Al-Ittihad (Israeli newspaper)
Encyclopedia
Al-Ittihad is an Israel
i Arabic language daily newspaper based in Haifa
. Once considered the most important Arab media outlet in Israel, it is owned by Maki, the Israeli Communist Party, and was edited by a former Maki/Hadash
Knesset member, Ahmad Sa'd
until his death on 20 April 2010.
, Fu'ad Nassar
and Emile Habibi
. Its first edition was published on 14 May that year. Habibi edited the paper until 1989. The newspaper functioned as an organ for the National Liberation League in Palestine. From September 1945 onwards it was published in the name of the Arab Workers' Congress. The newspaper was shut down by the British authorities in February 1948, reappearing on 18 October. In July members of the NLL in Haifa contacted the Mapam
party, asking them to pressure Israeli authorities to give a license to resume publishing the newspaper. Al-Ittihad was the only pre-state Arabic-language paper to continue being published after independence. In 1948 it moved into a new building on Al-Hariri Road. In the years after independence when Israeli Arabs were subject to military government, the paper was banned in some areas. It was later banned in the West Bank.
In 1953 Al-Ittihad and its Hebrew sister newspaper, Kol HaAm
, published a controversial article on the Korean War
, which resulted in the Minister of Internal Affairs
, Israel Rokach
, ordering both papers to close for 15 days. The papers filed a petition to the Supreme Court
, which ruled that the suspension had been wrongly issued and should be set aside. The ruling utilised the Declaration of Independence in making its judgement on the issue of free speech, the first time the declaration had been used as an instrument for interpretation.
Whilst other communist newspapers lost much of their readership after the 1956 war, Al-Ittihad was able to recover, regaining its pre-war readership level by 1961. In 1961, the readership of its Friday edition was twice as large as the readership of Kol HaAm, in spite of the fact that Arabs made up only 11.3% of the country's population, and literacy levels were generally lower in the Arab community. The paper's readership continued to grow gradually for some time. Initially a weekly paper, it was later published biweekly, finally becoming a daily newspaper in 1983.
In 1988 the government again ordered it closed for a week, six days before Land Day
.
Due to financial problems, the newspaper moved to Hadash
party headquarters, Beit HaYedidut, in Nazareth
, and then returned to Haifa to a building on HaMaronitim Road. In 2006 staff were preparing to return to its Al-Hariri Road location, but the building was hit by a rocket during the 2006 Lebanon War and badly damaged.
Haaretz reports that the paper lost most of its senior reporters in recent years, and that most of these former employees see it as having discarded its earlier pluralism for the Maki party line.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Arabic language daily newspaper based in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
. Once considered the most important Arab media outlet in Israel, it is owned by Maki, the Israeli Communist Party, and was edited by a former Maki/Hadash
Hadash
Hadash is a Jewish and Arab socialist front of organizations that runs for the Israeli parliament. It currently has four members in the 120-seat Knesset.-Background:...
Knesset member, Ahmad Sa'd
Ahmad Sa'd
Dr. Ahmad Sa'd was an Israeli Arab journalist and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Hadash between 1996 and 1999. He later served as editor of the Israeli-Arab newspaper Al-Ittihad.-Biography:...
until his death on 20 April 2010.
History
The paper was established in 1944 by Emile TomaEmile Toma
Emile Toma , was a political historian and philosopher and thinker.Emile was born in Haifa to an Arab Orthodox family in 1919. He studied in the Orthodox School in Haifa then he went to Jerusalem to the Zion College to complete his high school studies.He joined the Cambridge University and left it...
, Fu'ad Nassar
Fu'ad Nassar
Fu'ad Nassar was a Palestinian communist leader. Nassar became associated with the anti-colonial struggle in 1929. Joined the Palestinian Communist Party. In charge of the military activities of the party during the 1936-1936 insurgency. Led the Nazareth branch of the Palestinian Arab Workers...
and Emile Habibi
Emile Habibi
Imil Shukri Habibi was an Israeli-Palestinian writer of Arabic expression and a communist politician, son of a Christian family.In 2005, he was voted the 143rd-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest...
