Subhi al-Khadra
Encyclopedia
Subhi Sa'id al-Khadra was a Palestinian Arab
politician, lawyer, and newspaper columnist. As an Istiqlal
leader, he helped organize anti-British and anti-Zionist activities in Palestine
, including the 1936 Arab revolt, which resulted in his three-year imprisonment.
in 1895 as the sixth child of his family. The Khadra were a rural family of notables who migrated to the city decades before. When he was born, his 16-year-old brother Faris died. In 1901, his father died. Subhi received his primary and secondary education in Safad and then studied at the Ottoman Sultanate School of Beirut
. His teachers included his future Arab nationalist colleagues, Rafiq al-Tamimi
and Adil al-Azma. After graduating, he attended the Imperial War College in Istanbul
where he graduated with a commission in the Ottoman Army.
in 1916, he fought with the Ottomans in southern Palestine, but was captured by Allied Forces. Afterward, he joined Sharif Hussein ibn Ali's forces in the Great Arab Revolt
against the Ottomans. He was wounded several times while fighting Ottoman troops. He was among the Arab
forces led by Emir Faisal
, son of Sharif Hussein, that entered Damascus
in 1918 after driving out the remaining Ottoman forces. In Damascus, he joined the Arab nationalist organization, al-Fatat
. From 1918 to 1920, he worked in the Directorate of Public Security in Faisal's administration. Also in this period, he married the sister of his colleague, Fu'ad Salim. During the Battle of Maysalun
with the French Army
on July 23, 1920, al-Khadra served as a combatant.
was a "imperial British tool" and part of its divide-and-conquer method in the Arab world
. He strongly supported Iraqi-Syrian unity
and stressed that Palestine was the southern part of Syria
. British Police
investigations found that al-Khadra actively led Palestinian Arabs in the 1929 Palestine riots
in Safad. As an attorney and a director of the Waqf
(Islamic trust fund) in the Galilee, he helped establish the Young Men's Muslim Associations (YMMA) in the area.
Al-Khadra became one of the nine founders of the Istiqlal Party
in 1932. He explained in an article in al-'Arab that the party's purpose was to counter factionalism and self-interest in Palestinian politics which had left the liberation movement without direction. He asserted the Palestinian national movement for independence from Britain deviated from its goals. The leading Istiqlal member in the Galilee
(northern Palestine), he proposed holding annual anti-British rallies on the anniversary of the Battle of Hattin
when Saladin
's Muslim forces decisively defeated the Crusader
s, restoring Palestine to the Islamic domain. The proposal was officially adopted after receiving Rashid al-Haj Ibrahim
's support.
Al-Khadra greatly assisted Arab guerrilla leader Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam with forming paramilitary units and increasing membership in his anti-Zionist movement. Following his death in Ya'bad
by British forces, al-Khadra, among others, organized the 1936 Arab revolt in Palestine against the British Mandate. He was arrested the same year and incarcerated in the prison of Acre
for three years until his release in mid-1939.
, but was ultimately replaced by fellow Istiqlal member, Izzat Darwaza
. Al-Khadra died in Damascus in 1955. He was survived by his son Faisal al-Khadra and daughter Salma Khadra Jayyusi. The former is a banker in Kuwait
and the latter is a writer.
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
politician, lawyer, and newspaper columnist. As an Istiqlal
Independence Party (Palestine)
The Independence Party was an Arab nationalist party established on 13 August, 1932, in Palestine during the British mandate. Its origins lay in the Istiqlal movement associated with the short-lived Sharifian government in Damascus....
leader, he helped organize anti-British and anti-Zionist activities in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, including the 1936 Arab revolt, which resulted in his three-year imprisonment.
Early life
Al-Khadra was born in Safad, northern PalestinePalestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in 1895 as the sixth child of his family. The Khadra were a rural family of notables who migrated to the city decades before. When he was born, his 16-year-old brother Faris died. In 1901, his father died. Subhi received his primary and secondary education in Safad and then studied at the Ottoman Sultanate School of Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. His teachers included his future Arab nationalist colleagues, Rafiq al-Tamimi
Rafiq al-Tamimi
Muhammad Rafiq al-Tamimi was a Palestinian Arab educator and political figure in the 20th century. He was appointed to the Arab Higher Committee in 1945 and was the chairman of al-Najjada.-Early life:...
and Adil al-Azma. After graduating, he attended the Imperial War College in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
where he graduated with a commission in the Ottoman Army.
Military career
During the beginning of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1916, he fought with the Ottomans in southern Palestine, but was captured by Allied Forces. Afterward, he joined Sharif Hussein ibn Ali's forces in the Great Arab Revolt
Great Arab Revolt
The Great Arab Revolt may refer to:*The 1916-1918 Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule, led by Sharif Hussein bin Ali*The Iraqi revolt against the British in 1920.*The Great Syrian Revolt of 1924-1927.*The 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine....
against the Ottomans. He was wounded several times while fighting Ottoman troops. He was among the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
forces led by Emir Faisal
Faisal I of Iraq
Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi, was for a short time King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria or Greater Syria in 1920, and was King of the Kingdom of Iraq from 23 August 1921 to 1933...
