Birzeit University Museum received this week a valuable cultural gift in the form of the complete collection of issues of the newspaper “Al-Kouds,” which was published in the city of Jerusalem between 1908 and 1914.
The collection was donated by Mrs. Agnes Hanania and her brother Mr. George Hanania, on behalf of the family of the late Jurji Habib Hanania, the newspaper’s owner and publisher at the time.
This collection is considered a significant addition to the holdings of the Birzeit University Museum, given its great historical and documentary value, especially since “Al-Kouds” is regarded as one of the first Arabic newspapers published in Palestine in the late Ottoman period, and an important source for studying political, social, and cultural life in that era.
It is worth noting that Mrs. Agnes Hanania worked on the administrative staff of Birzeit College, and later Birzeit University, from 1963 until her retirement in 2005, and made a distinguished contribution to the university throughout those years.
Birzeit University extends its sincere thanks and appreciation to the family of the late Jurji Habib Hanania for this generous donation, which enriches the university museum’s holdings and contributes to preserving an important part of Palestinian press heritage. The university also affirms that this collection will be made available to researchers and interested parties as soon as cataloging and archiving are completed in accordance with the approved professional standards.