AL GHAD
Nusseibeh Signs His Book
The day before yesterday [18 May 2009], the veteran diplomat Hazim Nusseibeh held a book-signing ceremony at the Al-Bustan Bookshop for his new book "Jerusalemites: A Living Memory" published by Rimal Publications in Cyprus.
Nusseibeh said the book represents "an autobiography of the past decades." He noted that it covers the period of Jerusalem under the British Mandate, during which the city was the headquarters of political, economic, social, and sports activities, as well as the central government, in which the people of Palestine constituted the vast majority of the teams running and administering the mandate. Nusseibeh reached the phase of Nakba [the 1948 events] "with all its disasters, usurpation, martyrs, diaspora, and all other repercussions."
He noted that the book was published in English in order to "inform the outside world and make it always remember that the homes, houses, and facilities that the Israelis are living in and exploiting in greater Jerusalem belong to Arabs and have been usurped from them. They do not belong to Jews, as they allege. It is our right to retrieve them, even if this takes a long time."
Through Nusseibeh's autobiography, the book discusses "Jerusalem and the West Bank after the 1948 Nakba, and the union of Palestine and Jordan within the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan." During this era, the author held important and sensitive positions, all of which targeted serving the Palestinian cause and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people under occupation and usurpation, in order to draw the attention of the various international podiums and UN forums through many meetings with world leaders in various continent.
The book contains two connecting parts. The first discusses Jerusalem during his childhood days in the early 1920s; and the second talks about the successive crises that struck Palestine and its people, consisting of the intifadas and revolutions, which reached their peak in greater Palestine between 1936 and 1939.
It is noteworthy that Nusseibeh chaired the Jordanian Truce Committee between 1954 and 1956. He represented Jordan in the Consultative Council of the UNRWA in 1956 and 1957. He also assumed the portfolio of construction and building, and chaired the ministry concerned with the affairs of Palestinian refugees in Jordan directly after the June [1967] aggression.
He was foreign minister of Jordan in 1963 and was appointed Jordan's ambassador to Egypt, Turkey, Italy, Switzerland, and Malta, which enabled him to comprehend the nature of international political rhetoric and to address the West in English, in which he is fluent.
Nusseibeh has published a number of books, research, studies, and articles in both Arabic and English addressing Arab causes, foremost of which is the question of Palestine. He translated the book, The Independence Movements in the Arab Maghreb, by the leader Alal al-Fasi. He also translated the book The Philosophy of Legislating in Islam by Dr Mahmasani into English. He has been decorated with a number of Jordanian and Arab medals in appreciation for his role serving the causes of the nation and the homeland. Among these medals, he was decorated with the "Star of Jordan of the First Order" and the "Syrian Medal of Merit." In addition, he worked as a part-time professor at the University of Jordan.
Report by Azizah Ali
