Doms in Palestine
دوم | |
|---|---|
 Domari encampment north of the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem (1914) | |
| Total population | |
| 12,000[1] (2022) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Jerusalem[2] | |
| Languages | |
| Domari, Palestinian Arabic | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Islam |
The Doms (also called Domi; Arabic: دومي / ALA-LC: Dūmī, دومري / Dūmrī, Ḍom / ضوم or دوم, or sometimes also called Doms) are a community in Palestine. They are descended from the Dom caste with origins in the Indian subcontinent, who through ancient migrations are found scattered across the Middle East and North Africa, the Eastern Anatolia Region, Iraq, and Azerbaijan. The traditional language of the Dom is Domari, an endangered Indo-Aryan language, thereby making the Dom an Indo-Aryan ethnic group.[3][4]
The Doms were formerly grouped with other traditionally itinerant ethnic groups originating from medieval India: the Rom and Lom peoples.[3] However, these groups left India at different times and used different routes.[5] The Domari language has a separate origin in India from Romani,[3] and Doms are not closer to the Romani people than other Indians, such as Gujaratis.[6] Dom people do not identify themselves as Romanis.[7]
History
[edit]
The Doms left India between the third and tenth centuries.[8] They have lived in Palestine for at least four centuries, arriving either with Saladin or during Ottoman Empire rule.[8][9] They converted to Islam and were known as horse breeders and blacksmiths.[8][10]
According to a report by Wafa and the Jerusalem Domari Society, between 4000 and 5000 Doms were expelled in the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight, most settled in Jordan, specficially in the city of Amman.[1]
In modern times, they have low employment and education, often living in poverty. Fewer than half make it to secondary school, and 80% of Dom men are unemployed.[9]
Demographics
[edit]There are few accurate reports on the number of Doms in Palestine.[10][1] There are an estimated 7000 Doms in the West Bank and 900 in the Gaza Strip, as of 2013[update].[11] As of 2022[update], around 12000 Doms resided in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.[1]
98% of Doms in Palestine are Muslim and 2% are Christian.[9][12]
Doms are not recognized as a separate ethnic group by the Israeli Ministry of interior, but rather as Arabs.[13] Doms in East Jerusalem hold Israeli residencies rather than Israeli citizenships.[14]
Racism
[edit]The Dom face significant discrimination and racism from the larger Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. They face comments about their dance style being immoral. Dom weddings mix genders, revealing they are not from majority society.[11] Palestinian families do not allow marriage with Doms, leading many to conceal their identity.[9][11] They also face marginalization in schools, which impacts employment prospects and keeps the community in poverty. Women resort to begging and men play in musical groups at weddings. They are denied representation in the government and institutions, unlike in Jordan.[11] They do not receive much from international aid.[9][11] One report stated "I was regaled with tales of being spit on in the street, taunting by teachers in schools, and blatant work-place discrimination"[9]
They are used as a pejorative for other people. Doms are expected to perform at their best to be accepted in society.[11] Slurs such as "al-Nawar" are used.[9]
In 2000, the Domari Society of Gypsies in Jerusalem was founded, with the aim of combating discrimination.[10] A community Center for Doms was opened in Shuafat, Jerusalem, with support from the Dom Research Center,[13] it offers courses and free resources to members of the Dom community.[10][13]
See also
[edit]- Doms in Egypt
- Doms in Iraq
- Doms in Israel
- Doms in Jordan
- Doms in Lebanon
- Doms in Libya
- Doms in Sudan
- Doms in Syria
- Doms in Tunisia
- Zott
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "الدوم" [Doms]. WAFA Info (in Arabic). Retrieved 8 October 2025.
- ^ "The Last Migration? Jerusalem's Gypsy Community". Institute for Palestine Studies. doi:10.70190/jq.i18.p44. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
- ^ a b c Matras & Tenser 2020, pp. 14–17.
- ^ Türki̇ye'de Rom, Dom Ve Lom Gruplarinin Görünümü
- ^ Hubschmannova, Milena; Kalinin, Valdemar; Kenrick, Donald (2000). Bakker, Peter; Kichukov, Khristo (eds.). What is the Romani language?. Centre de recherches tsiganes. p. 18. ISBN 1-902806-06-9. OCLC 45827711.
- ^ Hancock, Ian F. (2002). We are the Romani People. Centre de recherches tsiganes. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-902806-19-8. OCLC 52312737.
- ^ Özateşler, Gül (1 December 2013). "The "Ethnic Identification" Of Dom People In Diyarbakir". Journal of Modern Turkish History Studies. 13 (27): 279. ISSN 1300-0756.
- ^ a b c Sleem, Amoun (July 2023). "Jerusalem's Dom People". This Week in Palestine. No. 303. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g Isenberg, Taylor Jo. "The In Between: The Dom of East Jerusalem" (PDF). Unknown. University of North Carolina.
- ^ a b c d أبوعرفة, جمان (12 April 2018). "الدوم.. عشيرة هندية استقرت في القدس" [The Dom: an Indian clan that settled in Jerusalem]. Al-Jazeera (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 18 November 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f al-Ghoul, Asmaa (14 June 2013). "Gaza's Gypsies Face Daily Racism". al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "Domari Romani in West Bank / Gaza". Joshua Project. Frontier Ventures. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
- ^ a b c "Hidden Gypsies of Jerusalem". The Jerusalem Post. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
- ^ "الغجر في القدس" [Gypsies in Jerusalem]. www.akhbarelbalad.net. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
Further reading
[edit]- Arpan Roy, Relative Strangers: Romani Kinship and Palestinian Difference, University of Toronto Press, November 30, 2024, 192 pp., ISBN 9781487558741, ISBN 1487558740, Google Books
