Al-Karmil (newspaper): Difference between revisions

{{For|the [[West Bank]] town of the same name|Al-Karmil}}

{{Infobox Newspaper | newspaper

| imagename = الكرمل|Al-Karmil

| captionimage = |15 September 1925 edition of Al Karmil newspaper.png

| typecaption = 15 September =1925 Weeklyedition [[newspaper]]of |Al-Karmil newspaper

| foundation = [[1908]] |

| ceased publication = approx. [[1944]]

| owners = [[Najib Nassar |]]

| editor =

| political = [[antiAnti-Zionism|anti-Zionist]]

| ISSN =

| website = |

'''''Al-Karmil''''' or '''''⁨⁨El-Carmel⁩''''' ({{lang-ar|الكرمل}}) wasis a bi-weekly [[Arabic language]]-language [[newspaper]] founded toward the end of [[Ottoman empire|Ottoman imperial rule]] in [[History of Palestine#Ottoman period|Palestine]].<ref name=Khalidip124>Khalidi, 1997, p. 124.</ref><ref name=Muslihp80>Muslih, 1989, p. 80.</ref> Named for [[Mount Carmel]] in the [[District of Haifa|Haifa district]], the first issue was published in December 1908,<ref name=Khalidip124/> with the stated purpose of "opposing [[Zionism|Zionist]] [[colonization]]".<ref name=Cubertp36>Cubert, 1997, p. 26.</ref><ref name="academia.edu">Beška, Emanuel: ANTI-ZIONIST JOURNALISTIC WORKS OF NAJĪB AL-KHŪRĪ NASSĀR IN THE NEWSPAPER AL-KARMAL IN 1914. In Asian and African Studies, 20, 2, 2011. [https://www.academia.edu/5421251/ANTI-ZIONIST_JOURNALISTIC_WORKS_OF_NAJ%C4%AAB_AL-KH%C5%AAR%C4%AA_NASS%C4%80R_IN_THE_NEWSPAPER_AL-KARMAL_IN_1914]</ref>

The owner, editor and key writer for the newspaper was [[Najib Nassar]],<ref>Fleischmann, 2003, p. 273, note 107.</ref> a [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] [[Arab Christian]] and staunch [[anti-Zionism|anti-Zionist]], whose editorials warning of the dangers posed by Zionism to the [[Palestinian people]] were often reprinted in other [[GreaterOttoman Syria|Syrian]] newspapers.<ref name=Khalidip125>Khalidi, 1997, p. 125.</ref><ref name=Khalidip136>Khalidi, 1997, p. 136.</ref> Najib's wife, Sadhij Nassar, was also a key editor, administrator and journalist for the newspaper.

Writing of ''Al-Karmil'' and another early Arab Palestinian newspaper, ''[[Filastin (newspaper)|Filastin]]'', [[Rashid Khalidi]] characterizes them as "instrumental in shaping early [[Palestinian nationalism|Palestinian national consciousness]] and in stirring opposition to Zionism."<ref name=Khalidip217n31>Khalidi, 1997, p. 217, n. 31.</ref> Khalidi contends that almost immediately after the publication of its first issue in December 1908, ''al-Karmil'' "became the primary vehicle of an extensive campaign against Zionist settlement in [[Palestine]]."<ref name=Khalidip124/>

Najib Nassar, owner, editor and journalist for the paper, not only printed news items and editorials concerning Zionism and its aims, but also re-published articles on Zionism from other Arabic newspapers based in [[Cairo]], [[Beirut]] and [[Damascus]], such as ''al-Muqattam'', ''[[al-Ahram]]'', ''al-Mufid'', ''al-Ittihad al-'Uthmani'', snfand ''al-Muqtabas'', as well as from [[Istanbul]]-based ''al-Hadara'' and [[Jaffa]]-based ''Filastin''.<ref name=Khalidip125/> Further, Nassar devoted detailed coverage to the activities and aims of Zionist organizations in Palestine and abroad. Between March and June 1911, ''al-Karmil'' published a sixteen-part series on "Zionism: Its history, objective, and importance" that was later released as a 65-page booklet. The material included condensed translationstranslation of the article on Zionism from the ''[[Encyclopedia Judaica]]'', and theNassar's comments.<ref name="academia.edu"/><ref>Beška, Emanuel: ARABIC TRANSLATIONS OF WRITINGS ON ZIONISM PUBLISHED IN PALESTINE BEFORE THE FIRST WORLD WAR. In Asian and African Studies, 23, 1,2014. [https://www.academia.edu/7236697/ARABIC_TRANSLATIONS_OF_WRITINGS_ON_ZIONISM_PUBLISHED_IN_PALESTINE_BEFORE_THE_FIRST_WORLD_WAR]</ref> The booklet concluded by describing the efforts of [[Theodor Herzl]] on behalf of Zionism, calling for men like Herzl, "...who will forget their private interests in favor of the public good," to step forth from among the Palestinian population to oppose Zionism.<ref name=Khalidip125/> Nassar's purpose was to incite public opinion against Zionism, whose aims and activities he viewed as a threat to the [[Arab]] character of Palestine, but he also focused on alerting the public to instances in which the ruling Ottoman and later British authorities were colluding with Zionists to facilitate Jewish land purchases.<ref name=Seikalyp38>Seikaly, 2002, p. 38.</ref>

