Raja Issa El-Issa ( ar, رجا عيسى ﺍﻟﻌﻴﺴﻰ) (1922 – December 1, 2008) was a
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 ...
journalist.
Early life
El-Issa was born in
Jaffa
Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
to the prominent
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 ...
El-Issa family. The family is known for its 'intellect, politics and literature'. Eleven years before his birth, his father
Issa El-Issa
Issa Daoud El-Issa ( ar, عيسى داود العيسى, his surname also spelt al Issa and Elissa) was a Palestinian Christian poet and journalist. With his cousin Yousef El-Issa, he founded and edited the biweekly newspaper '' Filastin'' in 1911, ...
founded the pioneering ''
Falastin
''Falastin'' ( ar, فلسطين), meaning Palestine in Arabic, was an Arabic-language Palestinian newspaper. Founded in 1911 in Jaffa, ''Falastin'' began as a weekly publication, evolving into one of the most influential dailies in Ottoman and ...
'' newspaper.
Career
El-Issa took the managers position of the newspaper after his father's death, and later became the first chairman of the ''Jordan Press Association'' in
Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
,
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, 1956. The slogan El-Issa advocated in the press sector for nearly a quarter of a century was the saying of
Mustafa Kemal
Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى
, Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world.
Given name ...
: "Freedom is not dear to a people who work to obtain it. They strive to achieve it... the rock melts and crumbles as the water falls on it drop by drop."
On Falastin,
The newspaper continued to be published in
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel.
Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...
until 1967 when it was merged with ''Al-Manar'' to produce the Jordanian-based ''
Ad-Dustuor'' newspaper based in Amman, which is still published today. El-Issa wrote an influential opening editorial for the paper in 1967 titled “''Between Me and Her, Companionship and Life''.” It reflects on his childhood dreams, the emotions of a bully and youthful determination. As El-Issa said,
On the attempted assassination of his editor-in-chief by rebel elements,
Personal life
El-Issa was married to Nadia, a
Syro-Lebanese woman''.''
He died on 1 December 2008 at the age of 86 in Amman.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Issa, Raja el
1922 births
2008 deaths
Eastern Orthodox Christians from Palestine
Palestinian journalists
Palestinian newspaper publishers (people)
People from Jaffa
20th-century journalists
Palestinians
Palestinian nationalists