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Falastin

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Not to be confused with Felesteen (newspaper).
For other uses, see Palestine.

Falastin
9 May 1936 cover of Falastin, with the headline story reporting on the Arab revolt in Palestine
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Founder(s)Issa El-Issa
PresidentDaoud El-Issa
EditorYousef El-Issa
Raja El-Issa
Yousef Hanna
Founded15 January 1911 (1911-01-15)
Political alignmentAnti-Zionism
Palestinian nationalism
LanguageArabic
English
Ceased publication8 February 1967
CityJaffa
East Jerusalem
CountryOttoman Empire
Mandatory Palestine
Jordanian West Bank
Circulation3,000 (as of 1929)[1]

Falastin (فلسطين; Arabic for 'Palestine') was an Arabic-language Palestinian newspaper. Founded in 1911 in Jaffa, Falastin began as a weekly publication, evolving into one of the most influential dailies in Ottoman and Mandatory Palestine.

Falastin was founded by Issa El-Issa, who was joined by his paternal cousin Yousef El-Issa. Both El-Issas were Arab Christians, opponents of Zionism and of British administration. The newspaper was initially focused on the Arab struggle against Greek clerical hegemony of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church, known as the Arab Orthodox Movement, which Falastin's founders led. It was also the country's fiercest and most consistent critic of Zionism, denouncing it as a threat to Palestine's Arab population. The newspaper, which addressed its readers as Palestinians since its inception,[2][3] helped shape Palestinian identity and was shut down several times by the Ottoman and British authorities, most of the time due to complaints made by Zionists.[4]

As Palestine's most prominent newspaper, its circulation was estimated to be 3,000 in 1929 (the year it became a daily). Although a modest figure, it was almost double that of its nearest competitor. However, the standing of Falastin was challenged in 1934 by the Jaffa-based Al Difa' newspaper, which soon surpassed it in circulation. Both dailies witnessed steady improvements, and their competition marked Palestinian public life until 1948.

Falastin, forced to leave Jaffa during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, relocated to East Jerusalem in the West Bank which then came under Jordanian control. The newspaper continued to be published until 1967[5] when it was merged with Al-Manar to produce Jordanian-based Ad-Dustour newspaper in Amman that is still published to this day.[6]

History

Background

Editors and journalists of Falastin, 1913. Founders Issa and Yousef sitting in the front row.
Street vendor selling Falastin newspaper in Jaffa 1921
See also: Young Turk Revolution

Falastin was established on 14 January 1911 by Issa El-Issa and Yousef El-Issa, two Palestinian Arab Christian cousins from the coastal city of Jaffa in Palestine. It was among a handful of newspapers to have emerged from the region following the 1908 Young Turk Revolution in the Ottoman Empire which lifted press censorship.

Issa El-Issa, a graduate of the American University of Beirut, worked in several places before establishing Falastin. He came from a Palestinian family known for its 'intellect, politics and literature'.[7] The family was financially independent from the Jerusalem Patriarch's charity as it had historically invested in olive oil and soap trading. Issa's cousin Hanna El-Issa, was editor of the short-lived Al-Asma'i magazine which was first published in Jerusalem on 1 September 1908. Much less is known about Hanna's brother Yousef, who was Falastin's editor-in-chief between 1911 and 1914. During World War I, both Issa and Yousef were exiled to Anatolia. Issa became head of King Faisal's royal court after the Arab Kingdom of Syria was established in 1920. After the Kingdom's defeat by French forces the same year, Issa returned to Jaffa where he was allowed to republish Falastin in 1921. Issa's son Raja El-Issa took over publishing the newspaper after 1938.[8]

Initial aim to promote Arab Orthodox Movement

Main article: Arab Orthodox Movement

If Palestine has a right to say that it has fallen under two mandatories, a British one and a Zionist one, the Orthodox community has the right to say that it has fallen under three mandatories, a British one, a Zionist one, and yet a third Greek one. These three mandatories have combined to aid one another in depriving Palestinian Arabs of their rights.

— Issa El-Issa, founder and editor of the newspaper in October 1931.[9]

The newspaper was initially focused on the Orthodox Renaissance, a movement that aimed to weaken the Greek clerical hegemony over the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, so that its vast financial resources could be utilized to improve education for the Arab Christians of Palestine. Other topics addressed in the newspaper included modernization, reforms and improving the welfare of the peasants. Zionism was also a central issue editorially, especially based on editors' "concern for the lot of the peasantry."[4]

Opposition to Zionism

March 1925 English edition featuring a four-page editorial addressed to Lord Balfour in March 1925, criticizing the Balfour Declaration, which promised British support for the establishment of a "Jewish homeland" in Palestine. The editorial begins with "J'Accuse!", in a reference to the outrage at French anti-semitism 27 years previously.

