Ahmad Shukeiri
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Ahmad al-Shukeiri ( ar, أحمد الشقيري, also transliterated al-Shuqayri, Shuqairi, Shuqeiri, Shukeiry; 1 January 1908 – 26 February 1980) was the first
Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...
of the
Palestinian Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and s ...
, serving from 1964–1967.


Early life

Shukeiri was born in Tebnine, south
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...
then
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
to a Turkish mother and a Palestinian father, As'ad Shukeiri (1860–1940) (who was elected to the
Ottoman Parliament The General Assembly ( tr, Meclis-i Umumî (French romanization: "Medjliss Oumoumi" ) or ''Genel Parlamento''; french: Assemblée Générale) was the first attempt at representative democracy by the imperial government of the Ottoman Empire. Al ...
in 1908 and 1912). Ahmad acquired the
Turkish language Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...
from his mother. After studying law in the British law college in
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, he became a prominent lawyer in British-Palestine and a member of the Independence Party. In 1945 he went to Washington, D.C. to establish a Palestinian office and in 1946 joined the
Arab Higher Committee The Arab Higher Committee ( ar, اللجنة العربية العليا) or the Higher National Committee was the central political organ of the Arab Palestinians in Mandatory Palestine. It was established on 25 April 1936, on the initiative o ...
.


Political career

Shukeiri was a member of the
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
n delegation to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
from 1949 to 1951. He then became assistant Secretary General for the
Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
from 1950–1956, Saudi ambassador to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
from 1957 to 1962. At the 1964 Arab League summit (Cairo), he was given a mandate to initiate contacts aimed at establishing a Palestinian entity. In December 1962, representing Saudi Arabia, he told the Special Political Committee of the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
that the Tacuara movement had been formed to combat Zionism and he hoped it would spread in Latin America and its principles adopted by the United Nations. After receiving information about Tacuara from the
Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...
and Chilean delegations, he backed down, acknowledging that Tacuara was a fascist movement and claiming instead that it was more appropriate to compare Tacuara to Israel.


Chairman of the PLO

In May 1964, he was elected the first Chairman of the PLO (
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and sta ...
) with the support of Egyptian leader
Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-r ...
. He resigned in December 1967 in the aftermath of the
Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 ...
in June. His enemies and opponents used him as a scapegoat.Moshe Shemesh, "Did Shuqayri Call For ‘Throwing the Jews into the Sea?’" Israel Studies, Summer 2003, p. 70 From 28 May to 2 June 1964 Shukeiri and 396 nominated representatives from Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the Gaza strip, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Libya and Iraq attended a Palestinian Conference (The First
Palestinian National Council The Palestinian National Council (PNC) ( ar, المجلس الوطني الفلسطيني, "'Almajlis Alwataniu Alfilastiniu"') is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and elects the PLO Executive Committee, which ...
in
East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separ ...
). Delegates wore badges carrying a map of Palestine and inscribed "We shall return". ''The Times'' reported that following an introductory address by King Hussein of Jordan, Shukeiri told delegates that "Palestinians had experienced 16 years' misery and it was time they relied on themselves and liberated Palestine from the Israelis". The conference announced the establishment of the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian Arabs. Shukeiri and his colleagues also announced the formation of the Palestinian National Fund, and at the Second Arab Summit Conference in
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
in September 1964 of a military wing, the Palestine Liberation Army. Prior to the
Six Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...
, Shukeiri was reported to have threatened to "throw the Jews into the sea" and, when asked about Israel-born Jews, he said that "Whoever survives will stay in Filastin, but in my opinion no one will remain alive". These statements gained little attention at the time but after the war they were used as part of the Israeli government's justification of their initiation of the war. Shukeiri consistently denied having made such a statement; his denial was not printed in most Western press, but was reported on French radio in September 1967: Shemesh, Moshe. “Did Shuqayri Call for ‘Throwing the Jews into the Sea’?” ''Israel Studies'' 8, no. 2 (2003): 70–81. .
I stated exactly the opposite. I was in Amman two days before the Israeli aggression and was asked at a press conference if we would throw the Jews into the sea if the Arabs won the war. I immediately answered this question and said that we have no desire to throw the Jews into the sea nor do we want to annihilate the Jews. But Jewish sources twisted these statements around, and as you know Zionism is expert at lying and distorting things.
Moshe Shemesh writes that he probably meant to send the European Jews by sea to Europe while his second statement had a genocidal meaning Shukeiri was succeeded as Chairman of PLO by Yahya Hammuda in December 1967.


Later life

Between 1968 and 1979, Shukeiri wrote more than twenty books dealing with the Palestinian cause and the Arab Unity. He died on 26 February 1980, aged 72 in
Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 as of 2021, Amman is ...
.


Notes


References

*'Arab Move To Free Palestine: "16 Years Of Misery"', From Our Correspondent, ''The Times'', Saturday, 30 May 1964; p. 7; Issue 56025; col D. *Connell, Dan (2001). ''Rethinking Revolution: New Strategies for Democracy & Social Justice''. The Red Sea Press. *'Mr Ahmed Shukeiri', Obituary, ''The Times'', Wednesday, 27 February 1980; p. 16; Issue 60561; col H. *Arieh Avneri, ''The Claim of Dispossession: Jewish Land-Settlement and the Arabs 1878–1948'' (London: Transaction Books, 2002) p. 233. *Encyclopaedia Palaestina, Micropaedia, 1st volume, pp. 98–100.


External links


Biography of Ahmad Al-Shukairy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shukeiri, Ahmad 1908 births 1980 deaths People from Bint Jbeil District Palestinian people of Turkish descent 20th-century Palestinian lawyers Lebanese emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Palestinian politicians Palestine Liberation Organization members Permanent Representatives of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Palestinian refugees Palestinian Arab nationalists Members of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization