Abdullah Rimawi (; also spelled ''Abdullah ar-Rimawi'', 1920 – 5 March 1980) was the head of the

Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ( ' ), also known simply as Bath Party (), was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

in the 1950s. He served as Foreign Affairs Minister in Suleiman Nabulsi's government in 1957. A staunch pan-Arabist, Rimawi became one of the most vocal opponents of the

Hashemite The Hashemites (), also House of Hashim, are the Dynasty, royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Hejaz, Hejaz (1916–1925), Arab Kingdom of Syria, Syria (1920), and Kingd ...

ruling family in Jordan and favored union with

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. He fled Jordan in 1957 as the result of a crisis between the leftist government he was a part of and the royal family. He based himself in the

United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 to 1971. It was initially a short-lived political union between Republic of Egypt (1953–1958), Egypt (including Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Ara ...

(or the UAR, the result of a union between

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and Syria in 1958), where he drew closer to UAR President

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

provoking his expulsion from the Ba'ath Party—which was at odds with Nasser—in 1959. Soon after he founded a splinter party called the Arab Socialist Revolutionary Ba'ath Party. During his exile, he allegedly made a number of attempts to attack or undermine the Jordanian monarchy.

Early life

Rimawi was born in 1920 in the town of Beit Rima, near

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...

, during the period of British Mandatory rule in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. He attended primary school in his hometown and secondary school at the Arab College in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, graduating in 1937. He then enrolled at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

where he studied Western political theory and the rise of nationalism in the

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n continent. He graduated with a BA in mathematics and natural science in 1940. Afterward, Rimawi returned to Palestine and got a job as a professor in the

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

school authority. He would later work in various high schools in

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

Tulkarm Tulkarm or Tulkarem (, ''Ṭūlkarm'') is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the West Bank, the capital of the Tulkarm Governorate of the State of Palestine. The Israeli city of Netanya is to the west, and the Palestinian territories, Palestinia ...

, and

Ramla Ramla (), also known as Ramle (, ), is a city in the Central District of Israel. Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with significant numbers of both Jews and Arabs. The city was founded in the early 8th century CE by the Umayyad caliph S ...

until 1945.

Palestine War and founding of the Ba'ath in Jordan

In 1945, the

Arab Higher Committee The Arab Higher Committee () or the Higher National Committee was the central political organ of Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine. It was established on 25 April 1936, on the initiative of Haj Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Je ...

(AHC; the principal political organ of Palestinian Arabs under the British Mandate) was reestablished and Rimawi was appointed head of its Public Instruction Department.Morris, p.134. He was a vocal opponent of the Palestine Partition Plan devised in 1947 which proposed the division of Palestine into two separate Arab and Jewish states. In January 1948, during the Palestine War, Rimawi issued a broadcast from AHC radio dismissing claims by the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

(the Jewish paramilitary force) that "wealthy Arabs" were fleeing their homes. He stated many Palestinians were simply leaving to join Arab fighters' camps to train themselves for war. That same year, Rimawi had joined the Holy War Army of Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni in 1948.From Beit Rima
Beit Rima Website. Rimawi and Abdullah Na'was founded the social, cultural and political ''al-Baath'' newspaper in 1948, although at that time neither officially joined the

.Anderson, p.115. However, with assistance from

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

-based exiled Jordanian Army general Abdullah el-Tell, both set up the party's branch in Jordan the following year, in 1949. By the end of the war, much of what was the British Mandate of Palestine fell into Israeli hands, but the

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army, of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an independent state, with a final Ar ...

of Transjordan captured a large swathe of territory called the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. Rimawi, who was popular in the

area of the West Bank, publicly opposed the

1949 Armistice Agreements The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt,Tawfik Abu al-Huda, he was arrested and imprisoned in the Bayir Jail located in the country's southern desert. On October 18, he went on a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

and was soon released with the aid of Raghib al-Nashashibi who had close relations with Abu al-Huda.

Political career

Member of Parliament

Rimawi initiated his political career in 1950 when he was elected to the Jordanian Parliament as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

representative (the Ba'ath Party was officially banned in Jordan at the time) of the District of Ramallah. Along with the rest of the parliament, he voted to officially recognize the new union between the

(which the

captured in the 1948 War) and Transjordan to form the

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

under Abdullah I. Prior to his election, he studied law in Jerusalem, gaining a law certificate in 1951. In the spring of 1951, Rimawi hosted the Ba'ath Party's first organizational conference at his Ramallah home. The party's regional command conference, in which Rimawi was selected as the party's secretary-general, was held in 1952.Anderson, p.136.

