Fayez Sayegh (1922–1980) was a Palestinian-American civil servant.

Early life

Fayez Abdullah Sayegh was born in 1922 in Kharaba,

Mandatory Syria The First Syrian Republic, officially the Syrian Republic, '; french: République syrienne was formed in 1930 as a component of the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, succeeding the State of Syria. A treaty of independence was made in 1936 to ...

, where his father was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister. As a child, Sayegh moved with his family to

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...

and went to school in

Safed Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...

. He received his bachelor's degree from the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

(AUB) in 1941 and his master's degree from the same university in 1945.

Career

Sayegh, along with his brothers who had joined earlier, joined the Syrian Social Nationalist Party in 1938. He was later expelled from the party after

Antoun Saadeh Antoun Saadeh ( ar, أنطون سعادة, ʾAnṭūn Saʿādah; 1 March 1904 – 8 July 1949) was a Lebanese politician, philosopher and writer who founded the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. Life and career Early life Saadeh was born in 19 ...

returned to Lebanon in 1947, following his exile. In 1949, he earned his Ph.D. in philosophy, with a minor in political science, from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. Andrew I. Killgore,
25 Years After His Death, Dr. Fayez Sayegh’s Towering Legacy Lives On
, ''Washington Report on Middle East Affairs'', December 2005, pp 22–23. After receiving his degree, Sayegh worked for the Lebanese Embassy in Washington DC. He also worked at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. He taught at a number of universities, including

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

Macalaster College Macalester College () is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 2,174 students in the fall of 2018 from 50 U.S. states, four U.S te ...

, as well as at his alma mater AUB and at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Sayegh found the Palestine Research Center in Beirut in 1965 and served as its Director-General. In that same year, the center published his historical study entitled ''Zionist Colonialism in Palestine''. He also made several appearances on American television as a commentator on the

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...

Bibliography

''The Palestine Refugees''
(1952)
''The Arab-Israel Conflict''
(1956)
''Arab Unity: Hope and Fulfillment''
(1958)
''Communism in Israel''
(1958)
''The Dynamics of Neutralism in the Arab World: A Symposium''
(1964)
''Zionist Colonialism in Palestine''
Research Center, Palestine Liberation Organization (1965)
''The United Nations and the Palestine Question''
Facts & Figures Series, No 2, Research Center, Palestine Liberation Organization (1966)
''Discriminations in education against the Arabs in Israel''
Facts & Figures Series, No 3, Research Center, Palestine Liberation Organization (1966)
''Palestine, Israel and Peace''
Palestine essays, No 17, Research Center, Palestine Liberation Organization (1970)
''A Palestinian view''
General Union of Palestinian students (1970) * ''The Record of Israel at the United Nations''

References

External links

"Where Do We Go from Here in the Middle East?"
60-minute video interview on ''Firing Line'' with

William F. Buckley Jr. William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American public intellectual, conservative author and political commentator. In 1955, he founded ''National Review'', the magazine that stim ...

(1974) *Fayez Sayegh
Zionism: “A Form of Racism And Racial Discrimination” Four Statements Made at the U.N. General Assembly
1976. Reprinted by

Americans for Middle East Understanding Americans for Middle East Understanding (AMEU) is a non-profit non-governmental organization that promotes the appreciation of the culture, history and current events in the Middle East among Americans. According to Elizabeth Boosahda, the AMEU "fo ...

* As'ad AbuKhalil,
Before Edward Said: a tribute to Fayez Sayegh
, '' Al Akhbar'', 2014-12-09
Fayez Sayegh
a
University of Utah Digital LibraryMarriott Library Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayegh, Fayez Arab Israeli anti-racism activists People of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict American people of Palestinian descent 1922 births 1980 deaths People from as-Suwayda Governorate American University of Beirut alumni Georgetown University alumni Palestinian academics Macalester College faculty Syrian emigrants to Lebanon Lebanese emigrants to the United States American expatriates in the United Kingdom Members of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization American University of Beirut faculty