. Its first edition was published on 14 May that year. Habibi edited the paper until 1989. The newspaper functioned as an organ for the National Liberation League in Palestine. From September 1945 onwards it was published in the name of the Arab Workers' Congress. The newspaper was shut down by the British authorities in February 1948, reappearing on 18 October. In July members of the NLL in Haifa contacted the Mapam
Mapam
Mapam was a political party in Israel and is one of the ancestors of the modern-day Meretz party.-History:Mapam was formed by a January 1948 merger of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party and Ahdut HaAvoda Poale Zion Movement. The party was originally Marxist-Zionist in its outlook and represented...
party, asking them to pressure Israeli authorities to give a license to resume publishing the newspaper. Al-Ittihad was the only pre-state Arabic-language paper to continue being published after independence. In 1948 it moved into a new building on Al-Hariri Road. In the years after independence when Israeli Arabs were subject to military government, the paper was banned in some areas. It was later banned in the West Bank.
In 1953 Al-Ittihad and its Hebrew sister newspaper, Kol HaAm
Kol HaAm
Kol HaAm was a Hebrew language newspaper in Mandate Palestine and Israel, owned by the Israeli Communist Party.-History:Established in 1937, the paper appointed Communist Party member Esther Vilenska editor in 1943, and chief editor in 1947...
, published a controversial article on the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, which resulted in the Minister of Internal Affairs
Internal Affairs Minister of Israel
The Interior Minister , also known as the Minister of Internal Affairs is head of the Israeli Ministry of Interior and an important portfolio in the cabinet. The current Interior Minister is Eli Yishai of Shas...
, Israel Rokach
Israel Rokach
Israel Rokach, Honorary CBE was an Israeli politician, Knesset member, and mayor of Tel Aviv from November 15, 1936 to April 13, 1953.-Biography:...
, ordering both papers to close for 15 days. The papers filed a petition to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Israel
The Supreme Court is at the head of the court system and highest judicial instance in Israel. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem.The area of its jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme...
, which ruled that the suspension had been wrongly issued and should be set aside. The ruling utilised the Declaration of Independence in making its judgement on the issue of free speech, the first time the declaration had been used as an instrument for interpretation.
Whilst other communist newspapers lost much of their readership after the 1956 war, Al-Ittihad was able to recover, regaining its pre-war readership level by 1961. In 1961, the readership of its Friday edition was twice as large as the readership of Kol HaAm, in spite of the fact that Arabs made up only 11.3% of the country's population, and literacy levels were generally lower in the Arab community. The paper's readership continued to grow gradually for some time. Initially a weekly paper, it was later published biweekly, finally becoming a daily newspaper in 1983.
In 1988 the government again ordered it closed for a week, six days before Land Day
Land Day
Land Day , March 30, is an annual day of commemoration for Palestinians of the events of that date in 1976. In response to the Israeli government's announcement of a plan to expropriate thousands of dunams of land for "security and settlement purposes", a general strike and marches were organized...
.
Due to financial problems, the newspaper moved to Hadash
Hadash
Hadash is a Jewish and Arab socialist front of organizations that runs for the Israeli parliament. It currently has four members in the 120-seat Knesset.-Background:...
party headquarters, Beit HaYedidut, in Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
, and then returned to Haifa to a building on HaMaronitim Road. In 2006 staff were preparing to return to its Al-Hariri Road location, but the building was hit by a rocket during the 2006 Lebanon War and badly damaged.
Haaretz reports that the paper lost most of its senior reporters in recent years, and that most of these former employees see it as having discarded its earlier pluralism for the Maki party line.
Writers
Writers for the newspaper have included:- Mahmoud DarwishMahmoud DarwishMahmoud Darwish was a Palestinian poet and author who won numerous awards for his literary output and was regarded as the Palestinian national poet...
- Salim Joubran
- Samih al-QasimSamih al-QasimSamīħ al-Qāsim Samīħ al-Qāsim Samīħ al-Qāsim ( is an Israeli Druze whose Arabic poetry is well-known throughout Arab World. His poetry is influenced by two primary periods of his life: Before and after the Six-Day War. He joined the Communist Hadash political party in 1967...
- Tawfik ToubiTawfik Toubi-Biography:Toubi was born in Haifa to an Arab Orthodox family in 1922, and was educated at the Mount Zion School in Jerusalem. He joined the Palestine Communist Party in 1941 and later was one of the founders of the League for National Liberation, which originally opposed partition of Palestine but...
- Tawfiq ZiadTawfiq ZiadTawfiq Ziad was a Palestinian politician well-known for his "poetry of protest".-Biography:Born in the Galilee, Ziad studied literature in Russia...