Club National Israélite

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CLUB NATIONAL ISRAéLITE

a zionist association.

The Club National Israélite (Arabic, al-Nadi alQawmi al-Isra'ili) was founded in Syria in June 1924 by Tawfiq Mizrahi, a Jewish journalist and director of the Bureau de Presse et Publicité advertising agency in Damascus, and Dr. Sulayman Tagger, the chief rabbi of Beirut, together with seven other provisionary committee members. The group's name was chosen in obvious imitation of the Arab Club, which was the focal point of Syrian and pan-Arab nationalism.

The Club National Israélite set out a nine-point program that, in addition to moderate Zionist goals, included working for friendly ties with other religious and ethnic communities in Syria. The club shifted its headquarters to Beirut in the late 1920s when the atmosphere in Damascus became increasingly hostile to any form of Zionism. It did not continue to be active for long, and most of its members joined other Jewish organizations with Zionist orientations.

see also arab club; pan-arabism.


Bibliography


Stillman, Norman A. The Jews of Arab Lands in Modern Times. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1991.

Norman Stillman