It is difficult to find words that can truly eulogize a figure whose absence leaves a profound mark on both place and time, especially during moments when the city endures heavy and pivotal days. Jerusalem bids farewell to Mahdi Abdul Hadi quietly, with tears and a deep sense of loss. Yet his legacy remains eternal, like the pulse of this city—constant and unbroken.
Mahdi Abdul Hadi was a man of gentle demeanor and presence, quietly powerful and profoundly impactful, like simplicity in its most refined form. At times, you might have disagreed with him, or found that his ideas did not align with your own. But it was impossible not to see that his heart always beat in rhythm with this city—with care, with love, and with tireless attempts to craft lines of understanding and knowledge that connected the city to its people, and to the debates, aspirations, and expectations swirling around it—lines that transcended place and time.
Mahdi Abdul Hadi was born in Nablus in 1944 but spent most of his life in Jerusalem. He studied law at Damascus University in Syria and began his career as a lawyer, as his father and grandfather before him had. However, he soon realized that the law alone was not enough to confront the challenges facing Palestinians. So, he turned to journalism and public media, co-founding Al-Fajr newspaper with Youssef Nasr in the 1970s. After Nasr’s abduction, Abdul Hadi felt an urgent need to write about the Palestinian cause. He quickly published his first book, The Palestinian Issue and Peaceful Solutions.
In 1977, he established the Arab Thought Forum, which provided Palestinians with a platform for dialogue and the alignment of perspectives among different factions. He also worked with Birzeit University to establish the first Palestinian Public Relations Office, aimed at deepening political understanding through the exchange of ideas, publications, and outreach. After earning his doctorate in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom in 1984, his perspective on global issues expanded further, earning him a fellowship at Harvard University. Upon his return to Jerusalem, he founded the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) in 1987. PASSIA became a platform for intellectual discourse and dialogue—a bridge connecting the past to the present, the land to its people.
For Abdul Hadi, PASSIA was not just a research center; it was an extension of his vision. Through it, he opened pathways for dialogue and devoted his life to raising awareness and enriching the conversation around Palestine—the land, the people, and their rights. He left behind an intellectual legacy that will endure.
It is humbling to stand before the achievements of such a remarkable figure, to review them and pause for a moment, feeling a sense of pride that the mothers of this nation continue to bring forth those who safeguard the dignity and heritage of this stolen homeland. On a personal level, I feel a deep pride in the moments I spent with Dr. Mahdi over the years—moments that, time and again, reassured me of the goodness that exists in people despite the cruelty that surrounds us. I felt pride in the way he looked at me, in how he encouraged me, and in the way he engaged with my ideas—sometimes agreeing, sometimes intrigued, sometimes disagreeing—but always listening, always respectful, always encouraging.
I cannot count how many times I reflected on the importance of what Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi gave to Jerusalem, especially through PASSIA, over decades of shaping my understanding of the national cause. His vision was expansive and forward-thinking, rooted in truth as the lock and key of this cause.
In recent years, I made it a point to attend the forums he organized, drawing inspiration from his resilience and determination, which remained a bright flame despite the toll of illness. His body may have been worn down by sickness, but his resolve and the fire of his passion for his homeland and his mission were never extinguished.
Perhaps Jerusalem is lowering the curtain on the final chapters of these faithful and remarkable figures from a time when people lived through countless upheavals and reversals, all in pursuit of a longed-for freedom.
Perhaps there is no better way to end this farewell than with the words of Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi himself, from an article he wrote titled “A Personal Perspective Yet to Be Completed,” where he said:
“To write as you think, to express as you love, to not drown in a sea of words, to not wait for praise or compliments, to not fear reproach or criticism, and to ask yourself: for whom do I write? Do I write ‘for history,’ as a review and documentation of ‘conscious events’ shaped by social, economic, and political realities, or do I write ‘from memory,’ as a repository of life’s stories and what they have become—successes and failures? I believe the responsibility in writing—especially when it is about the self or the family—lies in uniting history and memory: writing about events and their people with the logic and mindset of their time and place, rather than necessarily with the lens of the present. Only then can we provide objectivity, transparency, intellectual honesty, and the pursuit of truth.”
I believe these words capture him perfectly. He was a man unafraid to voice his opinion and stand firmly behind it. With time, he gained wisdom and a deeper vision that further strengthened his balance and his unwavering faith in a cause whose dimensions grew ever more complex as the interests of allies and adversaries intertwined over time.
With the passing of Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi, Jerusalem has lost a towering intellectual and humanitarian figure—one whose mark on the history of the cause and the hearts of those who knew him will never fade.
My heartfelt condolences to his beloved family, the PASSIA family, his companions, and all those who were touched by his thought and mission. His legacy will remain alive, a source of inspiration for generations to come.