Aref Basha al-Dajani (; 1856 – April 14, 1930) was an Arab

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 ...

politician who served as

mayor of Jerusalem The Mayor of the City of Jerusalem is head of the executive branch of the political system in Jerusalem. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within Jerusal ...

in 1917–1918. Aref al-Dajani was born 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 ...

in 1856.

Political activism

In 1918, after serving for one year as mayor of Jerusalem, al-Dajani joined the Administrative Committee of the Muslim-Christian Association (MCA) and went on to become Jerusalem and then regional president of the organization. The Jerusalem Congress convened January 27 – February 10, 1919, under the leadership of Aref al-Dajani and Izzat Darwazah. The resolution reached at this forum was cabled to the Paris Peace Conference on behalf of the Arabs of Palestine, demanding a renunciation of the

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British Government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

and the inclusion of Palestine as "an integral part of...the independent Arab Government of Syria within an Arab Union, free of any foreign influence or protection." As chairman of the Jerusalem Congress, al-Dajani rejected

political Zionism The common definition of Zionism was principally the endorsement of the Jewish people to establish a Jewish national home in Palestine, secondarily the claim that due to a lack of self-determination, this territory must be re-established as a ...

and agreed to accept British assistance on condition that it did not impinge on Arab sovereignty in Palestine. He envisaged Palestine as part of an independent Syrian state governed by Faisal of the Hashemite family. In a speech to the King-Crane Commission in 1919, as a leader of the delegation for the Muslim-Christian Association, he stated, “It is impossible for us to make an understanding with them he Jewsor even to live them together… Their history and all their past proves that it is impossible to live with them. In all the countries where they are at present they are not wanted and undesirables, because they always arrive to suck the blood of everybody, and to become economically and financially victorious. If the League of Nations will not listen to the appeal of the Arabs this country will become a river of blood.” In September 1920, al-Dajani became deputy president of a committee of notables established by the Pan-Islamic Movement. In his opening speech, he read letters received from Turkey and India, and called for Pan-Islamic ideals to be embraced by Palestinian Muslims. During 1921 al-Dajani was the Muslim assessor for the

Haycraft Commission of Inquiry The Haycraft Commission of Inquiry was a Royal Commission set up to investigate the Jaffa riots of 1921, but its remit was widened and its report entitled "Palestine: Disturbances in May 1921". The report blamed the Arabs for the violence, but i ...

cross examining witnesses. Al-Dajani was branded a conspirator by E. Quigley, assistant director of Public Security during the British Mandate.British Pan-Arab Policy, 1915-1922: A Critical Appraisal, Isaiah Friedman
/ref> He was a member of the Arab Executive until 1922. Together with

Raghib al-Nashashibi Raghib al-Nashashibi (, ) (1881–1951), CBE (hon), was a Palestinian public figure and wealthy landowner during the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate and the Jordanian administration. He was a member of the Nashashibi clan, one of the most i ...

, in the early 1920s he led the opposition before splitting in 1926.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dajani, Aref Al- 1856 births 1930 deaths Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Arab people from Ottoman Palestine Mayors of Jerusalem 20th-century Palestinian politicians Politicians from Jerusalem 20th-century mayors