Anwar Nusseibeh

Who was Anwar Nusseibeh?

Anwar Nuseibeh Anwar Bey Nuseibeh, was from an aristocratic Arab family descended from Nusaybah, the woman chieftan who defended the Prophet in the Battle of Uhud in 625. He was an Arab nationalist who believed in Parliamentary democracy and in maintaining Arab consensus, on the grounds that Arab unity was more important than individual differences. He also believed in accepting the will of the majority, hence his participation in Jordanian politics following the Jericho Conference of 1948. He believed that holding fast to one's principles does not preclude one from dialogue with the other, hence his reputation for openness and accessibility. He always maintained that the Jews, as Semites, were Arabs and had all the rights due to Arabs throughout the Arab world. Before 1947 several Jewish lawyers took their articles in his offices. This belief led to his support for a single state solution for Palestine in 1939, his opposition to the fascist dogmas in Europe in the 1930s and later as postulated by the Ba'ath movement. When invited to become a founding member by Michel Aflaq, he declined in a telegram with a single line of 'I have always opposed Naziism'.