A talk with Palestinian educator, translator, and researcher Hazem Jamjoum

Thirty-three years after the signing of the Oslo Accords, what did they actually change, not only in the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians, but within the Palestinian liberation movement itself?

To mark 33 years since Oslo, Casa Palestina welcomes Hazem Jamjoum for a talk tracing the political processes that led to the agreements between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Israel, and examining their lasting consequences for Palestine.

The evening will look beyond the familiar narrative of Oslo as a failed “peace process” to consider the agreements within the longer history of Zionist settler colonization and Palestinian struggle.

Hazem will explore the place of Palestinian self-government and statehood within Israeli colonial strategy, as well as the debates around statehood within the Palestinian liberation movement itself.

The talk will consider the transformation of the PLO, the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, and the political structures produced through Oslo — asking what these changes meant for Palestinian representation, refugees, liberation and the fragmentation of the Palestinian people.

More than three decades later, as Palestinians continue to confront dispossession, colonization and Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people, the evening asks what it means to understand Oslo not simply as an agreement of the past, but as a political framework whose consequences remain deeply present.

A discussion with the audience will follow the talk.

Hazem Jamjoum will join us live via Zoom, with the audience gathering in person at Casa Palestina.

About Hazem Jamjoum

Hazem Jamjoum is a Palestinian educator based in London.

He is the founder and lead editor of Safarjal Press safarjal is Arabic for quince, a radical publishing house focused on translating socially engaged texts to and from the Arabic language.

He is an award-winning translator into English of Ghassan Kanafani’s The Revolution of 1936–1939 in Palestine and Maya Abu Al-Hayyat’s novel No One Knows Their Blood Type.

In August 2025, he curated the London exhibition Room 14: Artwork from the Palestinian Prisoners Movement, which brought together prison abolitionist and prisoner-support organizers around artworks smuggled out of Ofer military prison in Palestine.

Hazem has lectured and led popular education workshops on subjects including the history of the Palestinian struggle, radical archiving, Indigenous sovereignty, prison abolition, border justice, the politics of food, cultural production, and the political economy of empire and imperialism.

The restaurant will be open.

The 3-session course introduces participants to tatreez, Palestinian embroidery, exploring its cultural history & its practical application

This three-session course introduces participants to tatreez, Palestinian embroidery, exploring its cultural history alongside its practical application.

Participants will first learn the foundations of tatreez and basic stitching techniques, before learning how to apply tatreez directly onto clothing and textiles. The course concludes with a Tatreez Circle, where participants can continue their projects, ask questions and receive guidance.

No previous embroidery experience is required. All embroidery materials are provided, except for the clothing or textile participants choose to embroider.

Dates: Saturday, September 12; Saturday, September 19; and Saturday, September 26

Time: 11:00 am–1:00 pm

Level: Beginner-friendly; no previous embroidery experience required

Materials: All embroidery materials are provided. For Session 2, participants bring their own garment, tote bag or textile to embroider.

Number of participants: 15 participants maximum

Session 1: Introduction to Tatreez

An introduction to Palestinian embroidery, its history, motifs and techniques.

Participants will:

• Learn about the history and cultural significance of tatreez

• Learn the basic cross-stitch technique

• Begin stitching their own tatreez motif on an Aida fabric

Participants will leave the session with a foundation in cross-stitch and the basic skills needed to continue practicing tatreez.

Materials provided: embroidery thread, needles, Aida fabric, patterns and all necessary stitching materials.

Session 2: Tatreez on Clothing and Textiles

Participants will learn how to take tatreez beyond embroidery cloth and apply it directly to clothing and everyday textiles.

Each participant will bring an item they would like to embroider, such as a tote bag, T-shirt, shirt, or other suitable textile.

The session will cover:

• Preparing ordinary fabric for counted cross-stitch

• Using waste canvas to stitch tatreez onto clothing

• Starting and securing the embroidery

Each participant will begin their own personalized tatreez project during the session.

Materials provided: embroidery thread, needles, patterns, waste canvas, and other necessary embroidery supplies.

