For many years, Palestine had one of the strongest left-wing movements in the Arab world, represented by prominent figures such as Emile Habibi, Leila Khaled, and Ghassan Kanafani. At the beginning of the First Intifada in the 1980s, Palestinian left groups were still the main challengers to the hegemony of Fatah, although the Left has lost much of its influence in the period since then.

Red Star Over Palestine: Histories of the Palestinian Left is a six-part series exploring the experience of Palestinian communism and the left-wing currents inside the Palestine Liberation Organization. The series also looks at the outsized impact of the Left on Palestinian cultural life.

This first episode focuses on the communist movement in Palestine from its early years until the 1960s.

Red Star Over Palestine is hosted by Daniel Finn and produced by Conor Gillies with music by Fadi Tabbal.