Raghib al-Nashashibi (Arabic: راغب النشاشيبي, Ragheb al-Nashashibī) (1881–1951), CBE (hon),[1] was a Palestinian public figure and wealthy landowner during the Ottoman Empire,[2] the British Mandate and the Jordanian administration. He was a member of the Nashashibi clan, one of the most influential families in Palestine, and mayor of Jerusalem from 1920 to 1935.

Raghib al-Nashashibi
Mayor of Jerusalem
In office
1920 – January 1935
Preceded byMusa al-Husayni
Succeeded byHussein Khalidi
Minister of State and Custodian of the Holy Places of Jerusalem
In office
1 January 1951 – 25 July 1951
Minister of Transport
In office
4 December 1950 – 1 January 1951
Minister of Agriculture
In office
12 April 1950 – 11 October 1950
Minister of State
In office
12 January 1950 – 12 April 1950
Minister of Refugees
In office
1 September 1949 – 12 January 1950
Personal details
Born1881
Jerusalem
DiedApril 1951
East Jerusalem
Political partyNational Defence Party

Background

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Nashashibi graduated from Istanbul University and became Jerusalem's District Engineer. The Nashashibis[3] were one of the oldest and most influential Jerusalem families, and historical rivals of the Husayni family.[4]

Political career

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Nasashibi was elected to the General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire in 1914,[5] serving until the end of Ottoman Rule in Palestine in 1918.[citation needed]

 
King George Street in Jerusalem, dedicated in the presence of Mayor al-Nashashibi, 1924

Nashashibi succeeded Musa Kazim al-Husayni as mayor of Jerusalem in 1920,[6][7] and was elected to the post in the 1927 Municipal elections with Haym Salomon and Jacob Faradj, who were elected as vice-mayors.[8] He sought re-election as Mayor and to the City Council in 1934, but lost his seat in the city council to Hussein Khalidi.[9] He subsequently appealed the results to the Jerusalem District Court. Which ruled in Khalidi's favor in January 1935. Nashashibi was subsequently succeeded as Mayor by Khalidi later that month.[10]

He was a leading opponent of the Husayni family in Palestine. In 1937 he secretly favoured union with Transjordan.[11] Nashashibi was a founding member of the Arab Higher Committee and a leader of the National Defence Party.

Following the outbreak of the Arab–Israeli War, Nashashibi fled to Egypt. He subsequently returned to the West Bank,[5] and was appointed head of the new Jordanian ministry for refugees and rehabilitation in August 1949. That September, he was appointed the first Governor-General for Arab Palestine. In 1950 he became Jordanian Minister of Agriculture and later Minister of Transport. He was also appointed as custodian of the Holy Places of Jerusalem with cabinet rank.

Personal life

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His second wife, a French Jew, lived on Kantura street. Their eldest son was Mansur.[12] Nasashibi died in April 1951 of Illness at Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem.[5]

Bibliography

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  • Sayigh, Yezid (2000). Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949-1993. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-829643-6

See also

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References

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  1. ^ A Survey of Palestine - prepared in December 1945 and January 1946 for the information of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry. Reprinted 1991 by the Institute of Palestine Studies, Washington. Volume II. ISBN 0-88728-214-8. p.948
  2. ^ "Raghib al-Nashashibi - Politicians (1882 - 1951)". Palestinian Journeys. Archived from the original on 2022-01-15. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  3. ^ "Families of Jerusalem and Palestine". Archived from the original on September 22, 2008.
  4. ^ Gensicke, Klaus: "Der Mufti von Jerusalem und die Nationalsozialisten. Eine politische Biographie Amin el-Husseinis"; page 19f.; Darmstadt 2007.
  5. ^ a b c "מת ראגב נשאשיבי, "שומר הר-הבית"". Al HaMishmar. National Library of Israel. 1951-04-11. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  6. ^ Tamari, Salim (2008). Mountain against the Sea: Essays on Palestinian Society and Culture. University of California Press. p. 80. ISBN 9780520251298. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  7. ^ Dalin, David (2017). Icon of Evil: Hitler's Mufti and the Rise of Radical Islam. Taylor & Francis. p. 34. ISBN 9781351513968. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Nashashibi Installed as Jerusalem Mayor" (PDF). No. 750. Jewish Telegraph Agency. JTA. 27 April 1927. p. 1. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  9. ^ "פצצת נשאשיבי". Haaretz. 1934-09-28. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  10. ^ "בעיריות ובמועצות בארץ ישראל". ⁨⁨Yedioth Iriath Tel-Aviv. National Library of Israel. 1935. p. 19. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
  11. ^ Sayigh, 2000, p. 9
  12. ^ Jawhariyyeh, Wasif; Nada Elzeer, Translator (2013). "Ragheb Bey and the Oud". In Tamari, Salim; Nassar, Issam (eds.). The Storyteller of Jerusalem: The Life and Times of Wasif Jawhariyyeh, 1904-1948. Olive Branch Press, Interlink Publishing Group. p. 177. ISBN 9781623710392. Retrieved 27 April 2018. {{cite book}}: |author2= has generic name (help)
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