Akram Zuaiter (1909–1996) (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: أكرم زعيتر ; also Romanized as Akram Zu'ayter, among other spellings) was 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 ...

activist, publicist, orator, diplomat, and educator who contributed to the

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 ...

movement in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

.Muslih, Muhammad. "Zu'aytir, Akram." In ''Encyclopedia of the Palestinians Encyclopedia of the Palestinians (Revised Edition)'', edited by Philip Mattar, 566-567. Infobase Learning, 2005.Khalidi, Walid. ''Before Their Diaspora : A Photographic History of the Palestinians, 1876-1948''. Washington, D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1991, 177.

Biography

He was born in

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 ...

and was the son of an Opposition politician.Matthews, Weldon C. ''Confronting an Empire, Constructing a Nation : Arab Nationalists and Popular Politics in Mandate Palestine'', I. B. Tauris & Company, Limited, 2006, 51, 68. He attended 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 ...

. He worked for the major Palestinian newspapers '' Mir'at al-Sharq'' and ''al-Hayat'' and also taught at al-Najah school. He was a founding member of the

Istiqlal Party The Istiqlal Party (; ; ) is a political party in Morocco. It is a conservative and monarchist party and a member of the Centrist Democrat International and International Democracy Union. Istiqlal headed a coalition government under Abbas El Fa ...

and played an instrumental role in the development of nationalism in Palestine during the 1930s.Rubenberg, Cheryl A. ''Encyclopedia of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict''. Boulder, Colo: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2012, 646, 1128. He authored the text ''Ta'rikhuna'' ("Our History") in 1935. He also supported transnational Arab nationalist organizing in

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 ...

and

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 ...

, coordinating with the League of Pan-Arab Action and the fascist group Nadi al-Muthanna in each country respectively. In 1941 he participated in the fascist revolt in Iraq led by

Rashid Ali al-Kaylani Rashid Ali al-Gaylani (Al-Gailani)in Arab standard pronunciation Rashid Aali al-Kaylani; also transliterated as Sayyid Rashid Aali al-Gillani, Sayyid Rashid Ali al-Gailani or sometimes Sayyad Rashid Ali el Keilany (" Sayyad" serves to address hig ...

. He also lectured at the Teachers' Training College in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. Following the

Nakba The Nakba () is the ethnic cleansing; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; of Palestinian Arabs through their violent displacement and dispossession of land, property, and belongings, along with the destruction of their s ...

, Zuaiter served in the Jordanian government as ambassador to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, and

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 ...

, followed by a year as Jordanian foreign minister (1966) and then in the Jordanian Upper House of Parliament and as chief of the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

. He published the text ''al-Qadiyya al-Filastiniyya'' ("The Palestine Cause") in 1956. In 1979, his papers were published as ''Watha'iq'' ''al-Haraka al-Wataniyya al-Filastiniyya 1918–1939'' ("Documents on the Palestinian National Movement 1918–1939"), edited by Bayan Nuwayhed al-Hout, and his diaries were published in 1980. 1953 - Aziz Ali al-Masri

Views

Zuaiter espoused a nationalist philosophy of opposition to British administration of Palestine, taking a "hard line" that resulted in his arrest and detention by the British colonial government in 1931 and 1936. He was a staunch

and advocate of

pan-Arabism Pan-Arabism () is a Pan-nationalism, pan-nationalist ideology that espouses the unification of all Arabs, Arab people in a single Nation state, nation-state, consisting of all Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa from the Atlantic O ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zuaiter, Akram 20th-century Palestinian politicians Palestinian activists Palestinian educators 20th-century Palestinian male writers 20th-century Palestinian academics Palestinian Arab nationalists People from Nablus American University of Beirut alumni 1909 births 1996 deaths Prisoners and detainees of Mandatory Palestine Ambassadors of Jordan to Iran Ambassadors of Jordan to Lebanon Ambassadors of Jordan to Syria Ambassadors to Afghanistan Arab collaborators with Nazi Germany Ministers of foreign affairs of Jordan Iraqi fascists Arab fascists

Biography

Views

See also

References