Falastin went "[f]rom publishing only a few articles on Zionism every month in its first year" to "soon publishing an article or more per issue on the subject," and the paper ultimately "came to be relied upon by newspapers throughout the region for news of Zionist colonization in Palestine."[4] The newspaper addressed its readers as Palestinians since its inception in 1911 during the Ottoman period.[2][3]

Geographic scope

Its geographic scope of interest focused on the Mutassarifate of Jerusalem, primarily news from Jaffa and Jerusalem, but also less frequently Hebron, Jericho, and Gaza. The scope of interest later expanded in 1913 to include all of Palestine.[8] The editors sent a copy of each issue to every village in the Jaffa region.[4]

Suspension

An open letter by Issa El-Issa to Herbert Samuel in 1922
18 June 1936 edition showing Zionism as a crocodile under the protection of a British officer telling Palestinian Arabs: "don't be afraid!!! I will swallow you peacefully...".[10]

Working under the censorship of the Ottoman Empire and the British Mandate, Falastin was suspended from publication over 20 times.[11] In 1914, Falastin was suspended by the Ottoman authorities, once for criticism of the Mutasarrif (November 1913) and once for what British authorities summarized as "a fulminating and vague threat that when the eyes of the nation were opened to the peril towards which it was drifting it would rise like a roaring flood and a consuming fire and there would be trouble in [store] for the Zionists."[12]

Following the first suspension in 1914, Falastin issued a circular responding to the government charges that they were "sowing discord between the elements of the [Ottoman] Empire," which stated that "Zionist" was not the same as "Jew" and described the former as "a political party whose aim is to restore Palestine to their nation and concentrate them in it, and to keep it exclusively for them."[12] The newspaper was supported by Muslim and Christian notables, and a judge annulled the suspension on grounds of freedom of the press.[12]

After the newspaper was allowed to be republished, Issa El-Issa wrote in an editorial that "the Zionists still look at this newspaper with suspicion and consider it the greatest stumbling block that hinders their goals and informs people of their aspirations and what is discussed at their Congresses and what their leaders declare and their newspapers and magazines publish." Defending himself in the Ottoman court, he recounted saying "when we said 'Zionists' we referred to the political organisation with its headquarters in Europe which aims for the colonisation of Palestine, the usurpation of its lands and its transformation into a Jewish homeland". He emphasized his positive attitude towards Jews who he had called "brothers". The court identified with Issa and Yousef's arguments, the latter having testified in favor of his cousin Issa. The Al-Karmil newspaper reported that the crowds waiting inside and outside the courtroom erupted in applause after the verdict was pronounced, "signs of anger appeared on the faces of the Zionists much as signs of joy were visible on the faces of the natives." The French Consulate reported that jubilant crowds had carried the editors on their shoulders after the trial finished.[8]

Coverage of sport news

The establishment of Falastin newspaper in 1911 is considered to be the cornerstone of sports journalism in Ottoman Palestine. It is no coincidence that the most active newspaper, also reported on sporting events. Falastin, covered sport news in Ottoman Palestine which helped in shaping the modern Palestinian citizen, bringing the villages and cities together, building Palestinian nationalism and deepening and maintaining Palestinian national identity.[13][14][15][16][17]

Influence

Daoud El-Issa with King Ali of Hejaz at the Jaffa port, 7 November 1933.

Yousef El-Issa, the newspaper's editor-in-chief during its infancy, was described by a researcher to be "a founder of modern journalism in Palestine".[18] Al Muqattam, one of the most read dailies in Egypt, commented in an editorial when Yousef was editor-in-chief (1911-1914):

Heads of Arabs in all major cities bend to the editorials of Ustad Yousef El-Issa.[18]

Correspondence with Albert Einstein

On 19 October 1929, the English version of Falastin published an article titled "Relativity and Propaganda", which was brought to the attention of Albert Einstein, who engaged in a series of correspondences with the newspaper. His first letter, written in German and dating to 28 January 1930, urged cooperation between Arabs and Jews. The newspaper's editor responded to him that Einstein "was taking a heavy draft on our credulity when he asks us to take his ideal as that of the Zionist in Palestine. While believing in his peaceful intentions and his beautiful ideal, we can not judge the Zionist by Dr. Einstein". Einstein responded with a proposal in his letter dated 15 March 1930, to establish a committee of eight Arabs and Jews - a jurist, a physician, a trade unionist and a cleric from either side - that would meet on a weekly basis to sort out differences between Arabs and Jews.[19][20][21]

