Jules Yusuf Jammal ( ar, جول يوسف جمال) is said to have been a Syrian military officer who killed himself in a suicide attack during the Suez Crisis, in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. According to a narrative prevailing in the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

, Jammal rammed his boat into a French warship, thereby sinking the ship. This story is given credence in some sources. However, as related in the 1967 book ''Six days in June: Israel's fight for survival'' by Washington correspondent and historian

Robert J. Donovan Robert John Donovan (August 21, 1912 – August 8, 2003) was a Washington correspondent, author and presidential historian. He died from complications from stroke. Biography Donovan attended Lafayette High School in Buffalo, New York, where he ...

, the tale is false but gained traction in the Arab world after being aired on

Radio Cairo Egyptian Radio also known as the Egyptian Radio's General Program (إذاعة البرنامج العام transliterated as Iza'at El-Bernameg Al-Aam) also popularly known as Radio Cairo (in Arabic إذاعة القاهرة transliterated as Iza'at ...

. It is cited as an example of the "potency of he stationto propagate myths s beingbeyond dispute."

Narrative

According to sources from Arab countries, Jammal's biography and actions are the following: He was born in al-Mishtaya, a village located between Homs and Latakia, into an

Arab 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, ...

Orthodox Christian Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churche ...

family. He later joined the

Syrian Navy The Syrian Navy, officially the Syrian Arab Navy ( ar, الْبَحْرِيَّةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, al-Baḥrīyah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is the navy branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. The main role ...

as an officer. During the 1956 Suez Crisis, he is said to have volunteered in the name of

Arab nationalism Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language a ...

to launch a suicide bomb attack against the tripartite invasion by

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

the UK The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and France into the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is ...

in order to capture the Suez Canal. Jammal activated a suicide bomb when he rammed his boat into a French ship, destroying it and dying in the process. It is unclear which actual ship he is supposed to have sunk. One source calls the ship at issue the "

liner A low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER) is a type of galactic nucleus that is defined by its spectral line emission. The spectra typically include line emission from weakly ionized or neutral atoms, such as O, O+, N+, and S+. ...

''Jean D’Arc''" and another the "French warship, ''Jeanne D’Arc''". There was a French cruiser ''Jeanne d'Arc'' in service at that time, but it was decommissioned in 1964 rather than sunk. Some sources name the battleship ''Jean Bart'', which did see action in the Suez Canal, but that vessel was also not sunk; it was decommissioned in 1961.

Legacy

A 1960 film called ''The Giants of the Sea'' (in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: عمالقة البحر pronounced "Amaliqat el Bahr") was released, directed by Al Sayyed Badir and starring

Ahmed Mazhar Ahmed Hafez Mazhar ( ar, أحمد حافظ مظهر, ʾAḥmad Ḥāfeẓ Mazāhar; 8 October 1917 – 8 May 2002) was an Egyptian actor. He graduated from the military academy in 1938 Nadia Lutfi Nadia Lutfi or Nadia Loutfi ( ar, نادية لطفي; born Poula Mohamed Mostafa Shafiq ( ar, بولا محمد مصطفى شفيق); 3 January 1937 – 4 February 2020) was an Egyptian actress. During the apex of her career, she was one of the ...

. Jules was played by his brother, Adel Jammal. Arab film director Gassan Abdullah announced plans to make a film about Jammal in 2008, since he was regarded as a hero for many in Syria and Egypt for his Arab nationalism. The

Grand Mufti The Grand Mufti (also called Chief Mufti, State Mufti and Supreme Mufti) is the head of regional muftis, Islamic jurisconsults, of a state. The office originated in the early modern era in the Ottoman empire and has been later adopted in a num ...

of Syria,

Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun ( ar, أَحْمَد بَدْرُ ٱلدِّين حَسُّون, ʾAḥmad Badr ad-Dīn Ḥassūn; born 25 April 1949) was the Grand Mufti of Syria from 2005 to 2021, after which the post was abolished. Biography Ahmad Ba ...

, mentioned Jammal in a speech aimed at

Western countries The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

, warning that Syrians and Lebanese would engage in suicide bomb attacks against

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

if they bombed Syria during the 2011 Syrian uprising. He cited Jammal as an example of a non- Muslim Syrian who carried out a suicide bomb martyrdom attack on the west, and warned that non-Muslims would assist Syria in those attacks.Mufti of Syria Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun Threatens to Activate Suicide Bombers in Europe and the U.S.
memri.org; accessed 15 June 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jammal, Jules 1932 births 1956 deaths Syrian Christians Syrian military personnel Syrian Arab nationalists