Before Edward Said: a tribute to Fayez Sayegh

Long before there was Edward Said, there was a man named Fayez Sayegh. He was one of the most visible spokespersons of the Palestinian cause in the West. There is very little about him on the web (he died in 1980) but I was able to watch a full hour of an episode of Firing Line featuring Sayegh (available on Amazon Instant Video). He clearly was a masterful debater and knew how to speak to a Western audience. Sayegh and Sami Hadawi also worked through the Arab Information Office to disseminate information and arguments in defense of the Palestinian cause in the Western world. Their booklets and pamphlets on the Palestinian question remain classic in the field. Hadawi’s “Bitter Harvest” is still one of the best introductions to the Palestinian problem.

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