JERUSALEM, Wednesday, August 14, 2019 (WAFA) - After a week of strenuous effort by the family of deceased Palestinian artist and historian Kamal Boullata, and their lawyers, Boullata‘s wish to return and be buried in Jerusalem was finally granted today and his body will be transported from Berlin and buried in Jerusalem, his birth place, according to a statement by Kamal Boullata‘s family.
"Kamal Boullata, the son of Jerusalem, will finally make it back to his homeland for burial at the Cemetery of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem at Mt. Zion next to his family and ancestors," said the statement.
Kamal was born in Jerusalem in 1942 and grew up in the Old City. His family traces their history in the Old City for over 600 years, according to the Records of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem and the Arab Orthodox Mukhtar for the Old City, the late Mitri Toubbeh.
For half a century, since 1967, he was barred from Jerusalem because he happened to be out of the country, for an exhibit in Beirut in 1967 when the Israeli occupation started. All his efforts to return to Jerusalem failed, except for a brief visit in 1984 which was memorialized in the film “Stranger at Home”. However, Jerusalem always stayed in his heart, and in his art.
"The right of every Palestinian to return to his homeland is a sacred right. It is particularly important for Jerusalemites, for whom the Holy City is part of their lives and essence. It is sad that so many are denied this right, but it is a bitter satisfaction when someone of his stature and world-known respect is finally allowed his last wish. May he rest in peace, and may his memory be forever," said his family.
The funeral mass will take place on Monday, 19 August at 4.00 pm at the cemetery of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem at Mt. Zion. The family will receive condolences at the Arab Orthodox Club in Beit Hanina after the ceremony and on Tuesday from 4:00 to 8:00 pm.
A prayer for Kamal’s soul will take place at St. Georgios Antiochian Orthodox Church on Thursday, August 15 at 10.30 am, Auguststraße 90, 10117 Berlin before his final rest in Jerusalem.
M.K.
