The Culture of Palestine

Palestinian culture is comprised of a blend of Eastern Mediterranean influences. Being Levantines, Palestinians share commonalities with nearby Levantine Arabs (Lebanese, Syrians, and Jordanians). Palestinians, although Arabized today, are genetically an indigenous Semitic (non-Arab) people which descended from the native Canaanites/Phoenicians and thereby mixed with their conquerers (Philistines, Hebrews, Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Persians, Arabs, Crusaders, and Ottoman Turks). Over half of Palestinians are in diaspora, and found outside of Palestine. The population of Jordan is 2/3 of Palestinian heritage. Most Palestinian refugees can be found other Middle Eastern countries, and North and South America. Many are also in Europe. Language: Arabic (official), Aramaic, Hebrew, and Armenian. Most Palestinians speak Levantine Arabic, a dialect of Arabic spoken in Syria, Palestine, western Jordan and Lebanon. Palestinian rural dialects exhibit several distinctive