Exiled from Jerusalem

Hussein Fakhiri al-Khalidi (1895-1962) was the mayor of Jerusalem from 1935 to 1937 before being sent into exile by the British colonial authorities in 1937. He later returned to political life, holding positions as secretary of the Arab Higher Committee in 1945, member of the All-Palestine Government in 1948 and briefly Prime Minister of Jordan in 1957.

Leila Khalidi Husseini is the daughter of Hussein Fakhiri al-Khalidi and author of The Art of Palestinian Embroidery (1999).

Rashid Khalidi is Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University. He is past President of the Middle East Studies Association, and the editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies. He is the author of numerous award-winning books including Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. has Undermined Peace in the Middle East (2013) and The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood (2006), translated into French, Arabic and Hebrew.

Rafiq Husseini has been Chief Executive Officer of Al-Makassed Islamic Charitable Hospitable in East Jerusalem (2013-2017) and Chief of Staff for the Office of the President of the Palestinian National Authority (1999-2010), as well as Chairman of the Steering Committee for Jerusalem Capital of Arab Culture 2009. He has a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from Loughborough University, UK.