Speakers
Kamal Cumsille
Professor and Director of the Eugenio Chahuán Center for Arab Studies, University of Chile
Stephanie Elías Musalem
Journalist and Executive Director of the Palestine Information Center in Chile
Ricardo Marzuca Butto
Historian and Professor at the Eugenio Chahuán Center for Arab Studies, University of Chile
Moderator
About the Webinar
The Palestinian diaspora in Chile—estimated at a minimum of half a million people—constitutes the largest and one of the most historically significant Palestinian communities outside the Arab world. Beginning with migration at the end of the nineteenth century and continuing throughout the twentieth, Palestinians in Chile established themselves economically and socially while maintaining strong cultural and familial ties to Palestine. Over more than a century, Chilean‑Palestinians have built influential institutions, navigated complex processes of identity formation, and contributed meaningfully to national political life. Despite their geographic distance, a renewed interest among younger generations in reclaiming their heritage and engaging with Palestinian political realities has further reinforced the prominent role of Chilean‑Palestinians within the broader Palestinian diaspora and the global transnational movement advocating for justice in Palestine.
Arab Center Washington DC (ACW) and the Eugenio Chahuán Center for Arab Studies at the University of Chile (Centro de Estudios Árabes Eugenio Chahuán) are jointly organizing this webinar to examine the evolution of the Chilean‑Palestinian diaspora through the lenses of migration history, identity construction, and political mobilization.
Renowned experts will explore how the Palestinian community in Chile has navigated questions of integration, representation, and intergenerational solidarity. The webinar will also assess the political and economic influence of Palestinian‑Chilean institutions, the community’s evolving political engagement and contributions to civic life, and the ways in which global events—from the Nakba to the Gaza genocide to debates on Palestinian statehood—have reverberated within Chilean society. Panelists will analyze Chile’s policy approaches toward Palestine and Israel, as well as the role of the Palestinian diaspora in shaping public discourse and influencing foreign policy decisions.
Featured image credit: Photo by I. CHAVEZ / NURPHOTO / NURPHOTO VIA AFP
