Issa Daoud El-Issa ( ar, عيسى داود العيسى, his surname also spelt al Issa and Elissa) was a Palestinian Christian poet and journalist. With his cousin Yousef El-Issa, he founded and edited the biweekly newspaper '' Filastin'' in 1911, based in his hometown of

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

. ''Filastin'' became one of the most prominent and long running in the country at the time, and was dedicated to the cause of the

Arab Orthodox Arab Christians ( ar, ﺍَﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, translit=al-Masīḥīyyūn al-ʿArab) are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic-speakers who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who l ...

in their struggle with the

Greek-Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

Patriarchate in Jerusalem. The newspaper was the country's fiercest and most consistent critic of the Zionist movement, denouncing it as a threat to Palestine's Arab population. It helped shape Palestinian identity and was shut down several times by the Ottoman and British authorities.

Biography

Exiled during World War I, al-Issa became chief of the Arab Kingdom of Syria's royal court in Damascus during King Faisal's government that lasted five months. During that time, he required the publishers of Damascus-based newspapers to dedicate half of their newspaper columns to the Palestinian cause as prerequisite to receiving their monthly salaries. In June 1928, Al-Issa was elected to the 7th Congress of the Arab Executive Committee (AEC) as a representative of Jaffa. During his time on the committee, he joined the National Defense Party, the opposition to Hajj Amin al-Husayni's sympathizers on the AEC. Al-Issa hosted several

Arab Christian-Orthodox conference The Arab Orthodox Society is an Eastern Orthodox charitable organization located near the New Gate in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. A part of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, it provides its local community with medic ...

s in Mandatory Palestine and Transjordan. His son Raja El-Issa succeeded him as the publisher of ''Filastin''. On 29 June 1949, al-Issa died in Beirut, Lebanon. Issa once experienced an assassination attempt in August 1936. Issa al Issa

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References

Bibliography

* * * Tamari, S., 2014
Issa al Issa’s Unorthodox Orthodoxy: Banned in Jerusalem, Permitted in Jaffa
''Jerusalem Quarterly'',

Institute for Palestine Studies The Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) is the oldest independent nonprofit public service research institute in the Arab world. It was established and incorporated in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1963 and has since served as a model for other such inst ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Issa 1878 births 1950 deaths Arab people in Mandatory Palestine Eastern Orthodox Christians from Palestine Palestinian Christians People from Jaffa Palestinian journalists Palestinian newspaper founders Palestinian nationalists

Biography

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Further reading

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Bibliography