TheInstitute for Palestine Studies (IPS) is the oldest[1] independent nonprofit public service research institute in the Arab world. It was established and incorporated inBeirut, Lebanon, in 1963[2] and has since served as a model for other such institutes in the region. It is the only institute solely concerned with analyzing and documenting Palestinian affairs and theArab–Israeli conflict.[2][3] It also publishes scholarly journals and has published more than 600 books, monographs, and documentary collections in English, Arabic and French—as well as itsquarterly academic journals:Journal of Palestine Studies,Jerusalem Quarterly, andMajallat al-Dirasat al-Filistiniyyah.[4] IPS's Library in Beirut is the largest in the Arab world specializing in Palestinian affairs, the Arab–Israeli conflict, andJudaica.
It is led by a board of trustees comprising some forty scholars, businessmen, and public figures representing almost all Arab countries. The institute currently maintains offices inBeirut,Paris,Washington, andRamallah.[5]
The institute is independent of government, party, or political organization.[4] IPS activities are financed by income from its endowment, contributions and gifts from donors, and sales of its publications.
In 2006, the Institute for Palestine Studies launched the Congressional Monitor project, which tracks every legislative initiative introduced in the U.S. Congress that mentions Palestine or Israel or has bearing on the Palestinian–Israeli conflict. The project is online and users can access the legislation as well as the congressional record from which it is drawn through the Congressional Monitor Database. Tips on using the database as well as a quick guide to the U.S. legislative process are provided.
The institute'slibrary is located at the institute's headquarters in Beirut. It is the largest in the Arab world specializing in Palestinian affairs, the Arab–Israeli conflict, and Judaica, with more than 40,000 volumes, 400 current periodicals, 5,000 reels of film plus newspapers, maps, documents, and a large collection of private papers.[4][7] It is also interested in studying and promoting knowledge of Hebrew.[4]
The institute publishes three quarterly journals in English and Arabic. These are independently edited and published from Washington, Paris,Jerusalem, and Beirut respectively. The journals are:
TheRevue d'études palestiniennes, a French quarterly published between 1981 and 2008. Edited and produced in Paris, and printed and distributed byÉditions de Minuit, it served as the principal French-language periodical of reference on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[10][4] Publication ceased in 2008, largely as a result of financial constraints. According to the Institute for Palestine Studies, the global financial crisis of 2007 compelled the suspension of the journal despite its acknowledged importance among Francophone audiences.[11]Samir Kassir served on its editorial board from 1986 to 1994.[12]
The Arabic-language quarterly,Majallat al-Dirasat al-Filastiniyah, was founded in 1990.[4] It is edited in London and Beirut and is simultaneously reprinted inRamallah in theWest Bank for distribution in thePalestinian Territories. Lebanese authorElias Khoury serves as its editor.[citation needed]
TheJerusalem Quarterly (JQ) (Arabic:Hawliyat al-Quds) was conceived in 1998 as theJerusalem Quarterly File.[13] Edited in Jerusalem, is published by the Institute of Jerusalem Studies (IJS), an affiliate of the Institute for Palestine Studies.[14]Jerusalem Quarterly publishes historical features and contemporary analysis of aspects of city life and reviews. The journal is available quarterly online, and in print copy through paid subscription.[citation needed]
It has also published more than 600 books.[4] It has published many first-person Palestinian accounts of the1948 Arab–Israeli War.[15]
^abcdefgFischbach, Michael R., "Institute for Palestine Studies", inPhilip Mattar,Encyclopedia of the Palestinians, Infobase Publishing, 2005, pp. 222–3.
^"Resources". Center for Palestine Studies, Columbia University. December 2, 1977. RetrievedFebruary 8, 2014.
