Table Of ContentCarl C. Yonker
The Rise and Fall of Greater Syria
De Gruyter Contemporary
Social Sciences
Volume 1
Carl C. Yonker
The Rise and Fall
of Greater Syria
A Political History of the Syrian Social
Nationalist Party
ISBN 978-3-11-072847-7
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-072909-2
e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-072914-6
ISSN 2747-5689
e-ISSN 2747-5697
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020952340
Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie;
detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.
© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Cover image: Syrian Social Nationalist Party gathering in Lebanon, 1 March 1949.
© The Palmach Archive
Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck
www.degruyter.com
Figure 1: Syrian Social Nationalist Party Map of Greater Syria. (Wikimedia Commons)
Acknowledgments
TheEnglishpoetJohnDonne’sfamouswordsthat“nomanisanisland,”which
pointtotheimportance,evennecessity,forhumanstobeincommunityinorder
tothrive, areparticularlyapt as I reflect on the time Idedicatedto this project.
Were it not for the contributions, guidance, support, and encouragement of my
community of family, friends, and colleagues, current and former, I would not
havethrivedorcompletedthiswork.Tothem,Iexpressmysincereandheartfelt
thanksandgratitudefor alltheyhavedone,whilealsoacknowledgingthatany
shortcomings and mistakes in the study that follow are mine, and mine alone.
This bookand the dissertation onwhich it is based would not exist were it
not for the invaluable advice, assistance, encouragement, and contributions of
several professors at Tel Aviv University with whom I have worked closely for
nearlyadecade.EyalZisser,mydoctoraladvisor,providedtheinitialinspiration
forstudyingtheSyrianSocialNationalistPartywhileIwasagraduatestudentin
his Modern History of Lebanon and Syria course. Having planted the seed, he
thenshepherdedmydissertation tocompletion,offeringmevaluableguidance,
advice,andcriticismthroughout,ensuringImadesteadyprogressandneverlost
sight of the larger context of Lebanese and Syrian politics and society. He also
helped me secure important funding for my research. Uriya Shavit has been a
steadfast source of support, helping me navigate university bureaucracy, advis-
ingandassistingme insecuringfunding,providingmewiththeopportunityto
gainmyfirstteachingexperience,andencouragingmeeverystepoftheway.Uzi
RabiprovidedmewithanintellectualhomeattheMosheDayanCenterandgave
me important guidance and recommendations that strengthened the Introduc-
tion to this book. Bruce Maddy-Weitzman,who advised my master’s thesis, has
been a devoted teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend whose door has always
been open to me to talk about research, life, and our shared love of baseball.
Iamdeeplygratefultoeachofthemforalltheyhavedoneandtheirunceasing
encouragement.
SpecialthanksareduetoMichaelReshef,thedirectoroftheArabicPressAr-
chives at the Moshe Dayan Center (MDC), and Marion Gliksberg,the directorof
the Moshe Dayan Center library, for their assistance in finding and locating ar-
chivalmaterialandsourcesfortheproject.ThanksalsotothestaffsoftheCentre
desArchivesdiplomatiquesdeNantes(CADN)andTheNationalArchivesatKew
fortheirassistanceinlocatingrelevantfiles.IwouldalsoliketothanktheMDC,
CADN, and the Palmach Archive for granting me permission to use the photo-
graphsthatappearinthisbook.Further,ImustthankmyfriendsAndrewEsens-
tenandChrisSolomon,whovisitedseverallibrariesintheUnitedStatestoscan
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110729092-001
VIII Acknowledgments
importantbooksIwasunabletopurchasefrombookstoresinLebanon,France,
and the UK, or find in libraries in Israel.
Throughout theresearchandwritingofthisbook,manyfriends andcollea-
gues have willingly listened to me discuss my work, read parts of the manu-
script,andofferedvaluablefeedback,insights,support,andencouragement,in-
cluding Ryan H., Ryan F., Jake, Patrick, Natalie, Ben S., Ben M., Joel, Joyce,
Duygu, Rachel, Brandon, Jessie, Or, Roger, Leah,Waleed, Yair, Michael, Gadi,
and Tzachi.
AtDeGruyter,IwouldliketothankGerhardBoomgaarden,theSocialScien-
ces Editorial Director, Tony Mason, the Social Sciences Commissioning Editor,
andMichaelaGöbels,ContentEditor,foracquiringthemanuscriptandtheirpro-
fessionalism in guiding it through the production process.
MygreatestdebtofgratitudeisowedtomyfamilyintheUnitedStates,Unit-
edKingdom,andIsrael,firstandforemostmywifeSigalitandoursonRoi,who
wasborninthemiddleofthisproject.Sigalitlovinglyandpatientlyputupwith
my absent-mindedness and fretting, keeping me grounded, supporting and en-
couraging me throughout,providing me feedback, and ensuring Iwas not con-
sumed by my work. Roi is our greatest source of joy and pride; he inspired me
and kept me going.Without their love and support, this book would not exist
at all.This work is dedicated to them.
Contents
Acknowledgments VII
Introduction 1
Imagining Syria: Syrian Nationalism, Greater Syria, and the SSNP 6
The SSNP in Popular Discourse 13
Comparing Radical Rivals: The Communists, the Baʿth, and the Kataʾib 17
The Communists 17
The Baʿth 19
The Kataʾib 20
The SSNP in Academic Discourse 22
Organization of the Book 27
Part One: A New Generation
Nationalist Formation: Antun Saʿadeh in the South American
Mahjar 33
Establishing a Nationalist Movement 46
. Beginnings: Clandestine Organization and Recruitment 47
. Discovery: The Beginning of Open Struggle 56
Freedom Proves Fleeting 66
. Freedom and Confrontation 73
. From Détente to Exile 83
Part Two: The War Years
Those Who Have Departed and Those Who Have Remained 97
. Exile 98
. Under Pressure: The Mandate Cracks Down on the SSNP 105
X Contents
Tightening the Noose: Life Under Vichy 109
. Disconnected 115
. “The Mandate Continues”: The Free French and the SSNP 118
The Early Days of Independence 127
. Forging a Path Ahead as the “National Party” 130
. A Special Election 137
Part Three: The Road to a Failed Revolution and Its Aftermath
Erasing the Mandate 145
. The End of the Mandate 145
. The Gathering Storm 149
Return to the Field of Struggle 159
. Saʿadeh Versus Thabit: The Struggle for the Party 162
. Rebuilding the Party and The Palestine Question 168
An Inglorious Revolution 177
. The Aftermath: Revenge and Reorganization 185
. Emerging from the Shadows 191
Part Four: Advance and Retreat
Out of the Shadows: Contesting Elections in Syria and
Lebanon 197
. The Electoral Struggle 198
. Consequences: Navigating the Post-Shishakli Political
Order 203
. New Challenges from Within and Without 210
The Malki Affair: The Uprooting of the SSNP in Syria 216
. Military Tribunals and Syria’s Pursuit of the SSNP in
Lebanon 222
. A Bitter Struggle: The Clandestine Battle Against the Syrian
Regime 227
