Elias Rababi (1913–1999) was a Lebanese journalist and politician who served as the general secretary of the
Kataeb Party
The Kataeb Party (), officially the Kataeb Party – Lebanese Social Democratic Party ( '), also known as the Phalangist Party, is a right-wing Christian political party in Lebanon founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936.
The party and its parami ...
. He was also Lebanese ambassador to Germany and Argentina. His other significant post was the
editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...
of the Kataeb Party's newspaper, ''
Al Amal
Amal (with al / el definite article) means (the) '' Hope'' () or (the) '' Work'' () in Arabic.
Amal, al-Amal, el-Amal, or less frequently, alAmal, elAmal, Alamal, Elamal, ''variation'', may refer to:
Media
* ''Al Amal'' (Lebanon) (), a Lebanese ...
''.
Biography
Born in 1913 Rababi was a
Maronite
Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...
and a member of the Kataeb Party.
Following the establishment of the party in 1936 he was appointed its regional director and actively involved in the recruitment activities. He was the candidate of the party in the
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
on 4 May 1945 in
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round.
Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...
.
However, not Rababi but
Philippe Takla won the seat.
[ The party's newspapers, ''Al Amal'' and ''Action'', were also edited by him for a long time,][ and Rababi headed the propaganda and press department of the party. He also was a columnist for the '' An-Nahar'' newspaper in the 1980s.
Rababi was one of the persons who developed early connections between the Israeli officials and the Kataeb Party in the period 1948–1951.][ Rababi also organized a meeting between ]Pierre Gemayel
Pierre Amine Gemayel, also spelled Jmayyel, Jemayyel or al-Jumayyil (; 6 November 1905 – 29 August 1984), was a Lebanese political leader. A Maronite Catholic, he is remembered as the founder of the Kataeb Party (also known as the Phalang ...
, Kataeb leader, and Yehoshua Palmon, an Israeli diplomat, in Switzerland in 1950. These contacts were first uncovered by an Israeli journalist and historian, Benny Morris
Benny Morris (; born 8 December 1948) is an Israeli historian. He was a professor of history in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Beersheba, Israel. Morris was initially associated with the ...
, who wrote for ''The Jerusalem Post
''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...
'' in 1983.
Rababi was the ambassador of Lebanon to Germany between 9 October 1959 and 1 October 1962. Then he served as the ambassador of Lebanon to Argentina until February 1966.
Rababi died in December 1999.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rababi, Elias
20th-century Lebanese diplomats
20th-century Lebanese journalists
1913 births
1999 deaths
Lebanese Maronites
Kataeb Party politicians
Ambassadors of Lebanon to West Germany
Ambassadors of Lebanon to Argentina
Lebanese columnists