Aref al-Aref is a Jerusalemite historian, administrator, and politician who was born in 1892. He held several administrative positions, including assistant to the British Commissioner of Jerusalem district, assistant district Commissioner in charge of Ramallah subdistrict, head of the Jerusalem municipality, minister of works in the Jordanian government, and director of the Palestinian Antiquities Museum in Jerusalem. He published several books, including "al-Qada bayn al-Badw" (The Administration of Justice Among the Bedouin) (1933), "Tarikh bir as-Sabi' wa Qaba'lha" (The History of Bir as-Sabi' and Its Tribes) (1934), "Tarikh Gaza" (The History of Gaza) (1943), "al-Mujaz fi Tarikh Asqalan" (A Brief History of Asqalan) (1943) and "Awraq Aref al-Aref" (Aref al-Aref's Papers) (1970-1973).