King Hussein Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hussein was traditionally considered a 40th-generati ...

had since succeeded his father Talal who had briefly become king following the assassination of Abdullah I. Using his influential relationship among Palestinian circles, Rimawi assisted the Egyptian military attaché in Jordan in setting up the country's first

Palestinian fedayeen Palestinian fedayeen () are militants or guerrillas of a nationalist orientation from among the Palestinian people. Most Palestinians consider the fedayeen to be Resistance movement, freedom fighters, while most Israelis consider them to be Pa ...

units whose purpose was to perform armed raids on

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i territory. Rimawi was effective in recruiting party members across Jordan and increasing popular support for the Ba'ath Party's

Arab nationalist Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...

ideas in cities on both sides of the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...

, as well as in parliament. He was able to retain his parliamentary seat until 1956. During their service in parliament, Rimawi and Abu Na'was formed the core of the political opposition to the

ruling-family. The Ba'ath Party was legalized in Jordan in 1955 after a High Court decision was won by party members. During this time period, Rimawi like many of his Arab nationalist colleagues in Jordan, became a fervent supporter of pan-Arabist

ian president

who, in that year in particular, clinched an arms deal with the

Soviet bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

, strongly advocated pan-Arab unity, and adopted "positive neutralism" as the political path of the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

era.

Foreign Affairs Minister and 1957 crisis

On October 21, 1956, the Ba'ath Party won only two seats of the 40 Lower House seats being contested. However, its ally, the National Socialist Party headed by Sulayman al-Nabulsi, won 12 seats, the most won by any party in the election. The National Communist Party also won three seats and the three parties formed a left-wing Arab nationalist coalition. Following the defeat of his loyalists, King Hussein allowed al-Nabulsi, the new Prime Minister, to form a cabinet of his own choosing. Al-Nabulsi appointed Rimawi to the posts of Minister of State of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Premier. Rimawi became the most outspoken critic of the royal family and managed to exercise extra power by making alliances with other radical anti-royalists in the cabinet and parliament as well as with dissenting officers in the Jordanian Army who called themselves the "Free Officers." He openly declared his opposition to the independence of Jordan, favoring a union with its northern neighbor,

. As criticism of the king mounted, the royal family censored the press, parliamentary debates and shut down five news publications. Rimawi condemned the censorship which he claimed was intended to protect the position of Glubb Pasha, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

commander of the Jordanian Army whose role in the 1948 War was constantly put under scrutiny by the government. Rimawi was the main force behind al-Nabulsi's efforts to replace the annual British subsidy to Jordan with aid from Arab states. In 1956, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

intended to cease its aid due to financial difficulties and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

turned down King Hussein's aid request, prompting him to agree to Rimawi and al-Nabulsi's proposal.Shlaim, p.126. Rimawi became increasingly polarized with regards to the royalists, later being described by a member of the cabinet as "not being an asset to the government because he was always throwing the government against the king." An internal conflict ensued between al-Nabulsi and Rimawi, with the latter advocating a swifter route to pan-Arab unity and the former calling for a more moderate approach.Anderson, p.181. By 1957, al-Nabulsi had seemingly abandoned his centrist position as the middleman between the king and the anti-royalists and drew closer to Rimawi, adopting most of his policies. Rimawi, meanwhile, was developing a close relationship with the influential Arab nationalist army chief-of-staff and an ally of the king, Ali Abu Nuwar. The general mood in the Jordanian political scene was that a coup against the royal family was becoming ever more probable.Shlaim, pp.132-133. King Hussein suggested the dismissal of Rimawi to al-Nabulsi in January 1957 citing concerns of a conspiracy against the monarchy. During his speech to the Jordanian Parliament in February, Rimawi implicitly stated that the chief policy maker in the country was not the king, but rather the parliament and its government. Later, he relayed privately to fellow cabinet member Isa Madanat his advocacy of a coup against the king. The growing divisions between the royal family and the leftist government reached its peak on April 8, 1957; Jordanian Army units led by the Free Officers clashed with troops loyal to King Hussein during a military exercise in az-Zarqa by the former. As a part of the exercise, army units approached the palace of the king's mother and other key royal institutions in az-Zarqa and the outskirts of Amman. This was interpreted as a threat by the royal family. King Hussein reacted forcefully to the incident. After receiving assurances of loyalty from his traditional support base—the

