Sumud

Sumud (Arabic: صمود, romanized: ṣumūd, meaning "steadfastness"^[1] or "steadfast perseverance"; derived from the verb صمد ṣamada, meaning "arrange, adorn, lay up, save")^[2] is a Palestinian cultural value, ideological theme and political strategy that emerged in the wake of the 1967 Six-Day War among the Palestinian people as a consequence of their oppression and the resistance it inspired.^[3] People who exhibit ṣumūd are referred to as ṣamīdīn, the singular forms of which are ṣamīd (m.) and ṣamīda (f.).

As the term developed, Palestinians have distinguished between two main forms of sumud. The first, "static sumud", is more passive and is defined by Ibrahim Dhahak as the "maintenance of Palestinians on their land." The second, "resistance sumud" (Arabic: صمود مقاوم, romanized: ṣumūd muqāwim), is a more dynamic ideology whose aim is to seek ways of building alternative institutions so as to resist and undermine the Israeli occupation of Palestine.^[3]

The ultimate symbol associated with the concept of sumud and the Palestinian sense of rootedness in the land is the olive tree, ubiquitous throughout Palestine.^[4] Another icon of sumud that has often been portrayed in Palestinian artwork is that of the mother, and more specifically, a peasant woman depicted as pregnant.^[5]