Ilana Feldman

This project explores the Palestinian experience living with humanitarian assistance from 1948 through the present and across five fields of displacement (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, and Gaza Strip). The longevity of the Palestinian refugee problem makes it a particularly good instance through which to consider the development of post-World War II humanitarianism. Based on extensive archival and ethnographic field research, this study is the first comprehensive account of the Palestinian experience living with humanitarian assistance across this full time and space. It is also one of the few studies of humanitarian action that gives close attention to the experiences of both providers and recipients of aid. The research explores the complex world constituted by and through humanitarianism and how this world is experienced by the range of people who inhabit it.