, son of Sharif Hussein, that entered Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
in 1918 after driving out the remaining Ottoman forces. In Damascus, he joined the Arab nationalist organization, al-Fatat
Al-fatat
Al-Fatat or the Young Arab Society was founded in 1911 by Arab nationalist, Izzat Darwaza .It was a secret Arab nationalist organization under the Ottoman Empire. Its aims were to gain independence and unity for various Arab nations then under the Ottoman rule. It found adherents in areas such as...
. From 1918 to 1920, he worked in the Directorate of Public Security in Faisal's administration. Also in this period, he married the sister of his colleague, Fu'ad Salim. During the Battle of Maysalun
Battle of Maysalun
The Battle of Maysalun , also called The Battle of Maysalun Pass, took place between Syrian and French forces about 12 miles west of Damascus near the town of Maysalun on July 23, 1920.-Background:...
with the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
on July 23, 1920, al-Khadra served as a combatant.
Fight against the British in Palestine
After the French deposed Faisal's Damascus-based government following their victory in Maysalun, al-Khadra returned to Palestine. There, he studied law and later opened his own practice. He wrote an article in 1930 that claimed ZionismZionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
was a "imperial British tool" and part of its divide-and-conquer method in the Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
. He strongly supported Iraqi-Syrian unity
Fertile Crescent Plan
The Fertile Crescent Plan was an Iraqi Hashemite proposal for the union of Iraq with Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Transjordan. Nuri as-Said, prime minister of Iraq, presented the plan to British officials during World War II, when it appeared that France had become too weak to hold on to Syria...
and stressed that Palestine was the southern part of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. British Police
Palestine Police Force
The Palestine Police Force was a British colonial police service established in the British Mandate for Palestine on 1 July 1920, when High Commissioner Herbert Samuel's civil administration took over responsibility for security from General Allenby's Occupied Enemy Territory Administration...
investigations found that al-Khadra actively led Palestinian Arabs in the 1929 Palestine riots
1929 Palestine riots
The 1929 Palestine riots, also known as the Western Wall Uprising, the 1929 Massacres, , or the Buraq Uprising , refers to a series of demonstrations and riots in late August 1929 when a long-running dispute between Muslims and Jews over access to the Western Wall in Jerusalem escalated into violence...
in Safad. As an attorney and a director of the Waqf
Waqf
A waqf also spelled wakf formally known as wakf-alal-aulad is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law, typically denoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable purposes. The donated assets are held by a charitable trust...
(Islamic trust fund) in the Galilee, he helped establish the Young Men's Muslim Associations (YMMA) in the area.
Al-Khadra became one of the nine founders of the Istiqlal Party
Independence Party (Palestine)
The Independence Party was an Arab nationalist party established on 13 August, 1932, in Palestine during the British mandate. Its origins lay in the Istiqlal movement associated with the short-lived Sharifian government in Damascus....
in 1932. He explained in an article in al-'Arab that the party's purpose was to counter factionalism and self-interest in Palestinian politics which had left the liberation movement without direction. He asserted the Palestinian national movement for independence from Britain deviated from its goals. The leading Istiqlal member in the Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
(northern Palestine), he proposed holding annual anti-British rallies on the anniversary of the Battle of Hattin
Battle of Hattin
The Battle of Hattin took place on Saturday, July 4, 1187, between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the forces of the Ayyubid dynasty....
when Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
's Muslim forces decisively defeated the Crusader
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
s, restoring Palestine to the Islamic domain. The proposal was officially adopted after receiving Rashid al-Haj Ibrahim
Rashid al-Haj Ibrahim
Rashid al-Haj Ibrahim was a Palestinian Arab banker and a leader of the Independence Party of Palestine . He was one of the most influential Arab leaders of Haifa in the first half of the 20th-century and played a leading role in both the 1936 Arab revolt and the 1948 Battle of Haifa.-Early life...
's support.
Al-Khadra greatly assisted Arab guerrilla leader Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam with forming paramilitary units and increasing membership in his anti-Zionist movement. Following his death in Ya'bad
Ya'bad
Ya'bad is a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, 20 kilometers west of Jenin in the Jenin Governorate. It is a major agricultural town with most of its land covered with olive groves and grain fields. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of...
by British forces, al-Khadra, among others, organized the 1936 Arab revolt in Palestine against the British Mandate. He was arrested the same year and incarcerated in the prison of Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
for three years until his release in mid-1939.
Later life and death
In September 1947, he was set to be the Palestinian Arab representative to the Arab LeagueArab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
, but was ultimately replaced by fellow Istiqlal member, Izzat Darwaza
Izzat Darwaza
Muhammad 'Izzat Darwaza was a Palestinian politician, historian, and educator from Nablus. Early in his career, he worked as an Ottoman bureaucrat in Palestine and Lebanon. Darwaza had long been a sympathizer of Arab nationalism and became an activist of that cause following the Arab revolt...
. Al-Khadra died in Damascus in 1955. He was survived by his son Faisal al-Khadra and daughter Salma Khadra Jayyusi. The former is a banker in Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
and the latter is a writer.