Macalester at Home and Abroad, Reel 2

Dr. Yahya Armajani interviewed Barkley Acheson Professor of International Studies Fayez Sayegh about the effects of change in the Middle East. Reel #13, run time 28:5

Zionist colonialism in Palestine (1965)

Fayez Abdullah Sayegh (b. 1922--d. 1980) was born in Kharraba, Syria, where his father was a Presbyterian minister. Starting his studies at the American University of Beirut, he moved to the US and earned a PhD in philosophy from Georgetown University in 1949. He subsequently taught at the American University of Beirut, Yale, Stanford and Macalester College. Publishing widely on numerous topics pertaining to the Arab world, and the question of Palestine in particular, he became one of the foremost intellectuals and diplomats representing Palestine internationally. In 1965, he founded the Research Center of the Palestine Liberation Organization and served as a member of its Executive Committee. In this capacity, he edited and cultivated the main intellectual output of the 1960s revolutionary period in the Palestinian national movement, and was a foundational member of the diplomatic leadership of the movement. He served as the Charge d'Affaires of the Arab States Delegations' Office at the United Nations. His most lasting legacy came on 10 November, 1975, when, as a delegate of Kuwait, he jointly authored and presented United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379, which determined Zionism as a form of racism and racial discrimination. This Resolution would be revoked in 1991 by UN General Assembly Resolution 46/86, a precondition set by Israel for its participation in the Madrid Conference. The following excerpts are from of his 'Zionist Colonialism in Palestine', which is possibly one of the clearest and most concise descriptions of its generation to discuss the organisational set-up of the Zionist settler colonial movement, its diplomatic strategies, as well as the ideology and structural features underpinning it. As a document of its time, it places Zionist settler colonialism in the context of European colonialism, and yet it distinguishes the Zionist project from other settler colonial movements. Sayegh does so by highlighting Zionism's aspiration to racial self-segregation, its rejection of any form of coexistence or assimilation, its unbending drive towards territorial expansion, and the necessary violence, structural and physical, it has to employ to achieve its goals. These phenomena are not passing features of Zionism, but, as Sayegh remarks, are 'congenial, essential and permanent', and consequently also manifest themselves in the policies of the Israeli state towards Palestinians and the wider Arab region. Palestinian resistance to Zionism has demanded many sacrifices, but, as Sayegh argues, these were not in vain, for '[r]ights undefended are rights surrendered', and while the Palestinian nation lost its homeland, it did so 'not without fighting'. 'It was dislodged', he notes, 'but not for want of the will to defend its heritage'. However, he also argues, the threat emanating from Zionist settler colonialism, and the duty to challenge it, is not only the concern of Palestinians alone. Rather, a regional response to Zionism is necessary, given its constant threat to destabilise the region and wage wars on its neighbours. Likewise, it is also a challenge to anti-colonial movements everywhere, '[f]or whenever and wherever the dignity of but one single human being is violated, in pursuance of the creed of racism, a heinous sin is committed against the dignity of all men, everywhere'. The following excerpts from Zionist Colonialism in Palestine were prepared by this issue's editors

"President Carter's 'Palestine Policy': A Palestinian View," by Fayez Sayegh (1979)

Six page pamphlet by Fayez Sayegh, published by Americans for Middle East Understanding, Inc., about the Carter Administration's policies towards Palestine

Correspondence with Chandler Publishing on book Dynamics of Neutralism: Edits, Feb 1964

Cover letter dated 4 Feb 1964 from Jon Sharp, sent with the galley proofs for the book The Dynamics of Neutralism, and Sayegh's cover letter of 17 Feb 1964 as he returned the galley proofs with further edits; a biography of Sayegh is included for use in the boo

Correspondence with Dr. Elaine C. Hagopian, June 9-24, 1977

Correspondence between Dr. Elaine C. Hagopian of the Association of Arab-American University Graduates, and Fayez Sayegh, June 9-24, 1977, about a talk Sayegh gave at an AAUG conference, and about Norton Mezvinsky

Academic Correspondence, Stanford and Other Universities 1959-1960: Hugh Morrison, March 7, 1960

Letter from Fayez Sayegh to Hugh Morrison, Dartmouth College, March 7, 1960, saying that he was sorry to have missed a chance to speak to Morrison's Great Issues class, but that if an opportunity arose in the future to let him know

Sayegh: United Nations 1950-1954: Karol Kraczkiewicz, March 31, 1952

Letter from Fayez Sayegh to Karol Kraczkiewicz, Substantive Departments Section, United Nations, March 31, 1952, thanking him for the clarifications in his letter of March 28, but asking him to reconsider the level and step of the offer of an appointment to the Secretariat as Social Affairs Officer

Sayegh: Legation of Lebanon 1949-1952: Lucille Griffith, March 19, 1952

Letter from Fayez Sayegh to Lucille Griffith, Chief of the Recruitment Section at the United Nations, March 19, 1952, requesting details on an offer of an appointment as a Social Affairs Officer at the United Nations

Editors' and Authors' Views on Sayegh's Publications and Lectures 1952-1959: Flyers for "Arab Unity: hope and fulfillment"

Correspondence regarding flyers advertising Fayez Sayegh's book, "Arab unity: hope and fulfillment", July 10-16, 1958; includes copy of the flyer

The Palestinean Popular Congress

Account of the Palestinian Popular Congress meeting in Cairo, Egypt, on 6-10 April 1972, in conjunction with the 10th session of the Palestine National Counci