Filistin Sözlüğü

The question of Palestine is a multilayered and interdisciplinary issue that encompasses many destructive dimensions, including occupation, forced displacement, human rights violations, cultural destruction, genocide, and war crimes. It extends across fields ranging from international relations and law to economics and culture. Acting on the awareness of the profound need for a reliable, comprehensive reference work capable of addressing this complex historical process and present-day reality with accuracy, AA Books—the publishing imprint of Anadolu Ajansı—and Filistin Akademik Düşünce Platformu (the Palestine Academic Thought Platform) have brought readers the Dictionary of Palestine, the product of a meticulous joint effort carried out for more than two years under the editorship of Prof. Hasan Yücel Başdemir and Prof. Metin Uçar. Following the globally acclaimed Gaza Trilogy—The Evidence, The Witness, and The Perpetrator—this monumental work stands as one of the most concrete and institutional expressions of Anadolu Ajansı’s commitment to responsible journalism and publishing.

Going beyond the conventional logic of a dictionary and static definitions of concepts, this work seeks to deconstruct the asymmetric layers of meaning and conceptual manipulations that have become embedded in academic, political, and media discourse under the guise of “neutrality” and constructed in favor of Zionism. Treating Palestine not only as a physical geography of conflict, but also as a space subjected to an ideological siege waged through concepts and aimed at erasing Palestinian existence through falsehoods, the dictionary constitutes a form of epistemic resistance and an intellectual intifada. Historical events that have been deliberately distorted, censored, or entirely concealed by Zionist propaganda mechanisms are reconstructed in the work with scholarly rigor, grounded in firsthand archival documents and concrete sources.

Designed with an interdisciplinary and holistic methodology, the Dictionary of Palestine is the collective work of 273 academics and researchers specializing in different fields. Shaped across 15 areas of expertise and editorial focus—from law and economics to culture and the arts—this comprehensive study consists of 630 entries, each written with the depth and precision of an independent academic article. The extensive bibliography and reference list provided at the end of the carefully interlinked entries attest to the scholarly reliability of the data presented. In addition, with the aim of making the work a reference source of global relevance, each entry includes its equivalents in Arabic, English, French, and German, thereby filling a major gap in the international literature.

The dictionary does more than explain key concepts; it offers readers a systematic map of knowledge encompassing the history, culture, nature, art, and everyday practices that reflect Palestinian identity. Examining in depth the more than century-long history of dispossession and genocide under Zionist occupation, as well as the digital tools, propaganda strategies, and institutions used to conceal this oppression, the work seeks answers to many critical questions: Where should one begin in order to understand Palestinian identity and culture? Which digital tools are used to legitimize the Zionist occupation? Why does Palestinian resistance remain unbroken despite technological and material deprivation? Providing scholarly and rational responses to such vital questions, the work also includes thematic reading lists for study groups and a 55-question guidance framework.

A first in its field, the Dictionary of Palestine enables readers, through its carefully woven conceptual network, to grasp the question of Palestine in its full historical, political, and legal dimensions. It is an indispensable reference not only for academics, researchers, international lawyers, and students, but also for anyone seeking to understand this bleeding wound of the Middle East on an accurate, just, and intellectually sound basis, free from the pollution of disinformation. This landmark work is a lasting document of memory and truth that reinforces the legitimacy of the Palestinian cause at the intellectual level.