The Palestine Center is an independent think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

 based in Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. Their focus is on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...

 and other Middle East issues.

Founding

It was set up in 1991 as an educational component of the Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development. The Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit grant-making organization operating in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Its founders include the late professors Hisham Sharabi

Hisham Sharabi

Hisham Sharabi was Professor Emeritus of History and Umar al-Mukhtar Chair of Arab Culture at Georgetown University, where he was a specialist in European intellectual history and social thought...

 of Georgetown University

Georgetown University

Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...

 and Samih Farsoun

Samih Farsoun

Samih K. Farsoun, was a professor emeritus of sociology at American University, where he taught for thirty years until his retirement in 2003. He graduated from Hamilton College in New York. He received a master's degree in 1961 and a PhD in 1971, both in sociology from the University of Connecticut...

 of American University

American University

American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...

. Sharabi was a founder of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies

Center for Contemporary Arab Studies

The Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., United States is a notable academic center and "the only academic center in the United States focusing essentially on the Arab world."-Funding:...

 at Georgetown University

Georgetown University

Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...

. The current Executive Director is Yousef Munayyer

Yousef Munayyer

Yousef Munayyer is a Palestinian American writer and political analyst based in Washington, DC. Munayyer was born in his ancestral hometown of Al-Lyd . He is currently the Executive Director of the The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development and its educational program, the...

.

Purpose

The Center analyzes relations between the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 with a focus on the Palestinian

Palestinian territories

The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...

 issue. The Center studies specific U.S. policies, publishes reports, briefing, and analysis, and serves as a venue for Palestinian and Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

 scholars.

The Center also houses the Sharabi Memorial Research Library, one of the largest Palestine-centered collections in the United States. The Center employs fellows to conduct policy research. It published extensive online audio archives of its events going back to the early 1990s, a blog and a Youtube page to document its on-site events.

Publications

The Center has been referenced by diverse news

News

News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...

 media from the Turkish Weekly to the Washington Times and Christian Science Monitor.

The Palestine Center publishes press releases as mentioned above, as well as articles written by fellows.

Events

The Palestine center holds weekly events and often invites distinguished speakers. Speakers at the Palestine Center have included former Israeli Knesset

Knesset

The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...

 member Azmi Bishara

Azmi Bishara

Azmi Bishara , a former member of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, is a Palestinian intellectual, academic, politician, and writer.In 2007, Bishara fled Israel and resigned from the Knesset after being questioned by police on suspicion of aiding and passing information to the enemy during...

, Palestinian diplomat Afif Safieh

Afif Safieh

Afif Safieh is a Palestinian diplomat. He was most recently the Palestinian ambassador to the Russian Federation.Safieh was born in Jerusalem in 1950 to a Christian family. As a child, he attended school in Jerusalem's College Des Frères. In 1972, he obtained a degree in Political Science and...

, Clovis Maksoud, Amb. Nabil Fahmy, Egyptian Ambassador to the United States, Hanan Ashrawi

Hanan Ashrawi

Hanan Daoud Khalil Ashrawi is a Palestinian legislator, activist, and scholar. She was a protégé and later colleague and close friend of Edward Said. Ashrawi was an important leader during the First Intifada, served as the official spokesperson for the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East...

, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad

Salam Fayyad

Salam Fayyad is a Palestinian politician and Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority of the Palestinian National Authority. His first appointment, on 15 June 2007, which was justified by President Mahmoud Abbas on the basis of "national emergency", has not been confirmed by the...

, and John Mearsheimer

John Mearsheimer

John J. Mearsheimer is an American professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. He is an international relations theorist. Known for his book on offensive realism, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, more recently Mearsheimer has attracted attention for co-authoring and publishing...

, among others.