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

core of the army, Bedouin tribal chiefs in Transjordan, and the Islamists represented by the

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

—he declared martial law. As a result, Hussein dismissed the cabinet, dissolved parliament, and banned political parties.Joffe, p.73. Dozens of cabinet members (including al-Nabulsi), army officers, and other leftist politicians were soon arrested, but Rimawi and a number of his allies evaded capture by fleeing to Syria at the height of the crisis. He, Abu Nuwar, and Abdullah Na'was were all sentenced to 15 years ''in absentia''.

Split with Ba'ath, formation of splinter party

After his arrest warrant, Rimawi lived as a civilian exile in Syria, taking up residence in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. In 1958, Syria and Egypt united under Abdel Nasser's leadership to form the

. With the aid of Abdel Hamid Sarraj, governor-general of the Northern Region (Syria), Rimawi and his fellow exiles, Abu Nuwar chief among them, founded the Revolutionary Council. The organization's chief objective was to topple King Hussein and the Hashemite ruling family of Jordan. With help from the UAR, they attempted to stage a military coup in Jordan coinciding with the overthrow of the Hashemite regime of Iraq in July. The plot was foiled, however, when in that same month, Rimawi's plans were discovered by Jordanian authorities. Rimawi was a strong supporter of Sarraj and President Nasser while the majority of the party's leadership was becoming increasingly opposed to their policies. In September 1959, during a general convention of the Ba'ath Party (whose Syrian branch had been dissolved as a result of the UAR's formation) in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, Rimawi was dismissed from his post in the party's National Command (BNC). The stated aim of the convention, which Rimawi did not attend, was to "purge opportunistic elements" in the party administration. The BNC accused Rimawi of "disrupting" the party and committing other "grave violations," while not reporting for questioning regarding those acts by the BNC. A few days later, on September 6, Rimawi denied the allegations against him and declared the convention null and void. In January 1960, he announced his congratulations to Nasser on the anniversary of the union, whereas the Syrian Ba'ath leadership only celebrated the union but did not acknowledge Nasser's role in forming it. In May, Rimawi and his colleagues set up a rival Ba'ath Party in Syria named the Revolutionary Ba'ath Party (RBP). Since political parties were banned in the UAR, the RBP's activities were restricted to the Arab world outside of the UAR although it would be based in Damascus. During the party convention on May 19, none of the Syrian Ba'ath Party members were included while representatives from various countries in the Arab world appointed Rimawi and four other Jordanian exiles to the temporary party command. On August 28, 1959, Rimawi declared the UAR was the "fortress of Arab nationalism" and denounced King Hussein, Abdel Karim Qasim of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba (3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian politician and statesman who served as the Head of Government of Tunisia, prime minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia from 1956 to 1957, and then as the first president of Tunisia from 1 ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

as enemies of Arab nationalism.Oron, pp.497-498. Rimawi was accused of by Jordanian authorities of personal involvement in an assassination attempt against then-Jordanian Prime Minister Hazza' al-Majali in January 1960.Oron, 1960, p.328. Al-Majali requested the UAR extradite Rimawi to face trial in Jordan, but was refused. Syria seceded from the UAR in 1961 following an anti-Nasser coup and Rimawi moved to Cairo as a result. He strongly condemned the Ba'athist national command for supporting the secession and together with numerous Syrian and Palestinian party members who defected in protest of the regional command's position and the head of the Iraqi branch Fuad al-Rikabi, they formed a new pro-Nasser gathering called the Socialist Unionists Movement.

Return to Jordan

In 1971, a year after Nasser's death, Rimawi was pardoned by King Hussein and returned to Jordan. Rimawi was one of the last of several former staunch opponents of the monarchy to return from exile between 1961 and 1971.Dann, p. 117.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

External links

Palestinian Personalities - N
Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA). {{DEFAULTSORT:Rimawi, Abdullah 1920 births 1980 deaths Rimawi Anti-monarchists Rimawi Rimawi Rimawi Rimawi Nasserists Rimawi Rimawi Rimawi People from Bani Zeid al-Gharbia