Tawfiq Ziad
Tawfiq Ziad | |
---|---|
Faction represented in the Rakah | |
1977–1990 | Hadash |
1992–1994 | Hadash |
Personal details | |
Born | 7 May 1929 Jordan Valley, West Bank |
Tawfiq Ziad (
Biography
Born in Nazareth, Palestine during the Mandatory Palestine, Ziad was active in communist circles since his youth. His nom de guerre was Abu el-Amin (‘The Trustworthy One’). Ignoring Israeli closure measures, he played an important inspirational role in rallying villagers in the Galilee against a number of measures, and urging a tax revolt. He was arrested at Arrabeh on 24 April 1954, and confined to Nazareth for half a year and therefore subject to restrictions on his freedom of movement.[3] Under Israeli military rule (1948-1966) he was arrested and imprisoned several times.[4] Between 1962 and 1964 he was educated at the Higher Party School in Moscow.[5]
After returning home, he was elected mayor of Nazareth on 9 December 1975, as the leader of the Democratic Front of Nazareth, a victory that is said to have "surprised and alarmed" Israelis.[6] He would serve as mayor for 19 years, until his 1994 death in office.[7]
Elected to the
Poetry
The theme of sumud, which became a major literary theme as a form of resistance, played an important role in Ziad's poetry.[9][10] He is particularly well known for his poem Here We Will Stay:
- In Lydda, in Ramla, in the Galilee,
- we shall remain
- like a wall upon your chest, and in your throat
- like a shard of glass
- a cactus thorn,
- and in your eyes
- a sandstorm,
- We shall remain
- a wall upon your chest,
- clean in your restaurants,
- serve drinks in your bars,
- sweep the floors of your kitchens
- to snatch a bite for our children
- from your blue fangs.[11]
Death
Ziad died on 5 July 1994 in a head-on collision in the
Footnotes
- ^ Ben Ze'ev 2011, p. 218
- ISSN 0093-1896.
- ^ Hatim Kanaaneh, Sumud, crucifixion, and poetry: The life of Palestinian leader Tawfiq Zayyad, Mondoweiss 19 December 2020
- ISBN 978-1-503-61274-7., pp. 37-40.
- ISBN 978-1-503-61274-7., pp. 55-56.
- ^ 'Rakah Victory in Nazareth,'|, Journal of Palestine Studies Spring-Summer 1976, Vol. 5, No. 3/4 pages=178–180
- ^ "Tawfik Ziad, 65, Mayor of Nazareth". The New York Times. The Associated Press. 6 July 1994. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ General Assembly (23 December 1987). "Report of the Special Committee To Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories". United Nations.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Abdelwahab M. Elmessiri, The Palestinian Wedding: Major Themes of Contemporary Palestinian Resistance Poetry, Journal of Palestine Studies Vol. 10, No. 3 (Spring, 1981), pp. 77-99 pp.93-94
- ^ Khaled Furani, 'Dangerous Weddings: Palestinian Poetry Festivals during Israel's First Military Rule,' The Arab Studies Journal Vol. 21, No. 1, (Spring 2013), pp. 79-100 pp.81-82
- ^ Honaida Ghanim, Poetics of Disaster: Nationalism, Gender, and Social Change Among Palestinian Poets in Israel After Nakba, International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society March 2009 Vol. 22, No. 1 pp.23-39 p.37
- ^ "Tawfik Ziad, 65, Mayor of Nazareth, Obituary". New York Times. 6 July 1994.
References
- Ben Ze'ev, Efrat (2011), Remembering Palestine in 1948: Beyond National Narratives, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-19447-1
External links
- Tawfiq Ziad home page (in Arabic)
- Tawfiq Ziad on the Knesset website
- Ziad's poetry (in Arabic)
- Tawfiq Ziad; Israel and 'Unadikum' (in English). By Tim King. Salem News, 15 May 2011.