Palestinians in Chile

Migration history

The earliest Palestinian migrants came in the 1850s during the Crimean War, fleeing due to Russia's intent to capture and control the Holy Land. They worked mainly as businessmen and also in agriculture. Other migrants arrived before and during World War I and later the 1948 Palestine war (nakba). By origin they primarily came from the cities of Beit Jala, Bethlehem, and Beit Sahour. Most of these early migrants were Christians. They typically landed at Argentine ports, and crossed the Andes by mule into Chile. Chilean Palestinians are often erroneously but also intentionally called turcos (Spanish for Turks) after the Ottoman nationality that early Arab immigrants had on their passports. Contrary to the immigration of Germans and other western European nationalities, the immigration of Palestinians was not considered beneficial by Chilean intellectuals, and was even, alongside Eastern European, Chinese, and Japanese immigration, questioned. The arrival of the Palestinian immigrants to Chile in the early 20th century happened at the same time the Chilean state stopped sponsoring immigration to Chile and the country suffered a severe social and economic crisis coupled with a wave of nationalism with xenophobic and racist undertones. Immigrants were also at times treated in highly denigrating terms by the Chilean press; for example, El Mercurio wrote in 1911:

Many of the immigrants were very poor and illiterate and had to take loans to pay their travel costs. Once in Chile, Palestinians settled largely in the marginal areas of cities and worked as small merchants. In the 1950s by the time of the second government of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo many Palestinian-Chileans had acquired substantial economic as well as political power in Chile, some working as deputies, ministers or ambassadors.

Aside from these migrants of previous decades, Chile has also taken in some Palestinian refugees in later years, as in April 2008 when it received 117 from the Al-Waleed refugee camp on the Syria–Iraq border near the Al-Tanf crossing. All of those refugees were Sunni Muslims.

People who hold a diplomatic or official Palestinian passport can visit Chile as tourists for up to 90 days, without a visa.

Religion

The vast majority of the Palestinian community in Chile follow Christianity. The largest denomination is Orthodox Christian followed by Roman Catholic, and in fact, the number of Palestinian Christians in the diaspora in Chile alone exceeds the number of those who have remained in their homeland. One early Palestinian church in Santiago, the Iglesia Ortodoxa San Jorge, was founded in 1917. Some Palestinians in Chile are Sunni Muslims.

Community organizations

The Club Palestino is one of the most prestigious social clubs in Santiago; it offers swimming, tennis, and dining facilities to its members. There is also a soccer team, C.D. Palestino, whose uniform is in the traditional Palestinian colours red, green, and white. The team has been champion of the Chilean Primera División twice.

• English version: Also, some Chilean-Palestinian footballers like Roberto Bishara and Alexis Norambuena have played for the Palestine national football team. Other Chileans of Palestinian origin, such as Luis Antonio Jiménez, played international football for Chile and several foreign clubs.

A number of Palestinians in Chile have shown significant concern with the situation of Palestine, for example, the president of the Cámara de Comercio (chamber of commerce) of the Barrio Patronato, himself a Palestinian, in 2006 organised a protest regarding the 2006 Lebanon War; Lebanese and Palestinian flags were widely seen in the neighbourhood's streets at that time. On another occasion, outside the Club Palestino and again in front of the Colegio Árabe, someone wrote on the sidewalk "Árabe=terrorismo" ("Arabs=terrorism") and "Palestina no existe" ("Palestine does not exist").

In August 2025, the Palestine Football Association relocated its base of operations to the country due to the large diaspora in the country as well as its distance from the Gaza war.

In literature

A number of Chilean novels have featured Palestinian characters and discussed the experience of Palestinian immigrants in the country, such as El viajero de la alfombra mágica by Walter Garib, Los turcos by Roberto Sarah, and Peregrino de ojos brillantes, by Jaime Hales.

Notable people

• Edgardo Abdala, footballer
• Lina Meruane, writer
• Ricardo Meruane, humorist
• Nelly Meruane, actress
• Carlos Abumohor, businessman and investor
• Roberto Bishara Adawi, footballer
• Francisco Chahuán, politician
• Diamela Eltit, writer
• Cardinal Fernando Chomalí Garib, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Santiago
• Daud Gazale, footballer
• Ricardo Marzuca, professor at Universidad de Chile
• Annemarie Jacir, movie director and photographer
• Daniel Jadue, politician
• Matías Jadue, footballer
• Sergio Jadue, football executive
• Luis Antonio Jiménez, footballer
• Roberto Kettlun Beshe, footballer
• Miguel Littin, movie director and screenwriter
• Lina Meruane, writer
• Luis Musrri, footballer
• Miguel Nasur Allel, businessman and football club owner
• Christopher Penroz, footballer
• José Said, businessman
• Álvaro Saieh, businessman
• Arturo Salah, former football player
• Fernando Solabarrieta Chelech, journalist, TV presenter
• Rafael Tarud Siwady, politician
• José Zalaquett Daher, lawyer
• Leonardo Harum Amaro, footballer
• Marko Zaror, martial artist, actor
• Elyanna (née Elian Amer Marjieh), singer and songwriter

References

Notes

Sources

References

1. "CHILE TRAVEL GUIDE".
2. (2009-02-11). "Los palestinos miran con esperanza su futuro en Chile sin olvidar Gaza e Irak".
3. link. (2009-07-22)
4. "Arabes en Chile".
5. "Palestinians".
6. {{harvnb. Samamé. 2003
7. Cerda, Claudio. (2009-01-13). "In remote Chile, Palestinians pray for cease-fire".
8. Rebolledo Hernández, Antonia. (1994). "La "Turcofobia". Discriminación antiárabe en Chile, 1900-1950". [[Historia (history of the Americas journal).
9. Henríquez, Andrea. (2008-03-31). "Chile recibirá a refugiados palestinos".
10. Nacional, Biblioteca del Congreso. "Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional | Ley Chile".
11. (2006-08-09). "Palestino lucha por la paz desde Patronato: Carlos Abusleme chantó banderas en honor a los caídos del pueblo libanés".
12. "Palestinos inquietos por rayados ofensivos".
13. EFE, Agencia. (July 30, 2025). "Palestine's 2030 World Cup quest finds haven in Chile - EFE".
14. {{harvnb. Samamé. 2003