Ruhi al-Khalidi (; 1864–1913) was a writer, teacher, activist and politician in 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 ...

at the turn of the twentieth century. He was the nephew of Yousef al-Khalidi, who was 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 1899 to 1907. In 1908, he was one of three delegates elected to represent Jerusalem in the new Ottoman government run by the

Young Turks The Young Turks (, also ''Genç Türkler'') formed as a constitutionalist broad opposition-movement in the late Ottoman Empire against the absolutist régime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (). The most powerful organization of the movement, ...

and later become the deputy to the head of parliament (1911).

Biography

The family that Ruhi Khalidi was born into was and still is a very prominent

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 ...

family in

. The family still runs the Khalidi Library in the Old City of Jerusalem. When the library was first established, Khalidi had a hand in making sure the library was more available to the wider public. His interest in French writers contributed to the collection's literature by

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal so ...

and

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

. Khalidi studied Islamic sciences and philosophy in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, was a lecturer at

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...

, Paris, was a scholar and teacher at the Institute for Foreign Languages in Paris and was appointed Counsel General of the Ottoman Empire in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, from 1898 to 1908. Khalidi was a high-profile critic of the earliest stages of

Zionism 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 ...

, although he made a sincere effort to better understand the movement by attending

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

plays, briefly studying at the Alliance Israelite School in

and also owning

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

texts. He was one of the first Palestinians to study modern Hebrew, and he left behind a workbook in which he transliterated a whole host of Hebrew-Arabic cognates and other basic vocabulary. In his capacity as an Ottoman parliamentarian, Khalidi raised the Ottoman parliament's 1911 debate on Zionism with his co-representative Sa'id al-Husayni. Khalidi advocated for an approach of

anti-Zionism 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) ...

, but his debate record contains repeated clarifications to other parliamentarians that he was arguing against Jewish migration to Palestine, but not against the residence or status of

Palestinian Jews Palestinian Jews or Jewish Palestinians (; ) were the Jews who inhabited Palestine (alternatively the Land of Israel) prior to the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948. Beginning in the 19th century, the colle ...

. He also visited Zionist settlements and wrote extensively about them in his unpublished book titled "Zionism and the Zionist Question". While writing the book he kept it secret in fear of "political repercussions involved with even writing about a nationalistic movement".Marcus, Amy Docker "Jerusalem 1913", 2007 The book was a wide-ranging analysis that drew on his reading of the Hebrew Bible and his encounters with the Zionist settlers. These visits were an attempt to build a case against the Zionist movement. Khalidi wanted to restrict Jewish immigration to

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 ...

and opposed 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 ...

. His sentiments were based on the fear that Zionists wanted to create their own state with an exclusive social and political system. He understood that the Zionists were attempting to create a nation where they would no longer be second class citizens or outsiders, but he felt their goals would be detrimental to the

and all the people in it as a whole. Khalidi was criticized by Zionists and non-Zionists for wanting to make illegal the purchase of land not only by unregistered Jewish immigrants, but also Jews that were natural citizens of the Ottoman Empire. When

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 ...

leader Jacobus Kann published a book calling for the establishment of a Jewish army in the name of the Zionist movement, Khalidi had the book translated to French and distributed to other Palestinian nationalists in order to call attention to the militant side of the Zionist movement. He also signed petitions and helped lobby the governor's and sultan's offices to enact stronger restrictions on Jewish immigration. Khalidi saw his destiny as firmly tied to the

and was not an

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

Nationalist. He had ties to the

and even wrote one of the first copies of their political manifesto. Khalidi died of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

in 1913 while working as deputy to the head of Parliament in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

(

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

). Some members of his family believed he had actually been poisoned because his beliefs. His unfinished book was never published and was inherited by his older brother. Toward the end of his life, he expressed anger at the Ottoman government for not recognizing the threat that the

Zionist movement 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 co ...

posed against

Notes

External links

Ruhi Bey Al-Khalidi (1864-1913)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khalidi, Ruhi 1864 births 1913 deaths Khalidi family 20th-century Palestinian academics Deaths from typhoid fever University of Paris alumni 19th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire Politicians from the Ottoman Empire Academic staff of the University of Paris 19th-century educators from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Omani people Banu Makhzum Quraysh Politicians from Jerusalem 20th-century Palestinian politicians Mayors of places in Palestine 20th-century mayors 19th-century mayors