Naim Khader (1939–1981) was the representative of the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

(PLO) in Belgium. He was assassinated in Brussels on 1 June 1981. The assassination remains unsolved.

Early life and education

Khader was born in

Zababdeh Zababdeh or Zababida () is a town in the State of Palestine, in the northern West Bank, located southeast of Jenin and from the Arab American University. History Sherds from the Middle Bronze Age II, Iron Age I & II, through to the Byzantin ...

, Mandatory Palestine, on 30 December 1939. He hailed from a Catholic family. His father was a farmer and died when Naim was nine years old. He had six siblings, and his youngest brother, Bichara Khader, is a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

at the

Université libre de Bruxelles The (French language, French, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated ULB) is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has three campuses: the ''Solbosch'' campus (in the City of Brussels and Ixelles), the ''Plain ...

. Naim Khader attended the Latin Theological Seminary in

Beit Jala Beit Jala () is a Palestinian Christian town in the Bethlehem Governorate of Palestine, in the West Bank. Beit Jala is located 10 km south of Jerusalem, on the western side of the Hebron road, opposite Bethlehem, at altitude. In 2017, Be ...

from 1958 where he studied theology, philosophy and music. He graduated from the Seminary in 1964. He was also educated by the

Latin Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical peri ...

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 ...

. Khader settled in Belgium in 1966. Next year he became a member of the Fatah. He held a master's degree in law from

Université catholique de Louvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally establishe ...

and a PhD in international law from the Université libre de Bruxelles.

Career and activities

Following his graduation from the Seminary Khader served as a teacher at the Terra Sancta High School in Amman, Jordan, in 1964. He taught courses on religion, Arabic, English, French and music until 1965. After receiving his PhD Khader was employed as the head of press office at the embassy of Saudi Arabia in Belgium and then he worked in the same post at the

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

office in Brussels. He was appointed PLO's representative in Brussels in 1976 when the PLO's information and liaison office was established. He also served as a PLO representative at the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. He was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the

Palestinian National Council The Palestinian National Council (PNC; ) is the legislative body - in Arabic, the ''Majlis'' - of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PNC is intended to serve as the parliament that represents all Palestinians inside and outside th ...

. Khader was appointed representative of the PLO to France which would be officially announced around 15 June 1981. Khader edited two books, ''Towards a Socialist Republic of Palestine'' and ''Debate on Palestine'', with Uri Davies and

Fouzi El Asmar Fouzi El Asmar (1937–2013) was a Palestinian writer, poet and journalist. He was the author of the book entitled ''To Be an Arab in Israel''. Early life and education El Asmar was born in Haifa, Mandatory Palestine, in 1937. His father was a s ...

Assassination

Khader was assassinated in the early hours of 1 July 1981 in front of his home in

Ixelles (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Pentagon (Brussels), Brusse ...

municipality of Brussels. He died there instantly. The PLO claimed that the perpetrator was an Israeli agent which was denied by the Israeli Embassy in Belgium. A Palestinian man living in Vienna was tried for the assassination of Khader in 1999 and was acquitted by the court.

Boaz Ganor Boaz Ganor () is the former dean of the Lauder School of Government and Diplomacy at the Interdisciplinary Center and the current President of Reichman University. Biography Boaz Ganor is the founder and the executive director of the Intern ...

and Liram Koblentz-Stenzler argue that Khader was one of the assassination targets of Israel.

Funeral service and burial

A funeral service was performed for him at a Brussels church on 5 June 1981. His coffin was brought to Beirut the same day, and another ceremony for Khader was organized at a church with the attendance of

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

, the PLO leader. The funeral service at the church was also attended by the Belgian and Turkish ambassadors to Lebanon and three Belgian members of the European Parliament. Then Khader was buried in the Christian cemetery of Oum El Hirav, a few kilometers south of Amman.

Personal life

Khader married a Belgian woman, Bernadette Khader (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

: Reynebeau), in 1972.

Legacy

Robert Verdussen published the biography of Naim Khader in 2001 with the title ''Naim Khader: prophète foudroyé du peuple palestinien: biographie''. His brother, Bichara, also published a book in memory of him. One of the streets in his hometown, Zababdeh, was named after Naim Khader. A documentary entitled ''La route d'El Naim'' was produced by the Belgian Radio Television in collaboration with Temps Present.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khader, Naim 20th-century Palestinian diplomats 1939 births 1981 deaths Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Assassinated Palestinian diplomats Palestinian people murdered abroad Fatah members People from Zababdeh Deaths by firearm in Belgium Palestinian Roman Catholics Palestinian educators Palestinian emigrants to Jordan Unsolved murders in Belgium Université libre de Bruxelles alumni Université catholique de Louvain alumni Terrorism deaths in Belgium