DescriptionHanna Safieh, a Palestinian born in Jerusalem, was an early photographer who captured the Palestinian experience during the British Mandate. Born during the end of the Ottoman Empire, he subsequently saw Palestine fall under British rule, Jordanian rule and Israeli occupation. Safieh provides a profoundly important perspective through his photography, not only bearing witness to the events that led up to al Nakba, but also documenting his life and the life of other Palestinians under the British Mandate (1917 - 1948), the Jordanian rule (1948 - 1967) and the Israeli military occupation (from 1967 on). During the late nineteenth century, Safieh began working with the Swedish photographer Eric Matson of the American Colony Photographic department in Jerusalem. Matson is most well known for his many photographs that are now archived with the Library of Congress. Most of Safieh’s photographic collection dating before 1948 were stolen from his studio in Jerusalem in the aftermath of the 1967 war. Safieh is a unique and pioneering figure in the Palestinian photography world, in that he captured events such as the massacre of Deir Yassin (April 9, 1948), the funeral of Palestinian leader Abd-al-Qadir al-Husseini (1948) and more.