Member of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, Mousa Hadid, delivered on Wednesday, a message from President Mahmoud Abbas during the funeral ceremony of renowned Palestinian visual artist Sliman Mansour, held in his hometown of Birzeit. The ceremony was attended by a large official and public gathering, including prominent national and community figures and a wide cross-section of the Palestinian public.
Hadid conveyed President Abbas’s condolences to the bereaved family, the people of Birzeit, and the Palestinian people, emphasizing that Palestine is bidding farewell not only to a distinguished artist, but also to a man who deeply loved his homeland, devoted his life to it, and carried it in his heart. Through his paintings, Mansour gave expression to Palestine in ways that have become an enduring part of the Palestinian national memory and identity.
He noted that the late Sliman Mansour was one of Palestine’s leading cultural and artistic figures and a towering presence in its artistic journey. Through his work, he helped express and preserve Palestinian identity, strengthening its presence in Arab and international consciousness and using art as a powerful voice to tell the story of Palestine to the world.
Hadid also conveyed the condolences of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs, represented by the Head of the committee and member of the PLO Executive Committee, Dr. Ramzi Khouri, to the family, relatives, and admirers of the late artist. He stressed that Mansour’s passing is a profound loss for Palestinian art and culture, while his artistic and national legacy will continue to live on in Palestinian memory.
The funeral Mass was presided over by Bishop Imad Haddad, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, with the participation of a number of bishops and clergy, at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Birzeit. The funeral was also attended, on behalf of the Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs, by Acting Director General Hadeel Mashreqi and Projects Director Omar Aboudi, alongside a large gathering of members of the Palestinian public.
Sliman Mansour is widely regarded as one of the foremost figures in Palestinian visual art. For decades, his work has been deeply connected to Palestinian identity and to the land, heritage, and Jerusalem. His art remains an enduring part of the Palestinian collective memory, telling the story of a people, a homeland, and deep-rooted ties to the land.
