BETHLEHEM, West Bank— Located on three acres of land near Bethlehem, the Palestine Museum of Natural History is home to some 260 types of plants, rare butterflies and birds. It is also a place where Israelis and Palestinians work alongside each other to further research, education and conservation.

“Israeli volunteers, who oppose colonialism, Zionism and Israeli occupation, work with us,” Mazin Qumsiyeh, founder and director of the museum and a well-known human rights activist, told Al-Monitor. “They are in favor of peaceful coexistence with Palestinians. They work actively with us to conserve the flora and fauna of Palestine.”

The museum is a dream come true for Qumsiyeh, who had wanted to create such a place since he was a child growing up in the town of Beit Sahour, on the outskirts of Bethlehem. The museum’s website has a section dedicated to Sana Atallah, Qumsiyeh’s uncle, Palestine’s first zoologist and the person who introduced the young Mazin to nature and to the world of museums. 

Qumsiyeh’s love of method and his passion for nature eventually led him to a career in medical genetics. He studied natural science at the University of Jordan and then earned a master's degree from the University of Connecticut and a PhD at Texas Tech University. He went on to train in medical genetics in Memphis, Tennessee, and served on the faculties of medicine at the University of Tennessee, Duke University, and Yale University before returning to Palestine in 2008 to research, teach and lecture.