Issa Daoud El-Issa ( ar, عيسى داود العيسى, his surname also spelt al Issa and Elissa) was a

Palestinian Christian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

poet and journalist. With his cousin

Yousef El-Issa Yousef El-Issa (alternative: ''Yusuf al-‘Isa'') ( ar, يوسف العيسى) was a Palestinian journalist. He established the Filastin newspaper with his cousin Issa El-Issa in 1911, based in his hometown of Jaffa. ''Filastin'' became one of th ...

, he founded and edited the biweekly newspaper '' Filastin'' in 1911, based in his hometown of Jaffa. ''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 in their struggle with the Greek-Orthodox 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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, al-Issa became chief of the

Arab Kingdom of Syria The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...

'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 Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

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 Mohammed Amin al-Husseini ( ar, محمد أمين الحسيني 1897 – 4 July 1974) was a Palestinian people, Palestinian Arab nationalism, Arab nationalist and Muslim leader in Mandatory Palestine. Al-Husseini was the scion of the al-Husay ...

's sympathizers on the AEC. Al-Issa hosted several Arab Christian-Orthodox conferences in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

and

Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom of ...

. His son

Raja El-Issa Raja Issa El-Issa ( ar, رجا عيسى ﺍﻟﻌﻴﺴﻰ) (1922 – December 1, 2008) was a Palestinian journalist. Early life El-Issa was born in Jaffa to the prominent Palestinian Christian El-Issa family. The family is known for its 'int ...

succeeded him as the publisher of ''Filastin''. On 29 June 1949, al-Issa died in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. Issa once experienced an assassination attempt in August 1936.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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

See also

Further reading

Notes

References

Bibliography