Elias Rababi (1913–1999) was a Lebanese journalist and politician who served as the general secretary of the

Kataeb Party The Kataeb Party ( ar, حزب الكتائب اللبنانية '), also known in English as the Phalanges, is a Christian political party in Lebanon. The party played a major role in the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). In decline in the lat ...

. He was also Lebanese ambassador to Germany and Argentine. His other significant post was the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the Kataeb Party's newspaper, ''

Al Amal AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

''.

Biography

Born in 1913 Rababi was a

Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...

and a member of the Kataeb Party. Following the establishment of the party in 1936 he was appointed its regional director and actively involved in the recruitment activities. He was the candidate of the party in the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

on 4 May 1945 in Mount Lebanon. However, not Rababi but Philippe Takla won the seat. The party's newspapers, ''Al Amal'' and ''Action'', were also edited by him for a long time, and Rababi headed the propaganda and press department of the party. Rababi was one of the persons who developed early connections between the Israeli officials and the Kataeb Party in the period 1948–1951. In the 1950 meeting they discussed the financial assistance of Israel to the party concerning the preparations for the next general elections. Rababi also organized a meeting between

Pierre Gemayel Pierre Amine Gemayel, also spelled Jmayyel, Jemayyel or al-Jumayyil ( ar, بيار الجميّل; 6 November 1905 – 29 August 1984), was a Lebanese political leader. A Maronite Catholic, he is remembered as the founder of the Kataeb Part ...

, Kataeb leader, and Yehoshua Palmon, an Israeli diplomat, in Switzerland in 1950. These contacts were first uncovered by an Israeli journalist and historian, Benny Morris, who wrote for ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper ...

'' in 1983. Rababi was the ambassador of Lebanon to Germany between 9 October 1959 and 1 October 1962. Then he served as the ambassador of Lebanon to Argentine until February 1966. He died in December 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rababi, Elias 20th-century diplomats 20th-century journalists 1913 births 1999 deaths Lebanese Maronites Kataeb Party politicians Ambassadors of Lebanon to West Germany Ambassadors of Lebanon to Argentina Lebanese journalists