Mustafa Abbasi (; born 1962) is an Arab Israeli

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and full professor specializing in the history of Palestinian society, Arab

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

s in the

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

, and Arab communities in Israel. He is considered a leading expert on the social and

urban history Urban history is a field of history that examines the historical nature of cities and towns, and the process of urbanization. The approach is often multidisciplinary, crossing boundaries into fields like social history, architectural history, ur ...

of northern Palestine, particularly during the Late Ottoman and British Mandate periods. His scholarship incorporates archival sources and urban sociology.

Academic career

Abbasi was born in the Galilean village of

Jish Jish (, ), also known by its Hebrew name of Gush Halab (, ), or by its classical name of Gischala, is a local council in Upper Galilee, located on the northeastern slopes of Mount Meron, north of Safed, in Israel's Northern District. In , it ...

and earned his Ph.D. in Middle Eastern History from the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...

in 2000. He also holds M.A. and B.A. degrees in Middle Eastern history and

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

. Since 2000, he has taught at Tel-Hai Academic College, where he was promoted to full professor and served as Chair of the Department of Multidisciplinary Studies and dean of students. He has also taught at Kinneret Academic College and the University of Haifa.

Research and contributions

Abbasi's research covers a wide range of topics in Palestinian and Middle Eastern history, including: * The transformation of Arab towns in the Galilee under Ottoman and British rule * The impact of the

1948 war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the Stat ...

on Arab cities and communities in northern Palestine * Urban-rural relations in Mandatory Palestine * Arab-Jewish coexistence and its collapse during the Mandate period * Palestinian volunteers in the British army during WWII * The role of Arab elites, ruling families, and notables in local politics * Mamluk and Ottoman rural settlements in the Galilee and the

Golan Golan (; ) is the name of a biblical town later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (''Onomasticon'', early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical city of Golan at Sahm el-Jaulān, a Syrian village eas ...

. His work includes studies on

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

, Samakh,

Beisan Beit She'an ( '), also known as Beisan ( '), or Beth-shean, is a town in the Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level. Beit She'an is believed to be one of the oldest citie ...

, and

, as well as broader analyses of political, religious, and social dynamics in the Galilee.

Selected publications

Books

* Abbasi, M. (2021). ''Tiberias and its Arab residents during the British Mandate 1918–1948''. Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi. (Hebrew) * Abbasi, M. (2015). ''Arabs and Jews in a Mixed City: Safed during the Mandate Period 1918–1948''. Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi. (Hebrew) * Abbasi, M. (2014). ''The Cities of Galilee during the War of 1948: Four Cities and Four Stories''. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing. * Abbasi, M. (2005). ''Safed in the Mandate Period: Social and Political Aspects''. Institute for Palestinian Studies. (Arabic) * Abbasi, M. (1991). ''History of the Touqan Family in the District of Nablus in the 18th and 19th Centuries''. Al-Mashreq. (Arabic)

Edited volumes

* Abbasi, M. et al. (2024). ''Galilee Studies Vol. 4: A Tribute to Haim Goren''. Tel-Hai College. * Abbasi, M. et al. (2018). ''Living in Mandatory Palestine: Personal Narratives of Resilience of Galilee during the Mandate Period''. Routledge. * Abbasi, M. et al. (2009–2018). ''New Studies of the Galilee'' (Vols. 1–3). Tel-Hai College.

Academic recognition and teaching

Abbasi has received several grants and fellowships, including an Israel Science Foundation (ISF) research grant for his work on rural settlement in the Golan during the Mamluk and Ottoman periods. He has also supervised graduate theses on Arab society in Palestine and taught a wide range of courses in Middle Eastern and Palestinian history, including seminars on The British Mandate in Palestine, the Palestinian national movement, the Arab village in the Mandate period, and religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East.

Public engagement and conferences

Abbasi regularly lectures at international and local academic conferences. He has spoken at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

SOAS The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

London, University of Haifa, and numerous historical societies. He is also active in the Council for the Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites, where he serves as chair of the public committee representing Arab society.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Mustafa Abbasi – Tel-Hai Academic College faculty page
1962 births Living people 20th-century Israeli historians 20th-century Palestinian historians 21st-century Israeli historians 21st-century Palestinian historians Historians of the Middle East Israeli Arab historians People from Northern District (Israel) Upper Galilee