The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS), also known as Institute for Palestine Studies USA Inc. and IPS USA, is a pro-Palestinian research and advocacy organization. IPS USA is the American branch of the international organization Institute for Palestine Studies with offices in Beirut, Lebanon; Ramallah, West Bank; and Washington, D.C. IPS USA publishes journals, books, and blogs on Palestinian current events, history, and culture as well as commentary on Israel-Arab conflicts. ^{1 2 3}

Activities

The Institute for Palestine Studies USA publishes journals, books, and blogs and hosts events on Palestinian history, news, and culture as well as on the Arab-Israeli conflicts. IPS USA is one of three branches of the international Institute for Palestinian Studies. The other branches are in Beirut, Lebanon, and Ramallah in the West Bank. ^{4 5 4}

IPS USA ‘s flagship publication is the Journal of Palestine Studies (JPS). The institute also produces the Palestine Square blog, a monograph series entitled Current Issues in Depth, and various books. Books produced by IPS USA include Israel’s 2018 Nation-State Law: The Zionist Apartheid Manifesto, Kahanism and American Politics: The Democratic Party’s Decades-Long Courtship of Racist Fanatics, and Hamas: The Rise of Palestinian Resistance and Attempts at Its Containment. As of September 2024, Palestine Square blogs include pieces entitled “U.S. Media Outlets Smear Palestinians as Inherently Violent” and “U.S. Newspapers Push False Israeli Claims.” ^{2 3 6}

History

The Institute for Palestine Studies, the international umbrella organization of the Institute for Palestine Studies USA, was originally founded in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1963 as a non-profit research organization by eight Lebanese and Palestinian intellectuals and public figures. Over the following seven years, IPS included Arab public figures in its board of trustees. In 1967, IPS focused on documenting Israeli practices in the 1967 Six Day War between Israel and a coalition of Arab states. In the 1970s, IPS shifted its focus to translating Hebrew language materials, including documents from Zionist Congresses and proceedings from the Israeli legislature, the Knesset, to help the Arab world gain a “deeper grasp of Zionist-Israeli decision-making.” IPS also began publishing research on the Israel-Arab conflict through its Journal of Palestine Studies in 1971. ¹

In 1990 IPS launched a quarterly publication in Arabic called Majallat al-Dirasat al-Filastiniyya. In 1994, IPS opened on office in Jerusalem under the name the Institute of Jerusalem Studies. In 1998 the Jerusalem office launched an English language journal called Jerusalem Quarterly. By 2003, IPS had moved its Jerusalem office to Ramallah in the West Bank. In 1983, IPS founded the Institute for Palestine Studies (USA). In 2013 IPS registered its Washington office, Institute for Palestine Studies (USA), as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. ^{1 2}

People

The president and chair of the board of directors for the Institute of Palestine Studies USA Inc. is Rashid Khalidi. Khalidi is a professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University and the co-editor of IPS’s Journal of Palestine Studies. He was also the president of the Middle East Studies Association. Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on the State of Israel, Khalidi gave an interview to the Marxist outlet Jacobin in which he blamed the terrorist attack and the violence in the Palestinian territories on Israel’s “violent settler colonialism and resistance to it. ^{7 8 9}

The executive director of IPS USA is Stephen Bennet. ²

Related Organizations

According to tax filings, the Institute for Palestine Studies USA Inc. is affiliated with the Institute for Palestine Studies District of Columbia, which has the same address as the Institute for Palestine Studies. ⁵

Financials

According to its tax filings, in 2022 the Institute for Palestine Studies USA reported $898,503 in revenue, $733,377 in expenses, and $979,808 in assets. For its expenses, IPS USA spent $403,283 on documenting, researching, and analyzing Palestinian affairs. For its revenue, IPS USA reportedly received $533,699 from contributions, gifts, and grants, and membership fees and an additional $109,898 from publication sales. ⁵

1. “About IPS.” IPS. Accessed September 26, 2024. https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/about/history.
2. “About IPS.” IPS. Accessed September 26, 2024. https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/about/about-ips-usa
3. “Books.” IPS. Accessed September 26, 2024. https://www.palestine-studies.org/books/explorer1.
4. “About IPS.” IPS. Accessed September 26, 2024. https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/about/programs.
5. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Institute for Palestine Studies (USA) Inc. 2022.
6. Palestine Square.” IPS. Accessed September 26, 2024. https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/blogs/all2.
7. “About IPS.” IPS. Accessed September 26, 2024. https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/about/boards.
8. “Rashid Khalidi.” IPS. Accessed September 26, 2024. https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/235739.
9. Hauenstein, Hanno. “Rashid Khalidi: Violent Settler Colonialism Caused This War.” Jacobin. May 2024. Accessed September 26, 2024. https://jacobin.com/2024/05/rashid-khalidi-settler-colonialism-palestine.