Nashashibi, Raghib Al- (1883–1951)
NASHASHIBI, RAGHIB AL- (1883–1951)
Palestinian politician. Raghib al-Nashashibi was born into one of Jerusalem's most prominent families and studied engineering. He was elected to the Ottoman parliament for Jerusalem and served as an officer in the Ottoman army in World War I. He was a founder of the Literary Society, an important political association, in 1918, and of the Palestinian Arab National Party in 1923. In 1920 he was appointed mayor of Jerusalem by the British, replacing a member of the rival Husayni family, a nationalist whom the British suspected of instigating anti-British demonstrations. In 1934, after being voted out of office, Nashashibi founded the National Defense Party, which advocated compromise with the British and the Zionists. He was a member of the Arab Higher Committee from 1936 to 1937 but left because of disagreements with Hajj Amin al-Husayni and his supporters over British proposals to partition Palestine. He attended the London Conference of 1939 and wanted to accept the terms offered by the 1939 MacDonald White Paper. After the West Bank was annexed by Jordan in 1950, he was appointed governor by the government of Abdullah I and later served as a cabinet minister in charge of the Haram al-Sharif.
SEE ALSO Abdullah I ibn Hussein;Arab Higher Committee;Haram al-Sharif;Husayni, Hajj Amin al-;West Bank;White Papers on Palestine.