Mathaf A. Tarabin
Founder of ICOM Palestine & Pioneer of Palestinian Museology.
mathaf@ps-museology.org
Mathaf A. Tarabin has played a central and widely recognized role in establishing the Palestinian National Committee within the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
His sustained efforts over six years culminated in the formal creation of ICOM Palestine in March 2025, a milestone that has been met with appreciation across the museum and heritage community.
Mr. Tarabin has played a key role in the administrative process leading to the issuing of fifty, ICOM membership cards for colleagues working across Palestine’s cultural, governmental, and academic museum sectors.
Mr. Tarabin continues to play an influential role in advancing scientific cooperation, academic training, and museum development in Palestine. His sustained commitment to intercultural dialogue, heritage diplomacy, and knowledge exchange has earned him widespread recognition both locally and internationally.
Ambassador
Ambassador in the European Union and Switzerland of the Archive Community / Palestine
Representative
Representative in Europe of the General Union of Historians and Archaeologists of Palestine
Founder
Founder member and Director of the Academy of palestinian and arab museology in Paris
Pioneer
Founder and pioneers of Palestinian museology as an academic field
Mr. Tarabin is the Founder and Director of the Academy of palestinian and arab museology located in Paris. The academy houses a museum of pre-1948 Palestinian ethnographic collections, a publishing house, a specialized library of more than 1,000 volumes, and archives spanning from the 17th to the 21st century.
An acknowledged expert in Palestinian culture and heritage, he has pioneered the development of Palestinian museology as an academic discipline—a field that seeks to harmonize inherited traditional medical practices, cultural identity, and the preservation of historical objects. His ongoing scholarly work is supported by leading academic and cultural institutions in France, Switzerland, Turkey, and Palestine.
His approach situates Palestinian museology within broader international museological practices while emphasizing local context, enabling Palestinians to articulate and shape their diverse cultural identities.
2025 – International Council on Archives (ICA)
2023 – International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
2019 – International Council of Museums (ICOM)
2016 – Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society
2023/2024 – Qualifying training: Studies on the medical archives of Avicenna , Moscow and Saint Petersburg State Universities
2020/2022 – Master 1 and 2 in Museology at the University of Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne in Paris (France), thesis entitled “Between ethnographic collection and living heritage: a selection of Palestinian feminine objects from the Ottoman era”
2015/2017 – Specialised program in international cultural diplomacy at the Hermitage Museum Youth Education Centre.
Mr. Tarabin is the custodian of his family museum, “Heritage from the Fragrance of the
Earth,” founded in 1790, officially recognized by the Ottoman Empire in 1884. This historic institution stands as a testament to Palestinian identity and collective memory, and has deeply shaped his professional and intellectual trajectory.
A descendant of one of Palestine’s earliest Christian families—renowned for their historical
roles in medicine, justice, and the safeguarding of religious heritage in the Sinai—Mr. Tarabin represents a longstanding tradition of public service and interfaith engagement.
His given name, Mathaf, meaning “museum” in Arabic, symbolically reflects his lifelong
commitment to the preservation and study of cultural heritage.
Area of expertise
Mr. Tarabin’s expertise encompasses :
– Palestinian ethnographic collections dispersed in museums across Japan, France, Switzerland, Jordan, and Palestine.
– Textiles, embroidery, costumes, jewelry, and religious objects from the Ottoman period to the present
– Traditional Palestinian Bedouin medical knowledge, including medicinal plants, physiotherapy, and historical surgical techniques — particularly cardiac procedures
He is the first Palestinian to earn a Master’s degree in Museology and the Ethnographic Heritage of Palestine through studies conducted in France.
Academic contributions
Closing lecture for the exhibition “Works of Art? Five Questions about Negev Embroidery.”
Lecture: “Encountering the Negev Collections: Between Heritage and Knowledge.”
Focused on interpreting the social history of Palestinian Bedouins through costume traditions.
Organized by Bethlehem University, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and
the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Lecture: “Palestinian Beliefs and Jewelry as a Source for Palestinian Museology – The
Bethlehem Governorate as a Model.”
Symposium on the History of Health in Palestine during the Ottoman Period.
Lecture: “Traditional Medicine and Objects of Popular Belief in the Museum of the A. Tarabin
Bedouin Tribe of the Negev during the Last Two Centuries of Ottoman Rule.”
Forum on New Approaches to Building a National Historical Narrative for Palestine and its
Region.
Presented the concept of the School of Palestinian and Arab Museology prior to its official
establishment.
Served as coordinator of Arab diplomatic missions.
Mathaf A. Tarabin: Preserving the Essence of Palestinian Heritage
Contact :
mathaf@ps-museology.org