In 1926, ''al-Karmil'' began publishing a "women's page", (''Safhat al-nisa''), that was edited by Sadhij Nassar, Najib Nassar's wife, who also served as an editor and director of administration for the newspaper as a whole.<ref name=Fleischmannp71>Fleischmann, 2003, p. 71.</ref> Her journalistic contributions between 1926 and 1933 have been characterized as a kind of "one-woman press", wherein she commented on a wide range topics, including women's activities locally, regionally, and internationally.<ref name=Fleischmannp72/> Encouraging women to raise their male and female children equally and to take up work to facilitate their economic independence, Sadhij Nassar also urged women to get involved in politics, while avoiding factionalism in favor of unity.<ref name=Fleischmannp72>Fleischmann, 2003, p. 72.</ref> For example, in the late 1920s, Nassar wrote, "You are responsible. Yes, you Palestinian Arab ladies, [[Muslim]] and [[Christians|Christian]], you are responsible for the integrity of the nation [(its "''[[Al-Watan|watan]]'']") and keeping Palestine Arab as it was until now. Every woman will spread the spirit of cooperation among the sons of the Arabs in the souls of her children."<ref name=Fleischmannp81>Fleischmann, 2003, p. 81.</ref> In 1930, Sadhij Nassar was a founding member and secretary of the Arab Women's Union Society in [[Haifa]], which was one of the more militant branches of the women's movement during the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate]] period.

In its early years, ''al-Karmil's'′s editorial line reflected a positive approach toward the ruling imperial authorities, the [[Turkish people|Turkish]] [[Committee of Union and Progress]] (CUP), but by 1911, like most other [[pan-Arabism|pan-Arabist]] thinkers, it switched to opposing the CUP because of its perceived bias in favor of Zionism.<ref name=Khalidip126>Khalidi, 1997, p. 126.</ref> Among the contributing writers to ''al-Karmil'' were many who had participated in the [[Arab revolt]] of 1916, such as [[Druze]] intellectual Ali Nasir al-Din and educator and journalist Hamdi al-Husayni.<ref name=Firrop236>Firro, 2003, p. 236, n. 15.</ref><ref name=Matthewsp268>Matthews, 2006, p. 268.</ref>

In the late 1930s, Sadhij Nassar was described by the British authorities as "a menace to public security" and a "prominent agitator". ArrestedNassar was arrested in March 1939 by British police and held in [[administrative detention]] under the [[Defence (Emergency) Regulations|Defense Emergency Regulations]] in a women's prison in [[Bethlehem]] until February of 1940, when she was detained because "she was actively engaged in subversive propaganda."<ref name=Fleischmannp132>Fleischmann, 2003, p. 132.</ref> She is cited as being the first female Palestinian political prisoner.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-25 |title=Saheb al-Karmil (The Owner of al-Karmil ) {{!}} The Palestinian Museum |url=https://palmuseum.org/en/exhibitions-and-events/events/saheb-al-karmil-owner-al-karmil |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=palmuseum.org |language=en}}</ref> After her release, she returned to editing ''al-Karmil'', serving as the editor between 1941 and 1944, when the newspaper was operating without a permit after the British authorities had refused to issue one.<ref name=Fleischmannp132/> She continued her activities in the women's movement until 1948, when she became a refugee and wrote for various publications in London and in [[Damascus]], where she tried to open a branch of the Arab Women's Union Society. She is believed to have died in Damascus during the 1970s.<ref>[http://pt.scribd.com/doc/2454317/A-Lifetime-with-AbdulBaha ''A Lifetime With 'Abdu'l-Bahá''] p. 105 ''apud'' Fleischmann, Ellen L. ''The Nation and Its "New" Women: The Palestinian Women's Movement, 1920–1948''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.</ref>

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