Summary
A Syrian from Damascus, recently retired as a Syrian government clerk and settled in Haifa, whom the Palestine Labor League paid as a Zionist agent of influence during the 1936-39 revolt — anonymous author of its January 1937 pamphlet Kashf al-Qina’ and organiser of a planned network of pro-Zionist clubs at some £P250 (Comrades and Enemies: Arab and Jewish Workers in Palestine, 1906-1948, lines 2987-2992).
Details
- The PLL paid al-Husayni to write a pamphlet, An Appeal to Suffering Humanity, espousing his blend of socialist and pacifist principles, and distributed it; given the context it could only be understood as a denunciation of the revolt. He initially insisted on keeping his PLL connection secret, but was quite willing to work as a Zionist agent of influence (lines 2987-2990).
- In 1937 the PLL sent him to Wadi ‘Ara to follow up a friendly letter, hoping to develop a PLL branch; the PLL outfitted clubs at Wadi ‘Ara and ‘Ar’ara with a radio and reading material (lines 2988-2992).
- Later in 1937 the PLL secretly hired him to organise a network of pro-Zionist intellectuals and clubs in various towns and villages and rented him an office, at a total cost of some £P250; British security officials got wind of the plan, invited him in, and tried to induce him to work for them as an informer — which diminished his utility to the Histadrut (lines 2991-2992).
- He was the anonymous author of Kashf al-Qina’ (Removing the mask), published by the PLL in January 1937, denouncing the strike and revolt while praising the Histadrut (line 2992).
- Al-Husayni, who was not even a Palestinian, and a handful of other pro-Zionist Arabs were exhibited to foreign visitors as living proof Arab nationalist fears were unjustified; his performance before two visiting Independent Labor Party MPs in January 1937 was deemed very effective by Alafiya (lines 2993-2996).
Related pages
Comrades and Enemies: Arab and Jewish Workers in Palestine, 1906-1948, Palestine Labor League, Histadrut, Wadi Ara, Shmu’el Alafiya