Raghib al-Nashashibi (, ) (1881–1951),

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(hon), 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 ...

public figure and wealthy landowner during the

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 British Mandate and the Jordanian administration. He was a member of the

Nashashibi Nashashibi (, transliteration: ''Al-Nashāshībī'') is the name of a prominent Palestinian Arabic family based in Jerusalem. After the First World War, during the British period, Raghib al-Nashashibi was Mayor of Jerusalem (1920–1934). A br ...

clan, one of the most influential families in Palestine, and mayor of

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 ...

from 1920 to 1935.

Background

Nashashibi graduated from

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

and became Jerusalem's District Engineer. The

s were one of the oldest and most influential Jerusalem families, and historical rivals of the

Husayni Husayni ( also spelled Husseini) is the name of a prominent Palestinian Arab clan formerly based in Jerusalem, which claims descent from Husayn ibn Ali (the son of Ali). The Husaynis follow the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam, in contrast to t ...

family.

Political career

Nasashibi was elected to the

General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire The General Assembly (; French romanization: "Medjliss Oumoumi" or ''Genel Parlamento''; ) was the first attempt at representative democracy by the imperial government of the Ottoman Empire. Also known as the Ottoman Parliament ('' Legislation o ...

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

, serving until the end of Ottoman Rule in Palestine in 1918. Jerusalem King George plaque

Nashashibi succeeded

Musa Kazim al-Husayni Musa Kazim Pasha al-Husayni (, ; 1853 – 27 March 1934) was a Palestinian politician and statesman. He belonged to the prominent al-Husayni family and was mayor of Jerusalem (1918–1920). He was dismissed as mayor by the British authorities and ...

as mayor of Jerusalem in 1920, and was elected to the post in the 1927 Municipal elections with Haym Salomon and Jacob Faradj, who were elected as vice-mayors. He sought re-election as Mayor and to the City Council in 1934, but lost his seat in the city council to Hussein Khalidi. He subsequently appealed the results to the Jerusalem District Court. Which ruled in Khalidi's favor in January 1935. Nashashibi was subsequently succeeded as Mayor by Khalidi later that month. He was a leading opponent of the Husayni family 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 ...

. In 1937 he secretly favoured union with Transjordan. Nashashibi was a founding member of the

Arab Higher Committee The Arab Higher Committee () or the Higher National Committee was the central political organ of Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine. It was established on 25 April 1936, on the initiative of Haj Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Je ...

and a leader of the National Defence Party. Following the outbreak of the Arab–Israeli War, Nashashibi fled to Egypt. He subsequently returned to the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, and was appointed head of the new

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 ...

ian ministry for refugees and rehabilitation in August 1949. That September, he was appointed the first Governor-General for Arab Palestine. In 1950 he became Jordanian Minister of Agriculture and later Minister of Transport. He was also appointed as custodian of the Holy Places of Jerusalem with cabinet rank.

Personal life

His second wife, a French Jew, lived on Kantura street. Their eldest son was Mansur. Nasashibi died in April 1951 of illness at

Augusta Victoria Hospital The Augusta Victoria Compound is a community hospital and church complex on the northern side of the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem; the hospital is one of six which form the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network. The compound was built in 1907 ...

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

Bibliography

* Sayigh, Yezid (2000). ''Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949-1993''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

References

External links