Anis Sayigh ( ar, أنيس صايغ November 3, 1931 - December 25, 2009) was an

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

historian. He chaired the

Palestine Research Center The Palestine Research Center (PRC) was an institute established in Beirut in 1965 to gather, conserve and analyse books and materials relating to Palestine, its culture and modern history, and to the political struggles of the Palestinian people. ...

and was one of the main driving forces behind the '' Palestinian Encyclopedia''. He was the target of an Israeli assassination attempt in 1972, receiving a

letter bomb A letter bomb, also called parcel bomb, mail bomb, package bomb, note bomb, message bomb, gift bomb, present bomb, delivery bomb, surprise bomb, postal bomb, or post bomb, is an explosive device sent via the postal service, and designed with ...

which resulted in a partial loss of his eyesight and loss of several fingers.

Biography

Anis Sayigh was born in 1931 in

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's F ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

to a Syrian Father and a Palestinian mother. His father was an Anglican minister. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, his family fled to

Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast ...

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 Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, where he went to high school. He had five brothers, including Yusif Sayigh and

Tawfiq Sayigh Tawfik ( ar, توفيق), or Tewfik, is an Arabic masculine given name. The name is derived from the Arabic root: waaw-faa-qaaf (), which means to agree or to reconcile. Tawfik translates to, "the ability or opportunity to achieve success". A spel ...

, and a sister, Mary. Sayigh studied political science at the American University of Beirut and received his bachelor's degree in 1953. After graduating, he wrote for ''

Al-Hayat Al-Hayat ( ar, الحياة meaning "Life") was a London-based, pan-Arab newspaper owned by Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan, that had a circulation estimated over 200,000. It was the newspaper of record for the Arab diaspora and the preferre ...

'' and '' Arab Week'', and published his first book ''Lubnan at-Ta'ifi'' (Sectarian Lebanon). He received his PhD from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in political science and Arab history, and later taught at Cambridge in the Oriental Studies department. He returned to

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

in 1964 and edited the English-Arabic dictionary. In 1966, Sayigh met

Ahmad Shukeiri Ahmad al-Shukeiri ( ar, أحمد الشقيري, also transliterated al-Shuqayri, Shuqairi, Shuqeiri, Shukeiry; 1 January 1908 – 26 February 1980) was the first Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, serving from 1964–1967. ...

, head of the

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 st ...

, and promoted the idea of establishing a Palestinian encyclopedia, and was appointed as the head of the PLO's Palestine Research Center succeeding his brother Fayez Sayigh. Anis Sayigh also edited the journal of the Center entitled '' Shu'un Filastinyya''. He died in an Amman hospital on December 25, 2009.

References

1931 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Palestinian historians Alumni of the University of Cambridge People from Tiberias Survivors of terrorist attacks Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Magazine editors

Anis Anis ( ar, أنيس) is a masculine given name. The meaning of the name Anis is "genial" or "close friend". People In arts * Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi, German rapper known as Bushido * Anis Haffar, educational theorist, teacher, columnist ...

{{Palestine-historian-stub