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Leftist Women, Palestinians, and the Jordanian Communist Party, 1936–1957

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Leftist Women, Palestinians, and the Jordanian Communist Party, 1936–1957 City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 5-2019 The Forgotten Comrades: Leftist Women, Palestinians, and the Jordanian Communist Party, 1936–1957 Fadi H. Kafeety The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3261 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] THE FORGOTTEN COMRADES: LEFTIST WOMEN, PALESTINIANS, AND THE JORDANIAN COMMUNIST PARTY, 1936-1957 by FADI H. KAFEETY A master’s thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Middle Eastern Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, The City University of New York 2019 © 2019 FADI H. KAFEETY All Rights Reserved ii THE FORGOTTEN COMRADES: LEFTIST WOMEN, PALESTINIANS, AND THE JORDANIAN COMMUNIST PARTY, 1936-1957 by FADI H. KAFEETY This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Middle Eastern Studies in satisfaction of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts. Date Beth A. Baron Thesis Advisor Date Simon Davis Executive Officer THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT The Forgotten Comrades: Leftist Women, Palestinians, and the Jordanian Communist Party, 1936–1957 by Fadi H. Kafeety Advisor: Beth A. Baron The Middle East in the 1950s was the site of major contestation for popular support and power. In Jordan, a militant anti-imperialist movement emerged with a platform centered around expelling British forces and abrogating the Anglo-Jordanian treaty. In the struggle between monarchism and republicanism, the Jordanian Communist Party and Ba’ath Party were the catalyzing anti-imperial forces in the first decade of Jordan’s nominal independence. Despite having a militant core of feminists within their ranks, women of the Jordanian Communist Party —who were instrumental in politicizing and radicalizing the first phase of the Jordanian Women’s Movement—have been systematically erased from this critical episode in Jordan’s history. Thus, this thesis reconstructs the symbiotic relationship between the Jordanian Women’s Movement and the Jordanian Communist Party during the apex of the anti-imperial struggle against British hegemony in Jordan, shedding new light on the social and political activism of leftist women during this period. iv Acknowledgements This project was first conceived out of a desire to write a history of the communist parties in the Middle East in general and Jordan in particular. When I first spoke to Professor Naila Al Atrash at NYU about the lack of scholarship on women in Arab communist parties, Professor Atrash took valuable time and effort to go through her personal contacts and produce an invaluable list of women who had been involved in communist parties at one point of their lives. The stories she gave me of these women were compelling and must be written about in the future—but for now, however, my research was only able to produce a history of the relationship between the Jordanian women’s movement and the Jordanian Communist Party (JCP). Writing this thesis would not have been possible without the help, guidance, and support of professors, colleagues, scholars and activists in Jordan and America. First and foremost, my greatest appreciation and gratitude is owed to professor Beth Baron as my advisor and mentor during my time at The Graduate Center, CUNY. Professor Baron guided me through every step of this project. From conception to completion, Professor Baron went beyond her way to ensure that I had every resource available to complete my thesis. With her careful revisions, comments, and suggestions, only I am responsible for any faults and errors in this thesis. Few students are fortunate enough to have incredible advisors, even fewer are fortunate to have Professor Baron as their advisor. Professor Simon Davis was also of tremendous help along the way. His unparalleled knowledge on the Middle East serves as an inspiration to the aspiring historian. His courses on Palestine under the British Mandate, and Imperialism in the Middle East were crucial in developing this project. Professor Davis’ door was always open to any question I had about British imperialism in the Middle East, and most often, these small questions would turn to long v discussions on the political economy of the Middle East. Professor Davis also was grateful enough to give me time off from class to conduct research in Jordan, as well as making sure that my trip was funded and covered by the Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center (MEMEAC) student travel grant. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Professor Dina Le Gall. As the deputy director for the Middle Eastern Studies (MAMES) program at The Graduate Center, Professor Le Gall was always of help and guidance in selecting my coursework and navigating through my two years in the program. I also wish to thank Professor Le Gall, who took great interest in my project, and for her help in discussing and translating sources in Hebrew while conducting my research. Her course on the History of the Modern Middle East had a great impact, and I also benefitted immensely from my conversations with her on the left in Palestine. Lastly, I wish to thank Jeremy Randall, the assistant director of MEMEAC and MAMES for taking care of all my academic and bureaucratic work as a student in MAMES, as well as for being a wonderful office companion who always made sure I had everything I needed while working on my thesis. Though my research trip to Jordan would not have been possible without the help of Professors Baron and Davis, Professor Abdel Razzaq Takriti at the University of Houston did everything he could to facilitate my research and interviews during my time in Amman. Professor Takriti took the time and effort to put me in touch with academics, researchers, librarians, and activists in Jordan who either made time to speak with me, provided me with invaluable literature, or allow me to interview them. I was fascinated by how Professor Takriti cared for this project as if it was for one of his Master’s students, and I cannot wait to conduct research under his guidance as my future PhD advisor. vi My research trip to Jordan in March 2019 was by far the most memorable and beneficial trips to date. The comfort of being with my friends and family made my research much more pleasurable. Layla Naffa’ was extremely excited about my project when I first called her, and gave my her precious time to conduct interviews at both the Arab Women’s Organization (AWO) office in Amman and her residence. Auntie Layla invited me to an event hosted by the AWO in celebration of International Women’s Day, where she introduced me to her sister, Emily Naffa’. I have had a personal admiration of the political work and activism of Emily Naffa’ ever since I became interested in the JCP, and it was an absolute honor to meet her. I was most fortunate to have the opportunity to interview Emily on an extremely special day: International Women’s Day—which also marked the 65th anniversary of her joining the JCP. That interview was perhaps the most important I will ever conduct, and I will never forget the fantastic conversations we had that morning. I also wish to express my greatest thanks to Dr. Munir Hamarneh, the former secretary of the JCP, who made the time and effort to sit down with me for an interview in his residence. Dr. Hamarneh is one of the most important figures of the JCP, and I was humbled to sit next to him and have an incredible discussion on the history of the JCP. Dr. Hamarneh gave me access to his personal library, and was gracious enough to gift me some literature and pamphlets on the JCP. Dr. Hamarneh also put me in contact with the comrades at the JCP office, who gave me complete access to the archival material and library of the JCP. A special thanks to comrades Abu Sa’id, Dr. Omar, and Nidal for facilitating my research efforts during my time at the JCP office. Comrade Husain at Azbakyah bookstore in Amman deserves particular thanks for all his help. Since its creation, the regime in Jordan has actively sought to repress knowledge and ban the circulation of literature; and in this darkness, comrade Husain serves as the light to ensure vii that nobody is forbidden from access to the weapon of knowledge. In addition to donating and giving away texts to those in need, Azbakyah bookstore sells incredible literature barely above the cost of production. Comrade Husain’s specialty is in locating and procuring every text imaginable—what books were not available immediately, Husain made sure I reach the people who can get me the literature I was searching for. Aside from the works that aided this thesis, I was able to procure invaluable books for the future that are almost impossible to find these days. I would also like to thank Professor Sara Ababneh at the University of Jordan’s Center for Strategic Studies for allowing me to attend her seminar on the modern history of Jordan on the days that were most relevant to my research. My conversations with her were extremely helpful, and they had an impact on my research efforts in Amman. The Zayadin family opened their home to me while I was conducting research on Salwa and the late Yacoub Zayadin—former secretary general of the JCP.
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