Zurich Open Repository and Archive University of Zurich Main Library Strickhofstrasse 39 CH-8057 Zurich www.zora.uzh.ch Year: 2017 Arab states, Arab interest groups and anti-Zionist movements in Western Europe and the US Rickenbacher, Daniel Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-153223 Dissertation Published Version Originally published at: Rickenbacher, Daniel. Arab states, Arab interest groups and anti-Zionist movements in Western Europe and the US. 2017, University of Zurich, Faculty of Arts. ARAB STATES, ARAB INTEREST GROUPS AND ANTI-ZIONIST MOVEMENTS IN WESTERN EUROPE AND THE US Thesis presented to the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of the University of Zurich for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Daniel Rickenbacher accepted in the fall semester 2017 on the recommendation of the doctoral committee: Prof. Dr. Hans-Lukas Kieser (main supervisor) Prof. Dr. Erik Petry Prof. Dr. Jeronim Perović Prof. Dr. Matthieu Leimgruber Zurich, 2018 Abstract English This thesis analyzes the history of the transnational pro-Arab and anti-Zionist network in Western Europe and the US from the start of its activity in the 1920s until the mid- 1970s, when the PLO achieved several international diplomatic successes. Since the Palestine conflict’s start, the Arab national movement led by Amin al-Husseini had sought to involve other Arab and Islamic actors to add weight to their cause. Parallelly, it developed an infrastructure to influence Western public opinion. The resultant transnational advocacy network enjoyed the support of Arab states, which competed over influence on Palestine and numerous non-Arab anti-Zionist activists motivated by a diverse array of ideologies. After 1944, the Arab League coordinated a propaganda campaign against Zionism, which failed to prevent the partition of Palestine. In the 1950s however, the Arab League under the sponsorship of Egypt vastly expanded its propaganda network. Besides advocating Egypt’s foreign policy goals, it sought to mainstream Palestinian nationalism. Fatah, which later took over the PLO, meanwhile built its own network, closely interacting with the ascendant New Left. This network was simultaneously involved in propaganda and terrorist activities against Israel and Western targets. The threat of terrorism and economic repercussions by Arab states were eventually successful in pushing Western European governments to accept Palestinian demands and distance themselves from Israel. 1 Abstract Deutsch Diese Arbeit analysiert die Geschichte des transnationalen pro-arabischen und antizionistischen Netzwerks in Westeuropa und den USA bis Mitte der 1970er Jahre. Seit Beginn des Palästina-Konflikts hatte die von Amin al-Husseini geführte arabische Nationalbewegung versucht, andere arabische und islamische Akteure einzubeziehen, um ihrer Sache mehr Gewicht zu verleihen. Parallel dazu entwickelte sie eine Infrastruktur zur Beeinflussung der westlichen öffentlichen Meinung. Das daraus resultierende transnationale Unterstützungsnetzwerk genoss die Unterstützung arabischer Staaten, die um den Einfluss auf Palästina konkurrierten, und zahlreicher nicht-arabischer antizionistischer Aktivisten, die durch eine Vielzahl von Ideologien motiviert waren. Nach 1944 koordinierte die Arabische Liga eine Propagandakampagne gegen den Zionismus, die die Teilung Palästinas nicht verhindern konnte. In den 1950er Jahren baute die Arabische Liga unter der Schirmherrschaft Ägyptens dieses Propagandanetzwerk weiter aus. Neben dem Eintreten für die außenpolitischen Ziele Ägyptens war es bestrebt, den palästinensischen Nationalismus fördern. Die Fatah, die später die PLO übernahm, baute gleichzeitig ein eigenes Netzwerk auf, indem sie eng mit der aufsteigenden Neuen Linken zusammenarbeitete. Dieses Netzwerk war sowohl an Propaganda- als auch an Terroraktivitäten gegen Israel und westliche Ziele beteiligt. Die Bedrohung durch den Terrorismus und wirtschaftlichen Sanktionen der arabischen Staaten bewegten die westeuropäischen Regierungen schliesslich dazu, palästinensische Forderungen zu akzeptieren und sich von Israel zu distanzieren. 2 Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 6 1 Pan-Arab and Pan-Islamic Propaganda and the Arab-Jewish Conflict before 1939 .............................................................................................................................. 26 1.1 Pan-Islamism, the ‘Jewish War against Islam’ and the Crusaders ............... 26 1.2 The Arab Revolt, the AHC and Propaganda in Britain .................................. 41 1.3 Emil Ghoury and the AHC’s Christian Outreach ............................................ 48 1.4 The Revisionist Powers and the AHC Propaganda ....................................... 52 1.5 AHC Networks in Syria and Egypt, Barudi’s Arab National Bureau and the Bludan Congress ....................................................................................................... 60 1.6 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 72 2 Anti-Zionist Networks in the US before World War II ........................................... 74 2.1 The Missionary Network and the origins of Protestant anti-Zionism ............. 74 2.2 Arab-American lobbying against Zionism ....................................................... 81 2.3 The State Department and Zionism ............................................................... 84 2.4 The 1929 riots and the ascendancy of anti-Zionism ...................................... 88 2.5 George Antonius, Philip Hitti and the American Campus .............................. 96 2.6 The Society of the ‘American Friends of the Arabs’..................................... 102 2.7 The Arab Americans and the AHC ............................................................... 110 2.8 Arab Christians, Islam and Anti-Zionism ...................................................... 123 2.9 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 126 3 The Arab League Propaganda Infrastructure to fight Partition .......................... 129 3.1 The Reestablishment of the AHC ................................................................. 129 3.2 The Preparation of the Propaganda Campaign ........................................... 133 3 3.3 The Arab Offices ........................................................................................... 140 3.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 146 4 The Campaign against a Jewish State in the United States .............................. 148 4.1 The State Department and Zionism ............................................................. 149 4.2 Arab-American Opposition to Zionism and the Institute of Arab American Affairs ...................................................................................................................... 166 4.3 Benjamin Freedman and the League for Peace with Justice in Palestine .. 186 4.4 The Arab League’s Campaign against Zionism and the Arab Offices ........ 192 4.5 The Arabs at the UN ..................................................................................... 210 4.6 Last Stand: The Committee for Peace and Justice in the Holy Land and the fight against Partition .............................................................................................. 216 4.7 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 225 5 The German-Arab friendship between the First World War and the Six-Day War 228 5.1 German-Arab friendship after World War II and its origins .......................... 228 5.2 The Opposition to the Luxembourg Agreement ........................................... 234 5.3 The German Arabists and the Arabs ............................................................ 240 5.4 The Ideological Roots of the Rapprochement between Arab nationalism and the German Far-right after the War ........................................................................ 244 5.5 Nazis in Egypt ............................................................................................... 250 5.6 The Impact of the Suez Crisis on far-right pro-Arabism .............................. 261 5.7 Liberation-Nationalism in Switzerland: Hans Fleig and Ahmed Huber ....... 270 5.8 Ahmed Huber – Social Democrat and National-Socialist Muslim ............... 277 5.9 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 291 6 The Arab League Propaganda Infrastructure and its Partners .......................... 293 6.1 The Expansion of the Arab League Propaganda Activities ......................... 293 6.2 The Re-Establishment of the Arab League Propaganda Network in the US and the Native anti-Zionist Network ....................................................................... 301 4 6.3 The Arab League Office in Geneva, the PLO and the Arab Boycott ........... 322 6.4 Germany: A special case .............................................................................. 331 6.5 Development of the Arab propaganda strategy after 1967 ......................... 341 6.6 Case Study: Terrorism against Switzerland, the Arab League and the PLO .... ......................................................................................................................