EDINBURGH (MEMO) – The first Festival of Palestine in Scotland kicked off on Saturday in the capital, Edinburgh, with a remarkable exhibition of the Palestinian History Tapestry as its main feature.
Organized by Edinburgh Action for Palestine and the Palestinian community in Scotland, the week-long event celebrates the 4,000 year history of Palestine in tapestry, traditional music, ‘dabkeh’ folk dance, photography, films, talks, as well as children’s activities.
“The event was created by a true multicultural community who live together in Scotland,” the organizers told MEMO, saying they were delighted to be displaying panels of the Palestinian History Tapestry on its tenth anniversary.
Stitched by Palestinian women in the occupied Palestinian territories and in refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon, the tapestry is a large collection of illustrative panels which tell the story of the land and people of Palestine through the ages using traditional Palestinian embroidery. In the ten years since the launch of the project, over 100 panels were produced depicting Palestinian history from the Neolithic Period to the present day under the ongoing Zionist occupation of Palestine.
“Scottish support for Palestine, the Palestinian people, the Palestinian struggle are simply inspiring and empowering,” the Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot said as he welcomed guests in a recorded video message played on the opening day of the festival.
Zomlot described the Palestinian History Tapestry as a “mind-boggling achievement” which “shows the beauty of our land, the depth of our culture, the intensity of our history and the strength of our attachment to our home.”
“What a wonderful way to present the Palestinian history that dates back to the Neolithic period; takes in the walls of Jericho, the Philistine era and everything in between through various conquests, invasions, imperial ambitions, up to the 1948 Nakba and our many tragedies since, as well as some of our victories,” he said, adding: It blends history and politics with one of our national art forms, that of tapestry and textile art in general.