Nadim Bawalsa & the Palestinian diaspora: From denial to genocide

"Nadim Bawalsa traces how early Palestinian migrants in Latin America forged national identity long before 1948."

"Bawalsa explains how these early migrants fought for citizenship and recognition and how the dream of returning to Palestine began decades before being exiled by Zionists became the defining experience of so many Palestinian people."

"Bawalsa is a Palestinian historian whose book, Transnational Palestine, looks at the early Palestinian communities in Latin America and how they forged a sense of national identity long before the State of Israel ever existed."

Early Palestinian migrants in Latin America formed national identity before 1948. They pursued citizenship and recognition within their host societies. Their community-building efforts helped create a shared sense of belonging tied to Palestine. The return-to-Palestine aspiration emerged decades before later exile experiences. Zionist actions later intensified exile for many Palestinians, but the defining longing for return had already taken shape earlier. These developments connected migration, political claims, and collective memory into a transnational Palestinian identity that predated the State of Israel.

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