NUSAYBA FAMILY

prominent palestinian family from jerusalem that traces its roots in the old city to ancient times.

According to tradition, the Nusayba family took its name from a woman named Nusayba, who went to the Prophet Muhammad with a delegation of women and complained to him about the unfair treatment they received. Since the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem in the seventh century, the Sunni Muslim Nusayba (also Nuseibeh) family has held the keys of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This arrangement emerged during the days of the second Muslim caliph, Umar, who hoped to avoid clashes among rival Christian dominations for control over the church. Although symbolic, the arrangement has provided the Nusayba family a visible role in Christian activities in Jerusalem, which include pilgrimages and visits by Western Christians.

Notable members of the family have included Anwar Nusayba (1913–1986), who received a master's degree from Queen's College in Cambridge. His political career began as a member of the Arab Higher Committee in 1946 and secretary general of the All-Palestine Government in 1948. He was the chief Arab delegate on the Jordan and Israel Mixed Armistice Commission in 1951, and held ministerial posts in Jordan, including defense in 1953 and education in 1954 and 1955. He was made governor of the Jerusalem province from 1961 to 1963 and later served as Jordan's ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Hazem (also Hazim) Nusayba (1922–) studied at the American University of Beirut and later received a Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1945. He became a Jordanian diplomat, serving as foreign minister from 1962 to 1963 and again in 1965, as an ambassador, and as Jordan's longtime ambassador to the United Nations (1976–1985).

Sari Nusayba (1949–) obtained his bachelor's degree from Oxford University in 1971 and his doctorate from Harvard University in 1978. After teaching at Bir Zeit University from 1978 to 1988, he went on to serve as president of al-Quds University in Jerusalem. Sari has also been known for his outspoken and moderate political views. A supporter of al-Fatah, Nusayba helped organize secret talks in 1987 between the Israeli government and Faysal Husayni, Fatah's leading figure in the West Bank. He has supported the peace process, serving on the steering committee to the Palestinian delegation at the Madrid Conference in 1991 and proposing joint Palestinian-Israeli plans for the future resolution of the conflict.

see also fatah, al-; madrid conference.

Bibliography

Fischbach, Michael R. "Nuseibeh Family." In Encyclopedia of the Palestinians, edited by Philip Mattar. New York: Facts on File, 2000.

Heller, Mark, and Nusseibeh, Sari. No Trumpets, No Drums: A Two-State Settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. New York: Hill and Wang, 1991.

Muslih, Muhammad Y. The Origins of Palestinian Nationalism. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988.

lawrence tal
updated by michael r. fischbach