Falastin's Centennial

"Falastin's Centennial" was a conference that took place in Amman, Jordan, in 2011. Twenty-four local, regional and international researchers and academicians examined Falastin's contribution to the 20th-century Middle East at the two-day conference, which was organised by the Columbia University Middle East Research Centre. The conference highlighted the Jordanian cultural connection to Palestine through various articles that featured Jordanian cities and news. The newspaper's founder Issa El-Issa was a close friend of the Hashemite family, Falastin covered the news of the Hashemites from Sharif Hussein to his sons King Faisal I and King Abdullah I and his grandson King Talal. The paper captured King Abdullah's relations with the leaders and people of Palestine, documenting every trip he made to a Palestinian town and every stand he took in support of Palestine and against Zionism. Correspondents of the newspaper in Jordan even interviewed the King in Raghadan Palace.

A participant in the conference stated that

Many people tend to dismiss it as only a newspaper, but in fact, it is mine of information and documents pertaining to the history of the Arab world.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Introduction: History of the Arabic press in the land of Israel/Palestine". National Library of Israel. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  2. ^ a b Harold M. Cubert (3 June 2014). The PFLP's Changing Role in the Middle East. Routledge. p. 36. Retrieved 31 December 2023. That year, Al-Karmil was founded in Haifa 'with the purpose of opposing Zionist colonization...' and in 1911, Falastin began publication, referring to its readers, for the first time, as 'Palestinians'.
  3. ^ a b Neville J. Mandel (1976). The Arabs and Zionism Before World War I. University of California Press. p. 128. Retrieved 31 December 2023. As befitted its name, Falastin regularly discussed questions to do with Palestine as if it were a distinct entity and, in writing against the Zionists, addressed its readers as "Palestinians".
  4. ^ a b c d Khalidi, Rashid (2010). Palestinian identity: The construction of modern national consciousness. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 126–7. ISBN 978-0-231-52174-1. OCLC 488654510.
  5. ^ Eric Rouleau (January 1975). "The Palestinian Quest". Foreign Affairs. 53 (2): 265. doi:10.2307/20039507. JSTOR 20039507.
  6. ^ "[The newspaper] Filastin (Originally: Falastin)". National Library of Israel.
  7. ^ "Raja El-Issa obituary". Gerasanews.com. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  8. ^ a b c Emanuel Beška (2016). "From Ambivalence to Hostility: The Arabic Newspaper Filastin and Zionism, 1911–1914". Studia Orientalia Monographica, Volume 6. Bratislava: Slovak Academic Press, 2016. Slovak Academic Press: 27–29.
  9. ^ Hopwood, Derek (1969). The Russian Presence in Syria and Palestine, 1843-1914:Church and Politics in the Near East. Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-821543-1.
  10. ^ Sufian, Sandy (1 January 2008). "Anatomy of the 1936–39 Revolt: Images of the Body in Political Cartoons of Mandatory Palestine". Journal of Palestine Studies. 37 (2): 23–42. doi:10.1525/jps.2008.37.2.23.
  11. ^ a b "Academicians extol pioneering Palestinian newspaper".[permanent dead link‍]
  12. ^ a b c Mandel, 1976, pp. 179-181
  13. ^ "View on sports in historic Palestine". Issam Khalidi. Jerusalem Quarterly. 1 January 2010. Archived from the original on 25 January 2011.
  14. ^ "Notations on the Evolution of an Arab and Arab American Media, and Arab Literature". Ray Hanania. The Media Oasis. 10 October 1999. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  15. ^ Rashid Khalidi (2006). The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood. Beacon Press. ISBN 9780807003084.
  16. ^ Mandel, 1976, pp. 127-130: "the Christian editors of Falastin would call on all Palestinians, both Muslim and Christian, to unite against Zionism on grounds of local patriotism"
  17. ^ Rugh, 2004, p. 138
  18. ^ a b Beska, Emanuel (2018). "Yusuf al-'Isa: A Founder of Modern Journalism in Palestine". Jerusalem Quarterly. 74 (74): 7–13.
  19. ^ Einstein, 2013, pp. 181-2
  20. ^ Rosenkranz, 2002, p. 98
  21. ^ "Einstein the scientist, dreamer, lover: online". Reuters. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2023.

Further reading

Media related to Falastin (newspaper) at Wikimedia Commons

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