Said Aburish (full name Saʿīd Muḥammad Khalīl ʾAbū Rīsh) (Arabic:سعيد محمد خليل أبو الريش; 1 May 1935 – 29 August 2012), was aPalestinian journalist and writer.[1]Aburish was born inal-Eizariya (also known as "Bethany") in 1935, and he and his family moved toBeirut in 1948; during the1948 Arab–Israeli War, and through the years 1948–67, the site wascontrolled by Jordan.[2] Aburish attended school inJerusalem andBeirut. He returned to Beirut in the 1950s as a reporter forRadio Free Europe and the LondonDaily Mail. He returned to al-Eizariya in 2009, dying there in 2012.[3]
Over the years, Aburish wrote extensively about theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict, and his works on the subject includeCry Palestine,Children of Bethany andThe Forgotten Faithful: The Christians of the Holy Land. Aburish wrote a trio of biographies regarding three of the most prominent Arab presidents,Nasser: The Last Arab,Arafat: From Defender to Dictator andSaddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge. Aburish was also a strong critic of theSaudi royal family, most notably in the bookThe Rise, Corruption and Coming Fall of the House of Saud.
Aburish garnered both praise and criticism for his style, with critics accusing him of "hyperbole".[3] Aburish considered his work "revisionist history"; according to Douglas Martin ofThe New York Times, however, Aburish "reported facts and interpretations that were essentially truisms in the Arab world"—but "novel to Western readers."[3] InThe Guardian,Andrew Lycett wrote that Aburish "did much to illuminate the relationship between the Middle East and the west."[1] Reviewing Aburish'sA Brutal Friendship forCommentary,Daniel Pipes remarked that Aburish's analysis of Arab society was "brief and superficial," arguing that Aburish's primary goal was to attribute the problems of the Arab world "to a vast British and American conspiracy." Despite this, Pipes concluded "outlandish as it may be, the book represents a main line of Arab thinking" and therefore "cannot be so easily dismissed."[4] By contrast,Kathy Evans praisedA Brutal Friendship inThe Observer: "For several decades now, [Aburish] has been making Arab governments wince with pain and embarrassment. Why? Because among Arab authors, he is almost alone in speaking the truth."[3] In a favorable review,Publishers Weekly opined that while some of the material in Aburish'sSaddam Hussein was "controversial," Aburish's account was "detailed, balanced," and "credible" given "Aburish's extensive contacts in the Arab world."Publishers Weekly called Aburish's prose "appropriately dramatic but not sensational."[5] Elie Podeh, reviewing Aburish'sNasser for theInternational Journal of Middle East Studies, criticized Aburish for "factual mistakes" and "misuse of sources," stating that "Aburish has ignored new sources ... based on declassified archival material" in favor of "outdated studies as well as several biased interviews, which he accepts at face value." While acknowledging thatNasser "may be a good introduction to readers unfamiliar with the subject," Podeh commented "serious students ... will have to wait for another biography."[6]
