Aref al-Aref | |
|---|---|
عارف العارف | |
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| Mayor of East Jerusalem | |
| In office 1949–1955 | |
| Military Governor of Ramallah Governorate | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1892 |
| Died | 30 July 1973 (aged 80–81) |
| Nationality | Palestinian |
| Alma mater | Mulkiyya College in Istanbul |
| Occupation | Journalist, historian, politician |
Aref al-Aref (Arabic:عارف العارف; 1892–1973) was aPalestinian journalist,historian and politician. Born inJerusalem in 1891, he studied inConstantinople (Istanbul) and joinedAl-Muntada al-Adabi (The Literary Club) until he joined theOttoman army duringWorld War I. He was captured and spent three years in a prisoner-of-war camp inKrasnoyarsk,Siberia, from where he escaped after theRussian Revolution and returned to Palestine. He served as mayor ofEast Jerusalem in the 1950s during theJordanian annexation of the West Bank.[1]
Aref al-Aref was born in 1892 as Aref Shehadeh inJerusalem, then part of theOttoman Empire.[2] His father was a vegetable vendor. Excelling at his studies in primary school, he was sent to the Marjan Preparatory School and Mulkiyya College inConstantinople (Istanbul). During his college studies, he wrote for a Turkish newspaper. Later, he worked as a translator for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[2][3] He served as an officer in theOttoman Army inWorld War I. He was captured on the Caucasus front and spent three years in aprisoner of war camp inKrasnoyarsk,Siberia, where, he learned Russian from the Russian officers and soldiers who were digging the camp, and he also learned German from the German and Austrian prisoners who were with him in captivity.[1][2] In Krasnoyarsk, he edited a newspaper in handwritten Arabic calledNakatullah [Camel of God] and translatedErnst Haeckel'sDie Weltraethsel ("The Riddles of the Universe") into Turkish.[2] After theRussian Revolution and news spread of theArab Revolt, he convinced twenty-one Arab prisoners to escape from the prison to join the ranks of the revolution. They escaped and took the route ofManchuria, Japan, China, and Egypt via theRed Sea. During this long journey, the truce was declared and the war ended. He returned in 1918 to what had become British-occupiedMandatory Palestine.[2][1]
By 1919, al-Aref was involved in political activism in Palestine, agitating for unity of Palestine with Syria.[4] In October 1919, he became editor of the recently established newspaperSuriya al-Janubiya (Southern Syria), which was the first Arab nationalist newspaper published in Jerusalem and was an organ of the al-Nadi al-'Arabi (The Arab Club).[3][4] Initially the paper supported the British military authorities, but soon became an opponent of theBritish Mandate.[4]
Al-Aref attended theNebi Musa religious festival in Jerusalem in 1920 riding on his horse, and gave a speech at theJaffa Gate.[3] The nature of his speech is disputed. According to Benny Morris, he said "If we don't use force against the Zionists and against the Jews, we will never be rid of them",[5] while Bernard Wasserstein wrote "he seems to have cooperated with the police, and there is no evidence that he actively instigated violence".[3] In fact, "Zionist intelligence reports of this period are unanimous in stressing that he spoke repeatedly against violence".[3] Soon the festival became ariot involving attacks on the local Jews. Al-Aref was arrested for incitement, but when he was let out on bail he escaped to Syria together with co-accused Haj Amin al-Husseini.[3] In another version, he was warned and escaped before being arrested.[6] He advised Arabs against violence, urging them instead to adopt the "discipline, silence, and courage" of their opponents.[3] In his absence, a military court sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment.[3]
In Damascus, al-Aref became a deputy to theGeneral Syrian Congress and withHajj Amin and others formed al-Jam'iyya al-'Arabiyya al-Filastiniyya (Palestinian Arab Society).[3][6] He became its Secretary-General and campaigned against the decisions of theSan Remo conference.[6] After theFrench invasion of Syria in July 1920, he fled toTransjordan.[3] He returned to Jerusalem late in 1920 after being pardoned by the newBritish High Commissioner for Palestine,Herbert Samuel, but the government refused to allow his newspaper to reopen.[3]
Al-Aref helped in popularizing the term "Nakba", in his encyclopaedic researchNakbat Filastin wa al-Firdaws al-Mafqud:1947-1955 (The Palestinian Nakba and the Lost Paradise: 1947–1955), In it, he chronicled the events from the November 29, 1947,Partition Plan proposal through the intense battles of 1947/48 and their aftermath, up to 1955. In its introduction, he argued for the need to designate the events following the Partition Plan—what befell the Arabs in general, and the Palestinians in particular—as the 'Nakba' (catastrophe), stating:
How can I not call it [the Nakba]? During this period we have been stricken by catastrophe, we, the society of Arabs in general, and the Palestinians in particular, as we have not been stricken for centuries and epochs: we have been deprived of our homeland, expelled from our homes, and have lost a great number of our people our own flesh and blood, and, above all, have been struck at the very core of our dignity.[7]
In 1921, he was appointed as adistrict Officer of the British administration by the Civil Secretary, ColonelWyndham Deedes.[3] He served in that capacity inJenin,Nablus,Beisan, andJaffa.[3] In 1926 he was seconded to the Government ofTransjordan as Chief Secretary, where he served for three years.[3] However he continued his political activities on the side to the displeasure of his British superior.[3] He returned to Palestine in 1929, where he served as District Officer inBeersheba and later inGaza.[3] In 1933 he received a special commendation from the High Commissioner for keeping his district quiet during a time of disturbances elsewhere.[3] In 1942 he was promoted and transferred toal-Bireh.[3] He continued as a Mandate official until 1948.[3]
Upon Jordanian control of theWest Bank, al-Aref was first appointed military governor ofRamallah governorate, and then, from 1949 to 1955, served as mayor ofEast Jerusalem.[8] In 1967, he was appointed director of the Palestine Archaeological Museum (Rockefeller Museum) in Jerusalem.[8]
Aref al-Aref died on 30 July 1973, inal-Bireh.[citation needed]
All following books have been published in Arabic, unless mentioned otherwise, and the English titles are literal translations of the Arabic ones.
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