Summary
Nationalist leader of Greek origin who headed the local council of Kufr Yasif in the early period of military government, under whom — in Ahmad Sa’di’s study as reported by Magid Shihade — a coalition of nationalists and communists in the village challenged attacks on the council, land confiscation, and the attempted deportation of refugees sheltering there (Settler Colonialism and Conflict: The Israeli State and its Palestinian Subjects, PDF p.12 / printed p.119). The name is spelled Yanni Yanni by Shihade and Yani Yani by Manna; both spellings are kept with their sources.
Details
- In Shihade: “a coalition was established between nationalists and communists in Kafr Yassif challenging attacks on the local council headed by Yanni Yanni, a well-known nationalist leader (of Greek origin)” (Settler Colonialism and Conflict: The Israeli State and its Palestinian Subjects, PDF p.12 / printed p.119).
- In Manna, as Yani Yani: head of Kufr Yasif municipal council, he used his Druze neighbours’ relations with the Jews to save his villagers from uprooting and expulsion, signing a surrender agreement mediated by Haim Orbach from Nahariyya on 10 July 1948 (Nakba and Survival, PDF p.68).
- In Manna: in the January 1954 local elections Yani Yani was elected for a second term with the support of two communist council members, against the unsuccessful efforts of military governor Ya’cov Muhriz and his men to prevent the coalition (Nakba and Survival, PDF p.280-281).
- In Manna: Yani Yani later headed the nationalist activists in the July 1958 discussions for an Arab Front, was among the signatories of the 27 December 1956 declaration on Kafr Kassim, and was among the non-communist leaders who resigned from the front in January 1959 (Nakba and Survival, PDF p.295-296).
Where sources disagree
- Spelling of the name: Shihade prints “Yanni Yanni” (Settler Colonialism and Conflict: The Israeli State and its Palestinian Subjects, PDF p.12); Manna prints “Yani Yani” (Nakba and Survival, PDF p.68, 280-281, 295-296). Neither spelling is corrected against the other.
Related pages
Settler Colonialism and Conflict: The Israeli State and its Palestinian Subjects, Nakba and Survival, Kufr Yasif, Ahmad Sa’di