Participants bring: one garment, tote bag or textile they would like to embroider.

Session 3: Tatreez Circle

The final session takes the form of a relaxed communal stitching circle.

Participants return with the projects they began during the course and spend the session stitching together, with guidance available throughout.

The Tatreez Circle provides an opportunity to:

• Continue or finish individual projects

• Ask questions and receive individual guidance

• Experience embroidery as a communal practice

The session reflects the social nature of tatreez: not only as a technique, but as a practice traditionally shared through making, conversation, and time spent together.

About the Facilitator:

Aliya Beyhum is a curatorial researcher specializing in Arab heritage and material culture. She has worked closely with Arab dress and textiles, and holds an MPhil in Heritage Studies from the University of Cambridge, where her dissertation explored the relationship between tatreez and Palestinian national identity. Aliya is also a tatreez practitioner, and her workshops blend practical embroidery techniques with the stories, traditions, and meanings behind tatreez

A conversation on Amílcar Cabral, Palestine, culture, colonialism, memory, solidarity, and the ongoing work of liberation.

On September 12, the anniversary of Amílcar Cabral’s birth, Casa Palestina brings together Palestinian, Portuguese, and Lusophone voices for a conversation on culture, colonialism, memory, and liberation.

One of the most influential anti-colonial thinkers of the 20th century, Cabral understood culture not as something separate from political struggle, but as a fundamental part of resistance and collective liberation. His work continues to resonate far beyond Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde, raising urgent questions around land, identity, political education, international solidarity, and the role of culture in confronting colonial power.

Bringing Cabral’s ideas into conversation with Palestine, this panel will explore how culture can preserve memory, sustain identity, challenge dominant narratives, and become a space of resistance. Rather than equating distinct histories and experiences, the discussion will create space for exchange between different struggles against colonialism, asking what these histories can teach us about solidarity and the ongoing work of liberation today.

Speakers

José Manuel Viegas Neves
José is a Portuguese historian and Assistant Professor at the NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities (NOVA FCSH) in Lisbon, where he also serves as Deputy Director. His research explores the intersections of culture, ideology, politics, and identity in contemporary Portugal, with a particular focus on nationalism, political ideologies, post-colonial movements, and the history and sociology of sport.

Balolas Carvalho
Balolas is a Portuguese journalist, documentary filmmaker, and producer working at the intersection of human rights, international affairs, and decolonial movements. As a cultural agitator, her work is dedicated to telling stories and creating spaces that resist, remember, and reimagine.

Wael Zboun
Wael is a Palestinian political researcher, writer, consultant, and PhD researcher in Political Science and International Relations at ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon. His research focuses on European foreign policy, Palestine, international law, and the relationship between normative principles and geopolitical interests, with particular attention to EU policy toward the Palestinian territories since October 7, 2023. His interdisciplinary work examines political power, international legitimacy, settler colonialism, state recognition, and the gap between political commitments and practice.

Moderator

Inês Margarida Alves

Inês studied Philosophy and writes poetry. She is currently developing a research project that draws on her own biography while exploring questions of language, family memory, identity, and Cape Verdean heritage. Through writing and artistic and cultural research, the project examines the relationships between belonging, diaspora, and ancestry, while creating new spaces for reflection on the stories we inherit and the ways we tell them to ourselves.

The restaurant will be open.

Remembering Sabra and Shatila through The Valley of Tears.

THE VALLEY OF TEARS
La Vallée des larmes

This September, Casa Palestina will screen The Valley of Tears to mark the anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre of 16–18 September 1982.

Directed by Lebanese-Canadian filmmaker Maryanne Zéhil, the film follows Marie, a Montreal publisher who begins receiving the written testimony of Ali, a young Palestinian who grew up in a refugee camp in Lebanon. As she searches for the person behind the story, she is drawn from Montreal to Lebanon and into the memory of Sabra and Shatila.

Moving between the personal and the political, The Valley of Tears explores testimony, trauma, exile, and the ways histories of violence continue to live across generations.

More than four decades later, we gather at Casa Palestina to remember — and to consider the role of testimony in preserving memory and resisting erasure.

