Leila Khaled

Sarah Irving

Description

Dubbed 'the poster girl of Palestinian militancy', Leila Khaled's image flashed across the world after she hijacked a passenger jet in 1969. The picture of a young, determined looking woman with a checkered scarf, clutching an AK-47, was as era-defining as that of Che Guevara.



In this intimate profile, based on interviews with Khaled and those who know her, Sarah Irving gives us the life-story behind the image. Key moments of Khaled's turbulent life are explored, including the dramatic events of the hijackings, her involvement in the Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (a radical element within the PLO), her opposition to the Oslo peace process and her activism today.



Leila Khaled's example gives unique insights into the Palestinian struggle through one remarkable life – from the tension between armed and political struggle, to the decline of the secular left and the rise of Hamas, and the role of women in a largely male movement.
Introduction

1. Haifa, Lebanon, Kuwait

2. Leila The Fighter

3. Black September

4. Marriage And Death

5. Revolutionary Women

6. Moving To Jordan And Returning To Palestine

7. Leila Khaled In The Future, Palestine In The Future

References

Index

Sujets

• Disciplines
• Language Arts
• History of the Middle East
• Journalism
• Palestine

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 08 mai 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781849646734
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Leila Khaled

Revolutionary Lives

Series Editors: Brian Doherty, Keele University; Sarah Irving, University of Edinburgh; and Professor Paul Le Blanc, La Roche College, Pittsburgh

Revolutionary Lives is a book series of short introductory critical biographies of radical political gures. The books are sympathetic but not sycophantic, and the intention is to present a balanced and where necessary critical evaluation of the individual’s place in their political eld, putting their actions and achievements in context and exploring issues raised by their lives, such as the use or rejection of violence, nationalism, or gender in political activism. While individuals are the subject of the books, their personal lives are dealt with lightly except in so far as they mesh with political issues. The focus of these books is the contribution their subjects have made to history, an examination of how far they achieved their aims in improving the lives of the oppressed and exploited, and how they can continue to be an inspiration for many today.

Published titles:

Leila Khaled: Icon of Palestinian Liberation Sarah Irving

Jean Paul Marat: Tribune of the French Revolution Clifford D. Conner

Gerrard Winstanley: The Digger’s Life and Legacy John Gurney

www.revolutionarylives.co.uk

Leila Khaled

Icon of Palestinian Liberation

Sarah Irving

First published 2012 by Pluto Press 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA

www.plutobooks.com

Distributed in the United States of America exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010

Copyright © Sarah Irving 2012

The right of Sarah Irving to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN ISBN ISBN ISBN ISBN

978 0 7453 2952 9 978 0 7453 2951 2 978 1 84964 673 4 978 1 84964 675 8 978 1 84964 674 1

Hardback Paperback PDF Kindle ePub

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for

This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental standards of the country of origin.

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Designed and produced for Pluto Press by Chase Publishing Services Ltd Typeset from disk by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England Simultaneously printed digitally by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, UK and Edwards Bros in the United States of America

For three generations of amazing women—Meg, Cathy, Leila and Merryn

And for Marc, Zoë and Viv

List of Illustrations Acknowledgements

Contents

Introduction 1 Haifa, Lebanon, Kuwait 2 Leila the Fighter 3 Black September 4 Marriage and Death 5 Revolutionary Women 6 Moving to Jordan and Returning to Palestine 7 Leila Khaled’s Future, Palestine’s Future

Notes Bibliography and Sources Index

viii ix

1 10 27 43 62 90 111 129

139 148 152

List of Illustrations

1. The iconic image of Leila Khaled 2 2 Members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) drinking tea during a training excercise, circa 1969 41 3. The iconic image of Leila Khaled on the Israeli Separation Wall at Bethlehem Checkpoint 45 4. Leila Khaled in a refugee camp in Beirut, circa 1974–5 72 5. Leila Khaled’s image on a mural located in the West Bank city of Beit Sahur 104 6. Leila Khaled at home in Amman, September 2008 114 7. Leila Khaled with Brazilian radical cartoonist Carlos Latuff at the World Social Forum in Nairobi, 2007 131 8. Image fromThe Hookah Girlzine in which artist Marguerite Dabaie explores her own experiences of growing up PalestinianChristian in the USA 136

viii

Acknowledgements

My thanks to Leila Khaled, Khalil Meqdisi, Linda Clair, Naim, Samer and the many other people, especially in Palestine and in the Palestinian diaspora, who didn’t want their names made public but who have shared their time, memories, thoughts, and hospitality with me; to all the Palestinians living under military occupation or separated from their homeland, whose steadfastness and courage should be an inspiration to all who believe in justice; to David Castle at Pluto Press for his immense patience; and to the International Solidarity Movement, for luring me to Palestine in the rst place.

ix