Bank of Palestine has sponsored recently a number of cultural festivals held in the districts of Jerusalem and Ramallah. The Bank sponsored Birzeit Nights Festival organized by Birzeit University and the proceeds of which will be allocated to the Needy Student Fund. In addition, Bank of Palestine sponsored the Heritage Week in the old town of Birzeit which was organized by Project Rozana. The Heritage Week included historical and authentic Palestinian activities such as the Palestinian wedding. Furthermore, Bank of Palestine sponsored Jifna Days Festival which included a display of manual heritage and agricultural products made by Palestinian charity associations. The last festival sponsored by Bank of Palestine took place in Jerusalem. That was Al-Quds Festival organized by Yabous Cultural Center.
Al-Quds Festival titled “Jerusalem is a Cultural Beacon” was held in the garden of the National Music Conservatory on 27 June 2013. Palestinian and international music groups participated in the festival. The festival was inaugurated last Friday in Jerusalem featuring the Palestinian singer Reem Al-Bana who introduced sings form her new album “Manifestations of Existence and Revolution.”
In addition to Al-Bana, other artists participated in Al-Quds Festival 2013 including Marco Pereira Trio from Brazil, Tut Ard (Strawberry) Group from the occupied Golan Heights, and Siraj Chorus that sang in tribute to the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. The festival concluded with a concert by Lapas Group from Algeria. The concluding events of the festival included as well a screening of three feature and documentary Palestinian films: “Infiltrators” for Khaled Jarrar, “Tales of the Land” for Ahmad Al-Budeiri and “Myrrh and Pomegranates” for Najwa Najjar. The festival ended with the staging of a children play called “Zarif” produced by Al-Sira Theater and directed by Radi Shehadeh.