In French with English subtitles.
The Valley of Tears / La Vallée des larmes
Directed by Maryanne Zéhil
2012 | Drama | 95 minutes
French ( English Subtitles)

Learn Arabic from the ground up — reading, writing, everyday conversation, and the rhythm of a language carried by history.

Learn Arabic from the ground up — reading, writing, everyday conversation, and the rhythm of a language carried by history.

Join us at Casa Palestina Lisboa for a beginner Arabic course designed for anyone who wants to start learning the language in a practical, welcoming, and community-centred environment.

Whether you are learning Arabic for work, travel, everyday life, connection to culture, or simply because you have always wanted to learn, this course will give you a strong foundation in reading, writing, pronunciation, vocabulary, and conversation.

No previous knowledge of Arabic is required.

What You’ll Learn

Throughout the course, participants will begin to:

Read and write Arabic letters, words, and simple sentences

Recognise and pronounce Arabic sounds with greater confidence

Build useful everyday vocabulary

Understand the foundations of Arabic reading and writing

Ask and answer simple questions

Introduce themselves and communicate in everyday situations

Develop the confidence to hold basic conversations

Classes will be practical and interactive, with a small group size that allows everyone the opportunity to participate, practise, ask questions, and progress together.

By the end of the course, participants will have the foundations to read and write simple Arabic, understand and use everyday vocabulary, and take part in basic conversations. The cost of each ticket is 300€

Course Details
Duration: 32 hours
Number of sessions: 13
Day: Wednesdays
Time: 6:00 PM–8:30 PM
First class: Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Final class: Wednesday, 16 December 2026

Group size: 6–10 participants

Full Course Dates
23 September
30 September
7 October
14 October
21 October
28 October
4 November
11 November
18 November
25 November
2 December
9 December
16 December

The course runs across 13 consecutive Wednesdays, finishing before the Christmas break.

Who Is This Course For?

This course is designed for complete beginners. You do not need to know the Arabic alphabet or have any previous experience with the language.

Come to learn, practise, ask questions, and discover Arabic together in the welcoming space of Casa Palestina.

Spaces are limited to 10 participants. Booking is required.

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Please note: A minimum of 6 students is required for each class to go ahead. If the minimum number of registrations is not reached, the class will be cancelled, and all registered students will receive a full refund.

Through the eyes of two Palestinian children, a portrait of memory, exile, and everyday life in Shatila refugee camp.

As we remember the Sabra and Shatila massacre of 16–18 September 1982, we turn not only to the violence of those days, but to the lives and communities that continued in their aftermath.

For many people around the world, the name Shatila became inseparable from the massacre of 1982. But Shatila is also a place of family, childhood, memory, and generations of Palestinian displacement.

Filmed in the late 1990s, Children of Shatila follows Farah, 11, and Issa, 12, two Palestinian children growing up in the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut. Fifty years after their grandparents were forced into exile from Palestine, they are navigating what it means to grow up as refugees in a camp shaped by massacre, siege, poverty, and displacement.

Director Mai Masri gives Farah and Issa video cameras, allowing them to document Shatila through their own eyes. Through their memories, friendships, daily lives, and hopes for the future, the film offers an intimate portrait of a generation born into exile, carrying the memory of a homeland they have never known.

1998 · 50 minutes · Arabic with English subtitles

Film screening + conversation with Saleem Haddad

An evening dedicated to the life and legacy of Edward Said, beginning with a screening of the BBC documentary Exile: Edward Said, followed by a conversation with writer Saleem Haddad.

Taking Said’s memoir, Out of Place, as a starting point, the discussion will explore some of the questions that shaped both his life and his wider body of work: exile, displacement, class, family, language, illness, memory, and the feeling of never fully belonging anywhere.

Said began writing Out of Place after receiving a serious medical diagnosis, turning back toward the world of his childhood across Palestine, Lebanon, and Egypt, a world shaped by movement, rupture, exile, and the knowledge that much of what he remembered could no longer be recovered.

