
The Red Nation Podcast The foundations of Zionism w/ Fida Jiryis
Nov 3, 2025
Fida Jiryis, a Palestinian writer and translator based in Galilee, discusses her father's influential work, The Foundations of Zionism. She shares her motivations for translating the book amid conflict, sheds light on her father's experiences during the Nakba, and delves into the history of the Palestine Research Center. Fida explores how Zionism emerged as a European project, its colonial implications, and contemporary U.S. support. Her insights offer a critical perspective on global resistance and the importance of understanding these narratives.
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Born In Exile, Returned To Translate
- Fida Jiryis describes being born in exile in Beirut because her father was forced out for political work in the 1970s.
- She later returned to the Galilee and translated her father's book during intense recent conflict, completing most work during the Gaza war.
Scholarship Born From Nakba Witness
- Sabri Jiryis witnessed the Nakba at age ten and later studied law to confront injustices he saw in Israel.
- He led and published scholarship through the Palestine Research Center, facing imprisonment and exile for his activism.
Archives Seized And Center Attacked
- The Palestine Research Center published the first volume of Sabri Jiryis's History of Zionism before Israeli forces seized its archives in 1982.
- The center was later bombed, killing eight employees including Fida's mother, and the family was forced to relocate to Cyprus.


