Najib Nassar (; January 1, 1865 – December 28, 1947) was a

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 ...

journalist perhaps best known as the owner-editor of, and frequent contributor to, the Palestinian weekly newspaper '' Al-Karmil.'' Historian Rashid Khalidi described him as "a pioneer among Palestinian and Arab journalists" due to "the sophistication and tenaciousness of his opposition to Zionism."

Early and personal life

Nassar was born in a mountain village called Ein Einub (or Ain Ainoub),

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. The family left the village in the middle of the 19th century. Nassar was educated in Lebanon. His religious background was

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. Early on in his adult life, Nassar worked as a pharmacist for the Scottish Hospital in

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

in the Ottoman Empire. In 1927, he married Sadhij Bahaa, herself known as a leading defender of women's rights in Palestine and as the daughter of Mirza Badiʻu'llah Effendí. The couple ran ''Al-Karmil'' jointly thereafter. Nassar died in the French Hospital in

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

following a hernia operation on December 28, 1947. He was buried in the city's

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

cemetery.

Journalism and politics

In 1908, Nassar became the founding editor of '' Al-Karmil'', the first

anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...

weekly newspaper in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. It was first published in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, 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 metropolitan area i ...

in December 1908. He was involved in the formation of an association in Haifa with the aim of preventing implementation of

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

plans and colonial activities in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. He warned against land sales to

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and

Zionists Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the Jewish people, pursued through the colonization of Palestine, a region roughly cor ...

. In 1911, he published the first book in Arabic on Zionism, entitled ''al-Sihyuniyya: Tarikhuha, gharaduha, ahamiyyatuha'' 'Zionism: Its History, Objective and Importance'' The book consisted of an abridged translation of the article on Zionism from The

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

plus critical commentary by Nassar. Nassar was a part of the political opposition in the waning days of the

and was imprisoned in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

by Ottoman authorities in 1918. He established the Arab Party in Nazareth in the same year. He maintained his Ottoman loyalty all his life, but called himself a Palestinian patriot. Nassar wrote novels and plays as well as critical articles on Zionism, and he was an outspoken critic of Turkish-led Ottoman politics. He traveled to Karak,

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, in 1924 with Jordanian poet Mustafa Wahbi At-Tal, calling for Arab unity. Historian Rashid Khalidi placed Nassar among "the intellectuals, writers, and politicians who were instrumental in the evolution of the first forms of Palestinian identity at the end of the 9thcentury and early in the 0thcentury," a group Khalidi characterized as having "identified with the Ottoman Empire, their religion, their Arabism, their homeland Palestine, their city or region, and their family, without feeling any contradiction, or sense of conflicting loyalties."

Legacy

Nassar's life provided the inspiration for the 2010 book ''A Rift in Time: Travels with My Ottoman Uncle'' by Raja Shehadeh, and he was featured in esteemed Palestinian writer Ibrahim Nasrallah's 2009 novel ''Time of White Horses.'' In 2019, the Palestinian National Theatre produced a play about his life called “''Saheb Al-Karmil''” (“Owner of Al-Karmil”) written by Amer Hlehel.

Early and personal life

Journalism and politics

Legacy

References

See also