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Who are the Nawari, Gaza's alienated 'Gypsies'?

Palestine's marginalized Nawari community is forced to rely on begging and dancing for income and suffers particular discrimination in highly conservative Gaza, where many look down on Nawaris for their traditions.
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — In the northern Gaza district of al-Saftawi, the Nawar neighborhood remains socially isolated from its surroundings. Many Gazans discriminate against the Nawari community based on old societal beliefs.

Mussa Natour, a researcher on Palestinian history and member of the Palestinian Curriculum Development Center at the Ministry of Education, stressed to Al-Monitor that there are no Gypsy communities in Palestine at present and that the Roma groups that once spread throughout the Levant area have left Palestine because of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He explained that although Gazans consider the Nawaris Gypsies, they are not. They are a separate community. He added, “Nawaris in Palestine are treated the same way as the Roma community is treated in other countries, since the Nawaris’ customs and traditions are similar to those of the Roma community.” These rituals run contrary to the traditions of Gazan society, which has been heavily influenced by Islamic rule, especially after Hamas’ takeover of Gaza in 2007.

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