''Khamsin'' was a socialist magazine which was published first in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, France, and then in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the United Kingdom, between 1975 and 1989. The title of the magazine, ''Khamsin'', was a reference to a

desert wind The ''Desert Wind'' was an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that ran from 1979 to 1997. It operated from Chicago to Los Angeles as a section of the ''California Zephyr'', serving Los Angeles via Salt Lake City; Ogden, Utah; and Las Vegas. ...

with the same name which occurs in the Middle East. It was edited by the revolutionary socialists from the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, and its subtitle was ''Journal of revolutionary socialists of the Middle-East''.

History and profile

The establishment of a publication by the

Matzpen Matzpen ( he, מצפן, lit. 'Compass') is the name of a revolutionary socialist and anti-Zionist organisation, founded in Israel in 1962 which was active until the 1980s. Its official name was the Socialist Organisation in Israel, but it became ...

, an Israeli socialist and anti-Zionist organization, first discussed in a meeting of

Moshé Machover Moshé Machover ( he, משה מחובר; born 1936) is a mathematician, philosopher, and socialist activist, noted for his writings against Zionism. Born to a Jewish family in Tel Aviv, then part of the British Mandate of Palestine, Machover move ...

, Eli Lobel, Emmanuel Farjoun, Leila Kadi and Sadik Jalal Al Azm in London in October 1974. As a result of this meeting ''Khamsin'' was launched in Paris, France, in 1975. It was coedited by Lebanese Leila Kadi and Israeli Eli Lobel. The latter was a member of the Matzpen. The first four issues of ''Khamsin'' were published in French by the Editions Fraçois Maspero based in Paris. In 1978 the editorial board of the magazine expanded with the addition of Avishai Ehrlich, Moshé Machover, Mikhal Marouan and Khalil Toama. From the fifth issue the headquarters of ''Khamsin'' moved to London where it was published in English until 1989 when it folded with the publication of the issue numbered 14. In this period Nira Yuval-Davis, a sociology lecturer at Thames Polytechnic, joined its editorial board. The publishers were first Ithaca Press and then Zed Press in the London period of the magazine.

Political stance

''Khamsin'' declared its aim in the fifth issue as to be part of the struggles for social liberation and against nationalist and religious mystifications instead of expressing and supporting only some views. The ultimate goal was reported to be the establishment of a united socialist Arab world.

Content and contributors

''Khamsin'' featured articles containing political, economic, social analysis and book reviews. From the issue 5 it published specific content for each issue: Oriental Jewry (issue 5), Women in the Arab World (issue 6), Communist Parties in the Middle East (issue 7), Politics of Religion in the Middle East (issue 8), Politics of Religion/Development of Capitalism in Egypt (issue 9), Israel and its War in Lebanon (issue 10), Modern Turkey: Development and Crisis (issue 11), and The Gulf ran–IraqWar (issue 12). One of the contributors was

Israel Shahak Israel Shahak ( he, ישראל שחק; born Israel Himmelstaub, 28 April 1933 – 2 July 2001) was an Israeli professor of organic chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a Holocaust survivor, an intellectual of liberal political bent, ...

who claimed that Zionism-related politics was originated from the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

in an article published in the issue 8 of ''Khamsin'' dated 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khamsin 1975 establishments in France 1989 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Defunct political magazines published in the United Kingdom French-language magazines Magazines established in 1975 Magazines disestablished in 1989 Magazines published in London Magazines published in Paris Socialist magazines Anti-Zionism in Europe