Palestinian American
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| Total population |
|---|
| 252,000[1] |
| Regions with significant populations |
| New York, New Jersey, Michigan, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Arizona |
| Languages |
| Religion |
|
Predominately Christians and Muslims, some Jewish. |
| Related ethnic groups |
|
Other Mediterranean, Levantine, or Semetic peoples. |
Palestinian Americans are Americans of Palestinian ancestry. It is difficult to say when the first Palestinian immigrants arrived at the United States; however, many of the first immigrants to arrive were Christians escaping persecution from the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century. Others came as a result of the tension during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War; the Six Day War and Yom Kippur War.
Many Palestinians settled down in cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Diego, California; Chicago and the Chicagoland suburbs of Illinois and Detroit alongside other Mediterranean communities such as the Lebanese, Syrians, Greeks, Italians, and Egyptians.
A Palestinian community of about 600 people can be found in Gallup, New Mexico.[citation needed] The relatively small community actually goes back to the 1920s by a small movement of Palestinians involved in the agricultural and mineral industries. The local Southwest Indian Jewelry stores are primarily under ownership of Palestinian Americans.[citation needed]
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there were 72,112 people of Palestinian ancestry living in the United States. However, The Arab American Institute Foundation estimates the figure at 252,000 while the Palestinian American Council puts it at 179,000 (1999). The definition of how a person identifies him/herself a "Palestinian" is one of political controversy.[citation needed]
It is clearly understood that Palestinians, most of them practicing Christians of the Eastern Orthodox variety established large communities in the Americas, among them Chile in South America. The diplomatic relationship between the U.S. government and Palestinians are often positive, but can be strained over the U.S.' alliance with Israel.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The Arab American Institute Foundation
[edit] External links
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