Edward Atiyah
Encyclopedia
Edward Selim Atiyah was a Lebanese
author and political activist. He was born in 1903 and died in 1964. He is best known for his 1946 autobiography An Arab Tells His Story, and his 1955 book The Arabs.
He came to England to study at Brasenose College, Oxford University,
and there met and married a Scottish
woman, Jean Levens. They had four children, including the renowned mathematician, Sir Michael Atiyah and Patrick Atiyah
, an academic and professor of law.http://www.atiyah.plus.com/family.htm
He served as secretary of the Arab League
office in London.
Part of the above quote has often been used as a evidence of Arab responsibility for the Palestinian exodus in 1948. In the June 16 1961, The Spectator
, Dr. Leo Kohn, professor of political science at Hebrew University and an ambassador-rank adviser to the Israeli Foreign Office used it to support his contention that:There is also a wealth of evidence from Arab sources to show that the Arab League
at an early stage of the campaign adopted a policy of evacuating the Arab population to the neighbouring countries, being convinced that their absence would be of short duration and would facilitate the impending military operations. ...
However, Edward Atiyah came forward to dismiss this interpretation. In an letter in The Spectator
of 23 June, 1961, he wrote that there is "no suggestion whatever in what I wrote that the exodus of the Arab refugees was a result of a policy of evacuating the Arab population. What I said is something quite different from the Zionist allegation that the Arab refugees were ordered or even told by their leaders to evacuate..."
, called *Juste Avant La Nuit)1951 Black Vanguard : Peter Davies: London, UK, 1952 Lebanon Paradise A novel. London: Peter Davies 1953.The Arabs the Origins, Present Conditions, and Prospects of the Arab World, 1955
The Crime of Julian Masters. Robert Hale, London 1959
The Eagle Flies from England. Robert Hale, London 1960
Donkey From the Mountains Robert Hale., London 1961 - Later issued as:
The Cruel Fire Doubleday Crime Club 1962
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
author and political activist. He was born in 1903 and died in 1964. He is best known for his 1946 autobiography An Arab Tells His Story, and his 1955 book The Arabs.
He came to England to study at Brasenose College, Oxford University,
and there met and married a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
woman, Jean Levens. They had four children, including the renowned mathematician, Sir Michael Atiyah and Patrick Atiyah
Patrick Atiyah
Patrick S. Atiyah QC FBA is an English lawyer and academic. He is best known for his work as a common lawyer, particularly in the law of contract and for advocating reformation or abolition of the law of tort. He was made a Fellow of the British Academy in 1979.-Biography:Atiyah is a son of the...
, an academic and professor of law.http://www.atiyah.plus.com/family.htm
He served as secretary of the Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
office in London.
Controversy
One quote from his 1955 book, The Arabs, is widely quoted in whole or in part:
""This wholesale exodus was due partly to the belief of the Arabs, encouraged by the boastings of an unrealistic Arabic press and the irresponsible utterances of some of the Arab leaders that it could only be a matter of weeks before the Jews were defeated by the armies of the Arab states and the Palestinian Arabs enabled to re-enter and retake possession of their country. But it was also, and in many parts of the country, largely due to a policy of deliberate terrorism and eviction followed by the Jewish commanders in the areas they occupied, and reaching its peak of brutality in the massacre of Deir YassinDeir YassinDeir Yassin was a Palestinian Arab village of around 600 people near Jerusalem. It had declared its neutrality during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine between Arabs and Jews...
." (p. 183)
Part of the above quote has often been used as a evidence of Arab responsibility for the Palestinian exodus in 1948. In the June 16 1961, The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
, Dr. Leo Kohn, professor of political science at Hebrew University and an ambassador-rank adviser to the Israeli Foreign Office used it to support his contention that:There is also a wealth of evidence from Arab sources to show that the Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...
at an early stage of the campaign adopted a policy of evacuating the Arab population to the neighbouring countries, being convinced that their absence would be of short duration and would facilitate the impending military operations. ...
However, Edward Atiyah came forward to dismiss this interpretation. In an letter in The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
of 23 June, 1961, he wrote that there is "no suggestion whatever in what I wrote that the exodus of the Arab refugees was a result of a policy of evacuating the Arab population. What I said is something quite different from the Zionist allegation that the Arab refugees were ordered or even told by their leaders to evacuate..."
Works (partial)
Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol was a French film director, a member of the French New Wave group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s...
, called *Juste Avant La Nuit)1951 Black Vanguard : Peter Davies: London, UK, 1952 Lebanon Paradise A novel. London: Peter Davies 1953.
See also
- Broadcasts, by Christopher HitchensChristopher HitchensChristopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...