggle between occupying police and the songs of freedom and the song will win in the end." * Nazareth mayor

Ramiz Jaraisy Ramiz Jaraisy ( ar, رامز جرايسي, he, ראמז ג'ראיסי; born October 24, 1951) is an Arab-Israeli politician and the former mayor of Nazareth. Jaraisy was born in Israel. He holds a BSc in mechanical engineering (1973) and an MS ...

said: "I never thought they sraeli authoritieswould take it this far. After all, this is a cultural event." The mayor said Dichter was made aware of the planned festivities as early as March 11 but decided to wait nine days before issuing the order "to prevent a public outcry and legal action on our part. Dichter is trying to compete with (Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman)

Avigdor Lieberman Avigdor Lieberman (, ; russian: Эве́т Льво́вич Ли́берман, Evet Lvovich Liberman, ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician serving as Minister of Finance since 2021, having previously served twice as Deputy ...

's anti-Arab trend, and anyone who holds democracy and freedom of expression dear must condemn his position," he said. * As a reaction on the Israeli ban, the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

composer Merlijn Twaalfhoven initiated Al Quds Underground Festival. Palestinian and international artists created around 150 small theatre and music events in living rooms across the Old City. Access to the festival was on invitation only to avoid problems with the Israeli authorities. In 2010, the festival saw its second edition.

In the Gaza Strip

Spokesperson of the Ministry of the Interior Ihab al-Ghussein said that the celebrations for Al-Quds Arab Capital of Culture in March at the headquarters of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza.Gaza church accuses de facto government of banning Jerusalem Capital of Arab Culture events in Strip

Ma'an News Agency Ma'an News Agency (MNA; ar, وكالة معا الإخبارية) is a large wire service created in 2005 in the Palestinian territories. It is part of the Ma'an Network, a non-governmental organization media network created in 2002 in the Palest ...

. 2009-03-21. Abbas accused Hamas of blocking celebrations.

In Denmark

Events took place on September 26 and 27 in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. This celebration, the only one outside the

, included more than 40 Palestinian artists, among them the hip hop group Ramallah Underground, the folklore dance troupe El Funoun, the Oriental Music Ensemble, visual artist Rana Bishara, and film director

Larissa Sansour Larissa Sansour (Arabic: لاريسا سنسور; born 1973) is a Palestinians, Palestinian artist who currently resides in London, England. She is into photography, film, sculpture, and installation art. Some of her works include Tank (2003), Bet ...

who presented her film ''A Space Exodus'' (reviewed by Professor Helga Tawil Souri). They were also joint cultural productions produced with prominent Danish artists, as well as a bazaar showcasing cultural products and

Palestinian cuisine Palestinian cuisine consists of foods from or commonly eaten by Palestinians, whether in Palestine, Israel, Jordan, refugee camps in nearby countries, or by the Palestinian diaspora. The cuisine is a diffusion of the cultures of civilizations ...

References

External links

Official Website of Alquds Arab Capital of Culture 2009

(Qantara.de) * ttp://www.alqudsunderground.net/ Al-Quds Underground Festival organised by Merlijn Twaalfhoven {{DEFAULTSORT:2009 Capital Of Arab Culture Arab culture Arab Capital of Culture Culture of Jerusalem