Custodians and Institutionalists: The Role of the Palestinian Cultural Elite in Israel

This study examines how the Palestinian Arab cultural elite in Israel, divided between institutional and custodian currents, navigates the intersecting pressures of national identity, political exclusion, and evolving cultural regimes. The findings reveal that the cultural elite is far from monolithic, comprising two interwoven yet distinct camps, each grounded in a common national identity but shaped by different generational experiences. Custodian elites, an older cohort formed when culture served as partisan resistance, remain rooted in party-affiliated associations and traditional literature, investing their ideological capital in community-driven, non-formal initiatives to preserve Palestinian collective memory. Institutional elites have emerged amid recent global social and political shifts. This younger, formally educated group operates within NGOs, municipal bodies and universities, combining commitment to the Palestinian narrative with liberal and cosmopolitan values, and harnessing digital media, multilingual networks, and diverse funding to drive policy-focused educational and cultural reforms. The findings also reveal that despite divergent orientations, these camps engage in dynamic exchange. Institutional actors draw on custodian narrative practices to legitimize innovation, while custodians utilize institutional platforms to expand the reach of Palestinian narratives, showing how progressive cosmopolitanism and identity-centered nationalism co-produce a multifaceted cultural leadership under Israeli exclusion. Two clusters of challenges are identified. Custodian elites face declining legitimacy and funding shortages as their traditional patriotic discourse loses appeal among younger audiences. Institutional elites contend with mistrust in Arab society due to partnerships with state bodies and dependence on government funding. Both groups share two obstacles: inter-elite struggles that dilute authority and the absence of robust cultural infrastructure or a coherent cultural vision.