Ahmad al-Shukeiri (, also

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

al-Shuqayri, Shuqairi, Shuqeiri, Shukeiry; 1 January 1908 – 26 February 1980) was a Palestinian political leader and the first

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, 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 gro ...

of the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

, serving from 1964 to 1967.

Early life

Shukeiri was born in Tebnine, south

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 ...

then

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

to a Turkish mother and a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

father, As'ad Shukeiri (1860–1940) (who was elected to the Ottoman Parliament in 1908 and 1912). Ahmad acquired the

Turkish language Turkish ( , , also known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languag ...

from his mother. After studying law in the British law 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 ...

, he became a prominent lawyer in British-Palestine and a member of the Independence Party. In 1945 he went to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

to establish a Palestinian office and in 1946 joined 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 ...

Political career

Shukeiri was a member of the Syrian delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

from 1949 to 1951. He then became assistant

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

for the

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

from 1950 to 1956, Saudi ambassador to the

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; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

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 and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an 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 (

) with the support of Egyptian leader

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 ...

. 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 in

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

). 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

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in September 1964 of a military wing, the Palestine Liberation Army.

"Throw the Jews into the sea"

Prior to the

Six Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 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 10June 1967. Military hostilities broke ...

, Shukeiri, in an interview with Lebanese newspaper ''al-Yawm'', stated "we will endeavor to assist he Jewsand facilitate their departure by sea to their countries of origin." Regarding the fate of Israeli-born Jews, he replied: "Whoever survives will stay in Filastin, but in my opinion no one will remain alive.' These statements gained little public attention at the time, but after the war, they were used as part of the Israeli government's justification of their initiation of active hostilities, utilizing a combined paraphrase of both statements and claiming that Shukeiri declared intention to "throw Jews into the sea". Shukeiri initially denied having made such a statement, but was widely criticized and ostracized by Palestinian and Arab leadership for having weakened the international standing of the Arab cause, with Jordanian Prime Minister Saad Jumaa later stating "that hukeiriis one of the direct causes for the catastrophe he Arab defeat in the Six-Day War He had the appearance and bearings to play a role perfectly suited to him in the catastrophe of the Arab world and in Arab disputes, and unfortunately he fulfilled this function with alacrity and expertise." In his 1971 apologia, ''Dialogues and Secrets with Kings'', Shukeiri admitted usage of the phrase and similar language, claiming it reflected the accepted official Arab outlook at the time, but was "indignant that such extremism should be fathered on him alone."

Resignation

In the aftermath of the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

, Shukeiri resigned as PLO Chairman in December 1967, and was succeeded by Yahya Hammuda.

Later life

Between 1968 and 1979, Shukeiri wrote more than twenty books dealing with the Palestinian cause and the Arab Unity. He died on February 26, 1980, aged 72, in Amman, Jordan. Palestine Books No 3

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 20th-century Saudi Arabian diplomats