Palestine Mapped is a book mapping historic Palestine from the earliest record through the early twenty-first century.

Drawing from his research that culminated in this work Tom Suárez will explore the mapping of Palestine both as physical map-making and cultural ‘hard-wiring’ in the West in this illustrated talk.

Tom Suárez is best known for his critically acclaimed book, Palestine Hijacked – how Zionism forged an apartheid state from river to sea. His new work, Palestine Mapped, explores the history of the mapping of the region and the manipulation of geographic thought that has contributed to today’s genocide. A professional Juilliard-trained violinist and composer, he is a former faculty member at Palestine’s National Conservatory of Music.

Beginning with a challenge to modern presumptions of ‘personhood’ in relation to the nation-state, and a review of the mapping of the region, from the earliest extant record: the ancient Greeks and Romans. Then the medieval period brings both secular and religious mapping of Palestine, and with the Reformation comes the proto-Zionism that leads to the fateful nineteenth century. A principal focus will be the way geographic thought both reflected and furthered the rise of Zionism.

The talk will conclude with a look at how the movement for Palestinian liberation might be more powerful by moving beyond unwittingly adopted ethno-geographic frameworks.

Following the presentation, signed copies of the book will be available in the Ibraaz Bookshop.

Doors open at 5.30pm; event starts at 6pm and finishes at 8pm.