Manuel Hassassian

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Manuel Hassassian
Head of the Palestinian Mission to the United Kingdom
In office
2005 – October 2018
PresidentMahmoud Abbas
Preceded byAfif Safieh
Succeeded byHusam Zomlot
Personal details
BornManuel Sarkis Hassassian
(1953-12-28) 28 December 1953 (age 71)
East Jerusalem, Jordan
EducationAmerican University of Beirut
Toledo University
University of Cincinnati

Manuel Sarkis Hassassian (born 28 December 1953, Jerusalem) is a Palestinian- Armenian professor, who from late 2005 to October 2018 was the Palestinian Authority's diplomatic representative to the United Kingdom, after being appointed to the position by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Hassassian was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Reims, France, and nominated by the Center of International Development and Conflict Management, University of Maryland, for the Gleitzman Middle East Award.[1] In March 2015, he was awarded the Grassroot Diplomat Initiative Award under the social driver category for his extensive work on promoting the rights of the Palestinian people as the country's representative in the UK.[2][3]

In a speech in the UK Parliament in 2013, Hassassian said: “I’m reaching the conclusion that the Jews are the children of God, the only children of God and the Promised Land is being paid by God! I have started to believe this because nobody is stopping Israel building its messianic dream of Eretz Israel to the point I believe that maybe God is on their side.” A pro-Israel activist then challenged Hassassian over what he had said. [4] The Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, in a subsequent speech, defended Hassassian in the face of what Corbyn called “deliberate misrepresentations by people for whom English was a first language, when it isn’t for the ambassador.”[5] Corbyn said:

“We had a meeting in Parliament in which Manuel [Hassassian] made an incredibly powerful and passionate and effective speech about the history of Palestine ... This was dutifully recorded by the thankfully silent Zionists who were in the audience on that occasion; and then came up and berated him afterwards for what he had said. They clearly had two problems. One is they don't want to study history and, secondly, having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives, they don't understand English irony either. Manuel does understand English irony and uses it very very effectively.”[6]

Some commentators claimed that this statement was anti-Semitic.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "HASSASSIAN, MANUEL (1953-)". Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs. n.d. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  2. ^ "Grassroot Diplomat Who's Who". Grassroot Diplomat. 15 March 2015. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  3. ^ Professor Manuel Hassassian of Bethlehem University Appointed Ambassador Archived 20 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Christian Brothers Conference Archived 23 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine Press Release. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  4. ^ Jonny Paul, “Palestinian envoy to Britain dismisses two-state solution”, Jerusalem Post, January 20, 2013. (See also: Richard Millett, “Palestinian Ambassador to the UK: ‘I’ve started to believe that the Jews are the only children of God’, 16 January, 2013).
  5. ^ Heather Stewart and Andrew Sparrow, “Jeremy Corbyn: I used the term 'Zionist' in accurate political sense”, The Guardian, 24 August, 2018.
  6. ^ Jeremy Corbyn ‘Full text of that speech by Jeremy on the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, English irony and certain Zionist critics’ Archived 11 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine, [‘Britain’s Legacy in Palestine’ conference, 19 January 2013, Friends Meeting House, Palestinian Return Centre], Labour Briefing website, 29 August, 2018.
  7. ^ Heather Stewart and Andrew Sparrow, “Jeremy Corbyn: I used the term 'Zionist' in accurate political sense”, The Guardian, 24 August, 2018.
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