Through the documentary and conversation, the evening will consider how Said wrote about home from a position of displacement, how memory becomes a way of preserving places that have been lost or transformed, and what it means to live between languages, histories, and identities.

More than a discussion of one memoir, the evening will reflect on Said’s enduring intellectual and political legacy, and on the questions of home, belonging, and exile that continue to resonate across Palestinian life today.

Programme

7:00 PM — Film Screening: Exile: Edward Said BBC Documentary

8:00 PM — Conversation with Saleem Haddad: Beginning with Out of Place and expanding into Said’s life, writing, and legacy.

The restaurant will be open.

On September 26, Casa Palestina welcomes Baltazar Molina for an intimate live performance exploring the meeting points between musical traditions, improvisation, and sound experimentation. A musician and facilitator with a distinctive approach to composition and performance, Baltazar moves freely between diverse musical languages and techniques. His work is deeply inspired by the music of the Middle East, while remaining rooted in curiosity, experimentation, and the possibilities that emerge when different sonic worlds meet. Since 1998, he has performed and collaborated across an extensive range of projects, developing an eclectic body of work shaped by years of travel, exchange, and musical exploration. His performances have taken him across Portugal and throughout Europe, as well as to Mexico, Chile, Canada, Cabo Verde, Greece, and Morocco. For this evening at Casa Palestina, we gather for a live set that moves between tradition and experimentation, familiarity and discovery.

Doors Open at 8:00 PM
The restaurant will be open.

A fun and gentle introduction to Arabic through letters, sounds, words, stories, play, and conversation.

A fun and gentle introduction to Arabic through letters, sounds, words, and various activities.

Casa Palestina Lisboa invites children to discover Arabic in a warm, welcoming, and creative environment.

Our Arabic for Kids — Beginners course is designed as a gentle first introduction to the language, helping children become familiar with Arabic letters, sounds, and simple words.

Classes combine language learning with play, games, and interactive activities, giving children the opportunity to learn at their own pace while building a positive and joyful relationship with Arabic and the cultures it carries.

No previous knowledge of Arabic is required.

What Children Will Explore

Throughout the course, children will be introduced to:

Arabic letters and their sounds

Basic reading and writing

Simple Arabic words and expressions

Listening and pronunciation

Learning through games and creative activities

The aim is to make Arabic feel familiar, joyful, and accessible — a language children can begin to recognise, speak, and carry with them beyond the classroom.

Course Details

Course: Arabic for Kids — Beginners
Duration: 16 hours
Number of sessions: 16
Day: Sundays
Time: 11:00 AM–12:00 PM
First class: Sunday, 27 September 2026
Final class: Sunday, 31 January 2027

There will be a pause during the Christmas school break.

Location:
Casa Palestina Lisboa
Rua Gilberto Rola 24
Alcântara, Lisbon

Course fee: €150 per child for the full course
Age range: To be confirmed
Group size: 6–10 children

Full Course Dates:

27 September
4 October
11 October
18 October
25 October
1 November
8 November
15 November
22 November
29 November
6 December
13 December

Christmas break — no classes:
20 December
27 December
3 January

Classes return:
17 January
24 January
31 January

Spaces are limited to 10 children. Advance booking is required.

Isam Elias is a Palestinian pianist, composer, singer, and songwriter. Deeply influenced by traditional Arab music from an early age, he began playing the piano at just six years old.

His music is a journey through Western production styles and rhythms, placing the piano at the forefront alongside synthesizers, Afro-Oriental dance grooves, and touches of dancehall. Blending Eastern folk melodies with powerful electronic textures and the infectious rhythms of Middle Eastern dabkeh, Isam creates a distinctive sound that bridges tradition and contemporary dance music.

In June 2025, he released his debut EP, TUBES. The five-track project evolved from Isam’s live performances, translating the energy and spontaneity of the stage into recorded form. Combining piano, synthesizers, electronic rhythms, and vocals, TUBES is rooted in improvisation and reflects Isam’s signature Afro-electronic sound, seamlessly connecting live musicianship with modern dance and melodic influences.