# Nur Masalha

Nur ad-Din Masalha (Arabic: نور الدين مصالحه, romanized: Nūr ad-Dīn Maṣālḥa, Arabic pronunciation:; born 4 January 1957), commonly known as Nur Masalha, is a Palestinian writer, historian, and academic. His work focuses on the history, politics, and theology of Palestine, including themes such as the Palestinian Nakba, Zionism, and liberation theology.

## Biography
### Early life and education

Nur ad-Din Masalha was born on January 4, 1957, in Galilee, Israel. He completed his undergraduate studies with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Politics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1979, followed by a Master of Arts in Middle East Politics in 1982. Masalha earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Middle Eastern Politics from the SOAS (University of London) in 1988.

### Academic career

Masalha has held various academic and research positions throughout his career. He was a professor of religion and politics at St Mary's University, Twickenham, where he directed the Centre for Religion and History and the Holy Land Research Project. From 2005 to 2015, he served as the director of the MA in Religion, Politics, and Conflict Resolution at St. Mary’s University.
He has also been a professorial research associate at School of Oriental and African Studies and a member of the Centre for Palestine Studies and the London Middle East Institute at the University of London. Masalha has held honorary fellowships and research positions at institutions such as the Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Durham University and the Kuwait Programme, Department of Government, London School of Economics.
Masalha has also taught at Birzeit University in Ramallah, West Bank.

### Editorial role

Masalha is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies, formerly Holy Land Studies, a peer-reviewed journal published by Edinburgh University Press. A Spanish-language edition, Estudios de Tierra Santa, is published by Editorial Canaán.
The journal was co-founded with Michael Prior in 2002. Members of the editorial board and International Advisory Board included the late Edward W. Said, Hisham Sharabi, and Samih Farsoun. Current members include Noam Chomsky, Ilan Pappe, Dan Rabinowitz, Naim Ateek, Oren Yiftachel, William Dalrymple, Salim Tamari, and Thomas L. Thompson.

## Scholarship and critique

Masalha’s scholarship critically examines the historical, political, and theological dimensions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His work focuses on decolonizing history, reclaiming Palestinian voices, and critiquing Zionist ideology.
In The Palestine Nakba, Masalha highlights the Nakba's significance in Palestinian collective memory and emphasizes the importance of oral histories in preserving marginalized perspectives. His engagement with liberation theology is evident in Theologies of Liberation in Palestine-Israel, where he advocates for contextual theological frameworks that support resistance and strengthen Palestinian identity.

### Critique of Benny Morris

Masalha has critically engaged with Zionist historiography, particularly focusing on the work of historian Benny Morris. Morris's book, The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947–1949, has been critically reviewed by Masalha and others. Alongside Norman Finkelstein, Masalha has criticized Morris's first publication on the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight.
Masalha argues that Morris's conclusions exhibit a pro-Israeli bias, as they rely on selectively released Israeli documentation, with more sensitive materials inaccessible to researchers. Additionally, he contends that Morris uncritically accepted Israeli documents, which Masalha describes as occasionally apologetic. Masalha also highlights a contradiction in Morris's conclusion: while Morris asserts there was no explicit "blueprint" for expulsions, the evidence presented in the book suggests an implicit understanding between Ben Gurion and his lieutenants to facilitate the expulsion of Palestinians.
In response, Morris contended that his conclusions were based on a sufficiently broad range of military and civilian materials. He argued that Masalha and Finkelstein drew their conclusions from a pro-Palestinian perspective and defended his "narrow and severe" definition of expulsions. Morris maintained that there was no formal transfer policy.