Ghassan Kanafani

Fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Palestine's most renowned author

This week, July 8th, marked a half century since the 1972 assassination by Israeli agents of the Palestinian author, Ghassan Kanafani. The car bomb that killed Kanafani also claimed the life of his 17-year old niece, Lamees Najim, and having been killed aged just 36, Kanafani by rights might still be with us, and certainly should not have been taken from the world so young.

I wrote for Jacobin about the half-century anniversary of the killing, trying of course to put the emphasis on the life and works of such a remarkable writer, rather than on the evil way he was taken from the world. As a writer, it is particularly enraging to consider the killing of another writer, not least from inside a Western politics that purports to value the ideal of free speech, and still peddles the lie that the Israeli state has either this or any democratic value in either its current status or formation.

For all that the Israeli killing and all that it points to must be roundly condemned, one of the most remarkable features of Kanafani is his dignity and his humanity. He knew that Palestine, his land and country and his people’s homes, had been taken, but there is never any trace of the logic of hate in his words. He is too determined and dignified for such things, and in that is perhaps the finest lesson in how to oppose either the injustice of Zionism, or indeed any of the many other injustices that this world provides.

Naturally I encourage you to read the article, and perhaps, if you can find it, also some of Kanafani’s work, precious little of which is available in English. A brief thank you as always to those who feel able to support my writing of Köprü, and an apology that I have not shared much for a while. I have a few other pieces forthcoming, and your support is a valuable part of that which helps me as I continue to pitch, write, and work.