Palestine Remembered Repository

Reviewed by: JP Essey

Review started: March 10, 2024

Site Link: https://www.lebanonmemory.com

Archive Link: http://archive.today/tFhn6

Data Sources

• Multimedia
• Recorded oral interviews
• Biographies
• Photographs
• Videos
• Filme
• Articles
• Links to articles
• Links to YouTube channel

Partners and Funding Sources

• National Endowment for Democracy
• Friedrich Ebert Stiftung
• Arts and Humanities Research Council and GCRF through the Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security
• Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research
• Art and Humanities Research Council
• Global Challenge Research Fund
• Act for the Disappeared
• Institut fur Auslandzbeziehungen
• Auswartiges Amt
• International Center for Transitional Justice
• Swiss Embassy in Lebanon

Processes

• Digitized photos retrieved from individuals and organizations
• Digitized videos
• Recorded oral history interviews/transcriptions
• Digitized oral histories into audio or video footage
• Site coding information not available

Presentation

The Home page of the site has many navigation tabs to choose from presented in black and red. The Home page has many options including items that have been recently added with a ‘New’ designation. A user can choose from the options to view Pictures, Maps, Oral Histories, Specific Villages, Articles, About.

The About page gives its statement of purpose as one about dispossession and ethnic cleansing and not antisemitism. It states that its purpose is to create a repository where refugees can communicate, organize, and share their experiences amongst themselves. Refugees are encouraged to attach their stories, memories, pictures, movies, music files, join discussions at the message board. They may also use the directory service listing of refugees and their contact information, and URL links related to each listed town.

Anyone can view or contribute to the site regarding information relating to Palestine or Palestinian history. It is not restricted to the Palestinian community. Many contributors are noted including American, British, and Jewish (from unknown locations) voices.

The site is mostly divided into articles and maps. The articles are listed in several categories as well as on the Home page. The article categories are: Zionist FAQs, Zionism 101, Zionist Quotes, Conflict 101, Facts Not Lies. The image categories are: Satellite View, Looting 101, The Home of Palestinians, an Arabic page, and a listing of individual towns/cities. A user can click on a category and choose from a list of articles in that category. There is an extensive list under each category. Most are articles while some do have links to videos of Wikipedia pages.

Once a user goes to a town, there are several options to engage with the site: Satellite view gives a satellite view of the village with pins marked over the map. Pins are names and represent historical buildings, mosques, markets and other important parts of the town or village. When a pin is clicked, an inset opens to give additional information about the location, such as population in 1948 before displacement, elevation, usurped homes, usurped acres of land, distance from nearest large city, etc. Some also have pictures of present-day views of the same village/town.

Languages

• English
• Arabic
• Hebrew

Review

Palestine Remember is a repository dedicated to preserving the history of Palestine, giving voices to those displaced from their homes, providing information regarding the displacement of Palestinians, and allowing those interested to connect with other refugees or contribute to the site. It serves as a digital space to document and subvert the erasure of Palestine and the Palestinian people. Its aim is to document, educate, and connect individuals as well as provide solace in the form of help offered.

Navigating the site was relatively easy, and the site itself serves as a thorough resource. For example, while navigating the site, if one chooses to learn about a town, then there are many photos of the town provided with information about the population of the town in1948 (year of the Nakba) and other relevant facts. Testimonials and articles regarding the town are sometimes given when possible. A user can get a bird’s eye view of each town by going to the Satellite option, thereby opening up an interactive page. One can zoom in or out to get an idea of the topography as well as surrounding areas and countries. There is an option to click on dots which will provide additional information regarding the city, building or point of interest.

The site did have some hindrances. Although the site is presented in several languages, the vast majority of the site was in English. Only a few articles or notations were accessible in Arabic as noted by the Arabic word next to the article or pieces of information. There were two articles that also had a Hebrew translation option. In many pages, the site was slow to load an option and had difficulty releasing an option if the mouse moved across a link. The pop-up simply froze. This necessitated refreshing the page to be able to continue.

Throughout the site, the tone and language is very somber. This was noted by titles given to many articles as well as to notations placed on sites. Given the ethnic displacement involved, it is understandable.

The site mostly would serve those affected by the situation in Palestine. It has historical material as well as contact information to sources along with being a place to connect with others. The site presented a singular viewpoint, and may not be useful to someone searching for a neutral account of Palestinian displacement. Given Ripooka Risam’s digital archive rubric to present both sides, it is difficult to put into practice given the incredible injustice of this situation. One wonders when it is possible.

There were many items that were not noted on the site. These omitted categories include information about funding, site maintenance, the initial project administrators.

For the methodology, very little was provided. Credit was only given when there was an interview, where the interviewer’s name was provided as well as the date of the interview. No other information was given as to how prints were digitized, by whom, who uploaded the material, or any other labor involved and whether anyone was paid or volunteered. Nothing is noted about how decisions are made, if any, as to who can put up an article, photo, video. Nothing is mentioned about an administrator or editor.

Furthermore, there was no mention of funding for the site. Nothing was provided as to how the site was set up, where the finances came from, who contributed, how the site is maintained and how continued funding is generated. There is a Donate link provided but financial disclosures are not noted.

Given the singularity of the site’s content, the site is primarily useful to those Palestinians affected by displacement. It serves to resist erasure of the heritage and voices of the Palestinian people. Given the emotional aspect of the conflict, the site has an emotional tone which gives voice to those affected.

How does this project address information?
The archive contains a significant amount of information derived from articles written for the site, articles from newspapers, excerpts from books, and Wikipedia links; as well as links to other archives and related sites. The information is structured in a wide variety of categories from a Statement of Mission of the site to an easily accessible FAQ category to a scholarly bibliography. Articles written for the site have an acknowledged author and bibliography of sources used for the article.

How well does this project handle information?
The wealth of information of the site is clearly organized for users to navigate to a category. The categories are clearly marked in easy-to-read headings. All categories have links to outside sources ranging from international organizations such as the UN to journal articles located in databases to individual authors’ works. Also included in each category are individual entries from people at large who were either affected by the Palestinian situation or have relevant information or comments. A user of the site is able to navigate to their desired article easily. As there is so much information, a user is enticed to explore making the archive a good information resource. Although the Home page is laden with information and somewhat overwhelming at first glance, a user will have a wealth of knowledge to survey.