Boulos Shehadeh (1882–1943) was a Palestinian journalist and politician. He was the founder of the newspaper '' Mirat Al Sharq'' (). He also worked for various publications as a journalist.

Early life and education

Shehadeh was born in Ramallah in 1882. He had two brothers. Shehadeh completed his high school education in the Zion College in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and obtained a degree in Arabic language from the Shabab College, precursor of the English College.

Career and activities

Shehadeh started his journalistic career during his studies. He worked as a correspondent for various newspapers and became a columnist for the Beirut-based newspaper ''

Lisan al Hal ''Lisan al-Hal'' or ''Lissan ul-Hal'' ( ar, لسان الحال / ALA-LC: ''Lisān al-Ḥāl'') was a Lebanese Arabic language daily newspaper established by Khalil Sarkis in 1877 Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropoli ...

and became its principal in 1907. He was a member of the

Committee of Union and Progress The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى جمعيتی, translit=İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti, script=Arab), later the Union and Progress Party ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى فرقه‌سی, translit=İttihad ve Tera ...

. He had to leave his teaching and administrative post at the Orthodox School in 1907 due to a speech he gave in Haifa in which he expressed harsh criticisms against the Ottoman Sultan

Abdulhamid ʻAbd al-Ḥamīd ( ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الحميد) is a Muslim male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Ḥamīd'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which gave rise ...

. The Ottomans issued an arrest warrant for him, and he settled in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...

, Egypt, where he worked for '' Al Zuhur'', ''Al Muayyad'', ''

Al Muqattam ''Al Muqattam'' (Arabic: المقطم) was an Arabic newspaper which was published in Cairo, Egypt, between 1888 and 1952. It was one of the leading papers until its closure by the Egyptian government in 1954. The title of the paper was a referen ...

'', '' Al Hilal'' and '' Al Muqtataf''. Shehadeh also wrote poems. Shehadeh returned to

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 ...

after the

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Ottoman Constit ...

in 1908 and continued to work as a teacher and journalist. He taught at the Orthodox School in

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital ...

and served as its principal until the beginning of World War I in 1914. He was then employed as a clerk in the

Ottoman army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

. He worked as a pharmacist's assistant to his brother, Dr. Niqula Shehadeh, who was serving as the official municipality physician in

Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of a ...

and the head of the military hospital. Shehadeh was a teacher at the

Rashidiya school Rashidiya School ( ar, المدرسة الرشيدية), or Al-Rashidiya Secondary School for Boys (), is a public school located in East Jerusalem next to Herod's Gate (''Bab as-Sahira''). Rashidiya served as the main learning establishment for ...

in Jerusalem between 1919 and 1922. Shehadeh founded a newspaper entitled ''Mirat Al Sharq'' of which the first issue appeared on 17 September 1919. He also edited the paper. He participated in the establishment of the Arab National Party in 1923. He was a member of the Arab Executive Committee between 1926 and 1938 and was part of the delegations that participated in the Arab Congresses held in Jerusalem, Haifa, and Nablus. He was also among the founders of the National Defense Party in 1934. Shehadeh was a member of the Muslim-Christian Association and was among the active figures of the Palestinian Episcopalian community.

Personal life and death

Shehadeh was married to Mary Sarrouf, and they had three children: two sons, Aziz (1921–1985) and Fouad (born 1925), and one daughter, Najla. Shehadeh died in Jerusalem on 1 August 1943 and was buried in a cemetery in Ramallah.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shehadeh, Boulos 20th-century newspaper founders 20th-century Palestinian poets 20th-century Palestinian politicians 20th-century Palestinian writers 1882 births 1943 deaths Arab people from Ottoman Palestine Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Palestinian emigrants to Egypt Palestinian schoolteachers People from Ramallah Palestinian columnists Committee of Union and Progress politicians Political party founders