One hundred thousand Palestinians fled to Syria after being expelled from Palestine upon the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Integrating into Syrian society over time, their experience stands in stark contrast to the plight of Palestinian refugees in other Arab countries, leading to different ways through which to understand the 1948 Nakba, or catastrophe, in their popular memory.

Conducting interviews with first-, second-, and third-generation members of Syria's Palestinian community, Anaheed Al-Hardan follows the evolution of the Nakba—the central signifier of the Palestinian refugee past and present—in Arab intellectual discourses, Syria's Palestinian politics, and the community's memorialization. Al-Hardan's sophisticated research sheds light on the enduring relevance of the Nakba among the communities it helped create, while challenging the nationalist and patriotic idea that memories of the Nakba are static and universally shared among Palestinians. Her study also critically tracks the Nakba's changing meaning in light of Syria's twenty-first-century civil war.

"Al-Hardan’s mastery of historical context; her nuanced approach to the symbolic nature of memory-making-for community-building among three generations of refugees; and her clear-eyed articulation of a catastrophe of catastrophes is as groundbreaking as it is heart-wrenching." - Journal of Palestine Studies

"Palestinians in Syria is a well-researched, timely contribution to scholarship on refugees, memory, and the nakba." - International Journal of Middle East Studies

"One of the few scholarly representations of the Palestinian community in Syria." - American Historical Review

"Especially in view of the impossibility of doing comparable research today, this book will be a valuable reference for years to come." - The Jordan Times

"A must-read for scholars of Middle Eastern and Palestine studies and an essential contribution to these fields." - Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies

"Provides a fascinating insight into a community now almost completely obliterated." - Middle East Media and Book Reviews Online

"Part sociopolitical history, and part discourse-analysis, Al-Hardan’s interdisciplinary study covers a lot of ground." - Al Jadid

"An important and timely addition to the growing body of Nakba scholarship." - Middle East Eye

"An exceptional and extremely timely work." - Journal of Islamic Studies