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In a courtroom at al-Maskobiyeh prison, two dark men sit on a wooden bench. They await their sentencing as their facial expressions move between boredom and mockery. The judge declares the decision to execute them, and as they are led to the gallows they sneer “hip hip, hooray.”
In 1934, the unpredictable tactics of Palestinian fighters Abu Jilda and al-’Armeet alarmed the English and the Zionists. It was for their attacks from the mountains that they were celebrated and eternalized in popular songs and tales.
Palestinian popular literature has always been full of tales. Some are laden with superstitions, while others are full of humor and tenderness, but all of them influenced Palestinian folklore. This unique outcome was born of exceptional circumstances, as it strengthened the people’s need to identify with a specific history. As a result, folklore became a spontaneous expression of collective consciousness and personality.1
- 1. Kanaana, Sharif. Al-Dar Dar Aboona: Dirasat fi Alturath Alsha’bi al-Filisteeni [T’is Our Father’s House: Studies in Palestinian Popular Folklore]. Ramallah: Shuruq Publishing House, 2013, p. 24
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In light of the harsh conditions and consistent crises and attacks to which Palestinians were subjected in the early 1900s, there was a desperate need for a hero to take on the task of confronting oppression through retaliation. Palestinians used popular tales on a daily basis to raise morale and encourage patience and courage. No one would know the true source of these stories, and many alterations, additions, and exaggerations were included, placing its heroes in the same position as prophets. These stories did not, however, lose their primary purpose: to chronicle a nation’s struggle against the Turkish, English and Zionist presence.1
- 1. Zayyad, Tawfiq. Suwar Min al-Adab al-Sha’bi al-Filastini [Pictures from Palestinian Popular Literature]. 2nd ed. Akka: Matba’at Abu Rahmun, 1994.
These heroes would become legends, their fame bolstered by the fact that they remained anonymous soldiers with next to nothing known about them. They were neither known icons nor political leaders, but continued their resistance efforts in the dark. Tales of their exploits would spread so regularly among the people that there was no way of making sure of their origins or veracity. Over time, the stories would take on a mythical, often mesmerizing, quality. For this was the role that legends served at the time: to complement, align with, and fill in the gaps of reality.
The first Palestinian guerrilla groups that engaged in armed struggle were Abu Kbari’s group from the village of Beita, and Saleh Sleiqa’s group from the village of Aqraba. They occupied a special place in Palestinian popular heritage. Their tales go on to say that British forces accused the brothers Ibrahim and Saleh Abu Sleiqa of killing the chief of Aqraba in 1922. Ibrahim was arrested a year later, while Saleh remained free.1 Ibrahim Abu Sleiqa met with Abu Kbari and Hameda al-Tamouni in
- 1. Kabaha, Mustafa, and Nimer, Sarhan. Sijil al-Qada wa al-Thuwar wa al-Mutatau’een Lithawrat 1936-1939 [A Record of Leaders, Revolutionaries, and volunteers in the Revolution of 1936-1939]. Kufr Qare’: Dar al-Huda, 2009.
- 2. Aqrabawi, Hamza. “Saleh Sleiqa: Min Ruwwad al-Nidal al-Sha'bi fi Filastin [Saleh Sleiqa: A Figurehead of Popular Struggle in Palestine]” 2011, https://pulpit.alwatanvoice.com/content/print/239515.html .
Palestine Today - Military Activity (1939)
The heroics of Abu Kbari and Abu Sleiqa became a part of popular legends and tales, constantly told and retold by the people, and eternalized in poems and popular slogans:
والله ما بلبس ثوب لخضاري لو بحكموني حكم أبو كباري
راسي ما اطوّع لهيك زبونا
والله ما بلبس بدلة ركيكة لو بحبسوني حبس أبو سليقة
راسي ما اطوّع لهيك زبونا1
- 1. Ibid.
Despite the intertwining of imagination and reality in these popular tales, their influence on the balance of power in Palestine cannot be ignored; the sensation of danger, the fear of a surprise attack or harsh retribution, haunted British and Zionist forces, so much so that the British offered rewards to anyone who would find these heroes or provide leads on their whereabouts. Hebrew newspapers also relayed their news every day, and even documented their stories in some Hebrew songs.
In his diaries, Ariel Sharon refers to his trip from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv at the age of five, intimating his feeling of dread on the road: “I squatted over my seat deeply contemplating the Jewish highlands in an attempt to find any sign of Abu Jilda, the infamous Arab terrorist, who was specialized in setting up traps on the road to Jerusalem.”1
Abu Jilda and al-’Armeet were also a source of trepidation for spies and collaborators. Najati Sidqi, who was arrested and met the men in prison, says that al-’Armeet had told his mother from behind bars: “put a dagger in my grave, so I can settle my score with the snitch.”2
With the outbreak of the
Said Beit Iba was one of those heroes who became famous. He was able to escape from his jail cell and return to his family, the house of Rasheed. With the beginning of the 1936 Revolt, he began attacking English caravans, becoming a fugitive from then on. His group grew, and he was joined by many scout members and village residents from Nablus. During the Revolt, Said moved between Syria, Palestine, and
- 1. Kabaha and Sarhan. Record of Leaders, Revolutionaries, and volunteers, p. 398
Said Beit Iba and other heroes and fighters that partook in the armed struggle of the 1936 Revolt turned into icons chronicled by Palestinian popular tales. But their stories depended on their actual heroic deeds, unlike the legends before the