Tawi kutoka Palestina Niambie tawi la Palestina:

Branch from Palestine Tell me the Palestine branch:

Mahali ulipokulia, unachanua wapi?

Where you grew up, where are you blooming?

Ni aina gani ya vilima, na mabonde gani yalikuwa mapambo yako?

What kind of hills, some valleys Your decoration was?

Wewe ulikuwa maji safi ya Yordani, mwanga wa Mashariki ulikupapasa kwa upole, Usiku ni upepo katika milima ya Lebanoni … Wewe unasimama, tawi la Yerusalemu, Kaburi la wakati sahihi! Taa za jioni angavu, Na sanduku la msalaba, alama ya mtakatifu ...

You were the pure waters of the Jordan East beam caressed you, Night is the wind in the mountains of Lebanon … You stand, the branch of Jerusalem, Shrine of the correct time! Transparent dusk beam lamps, And the ark of the cross, the symbol of the holy ...

(Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov 1837)2

(Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov 1837)2

Jumapili ya Matawi ni sikukuu ya Kikristo inayofanyika kabla ya Pasaka, ambayo huadhimisha kuingia kwa ushindi kwa Yesu katika Yerusalemu. Shairi la mwaka 1837 Vetka Palestiny (Tawi la Mtende la Palestina) la Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (1814–1841), mshairi mashuhuri sana wa Kirusi wa kimapenzi, anayeitwa pia ‘mshairi wa Caucasus’ na mtu muhimu zaidi katika ushairi wa Kirusi baada ya kifo cha Alexander Pushkin mwaka 1837, lilionyesha kwa ufupi Uorientalist wa Kirusi na Palestina ya mwisho ya Ottoman. Likiwa na mwangwi mkubwa wa Mapenzi ya Ulaya (1800‒1850), shairi la kimapenzi la mwaka 1803 la Reginald Heber, shairi la kimapenzi-la kiinjilisti la Lermontov linaibua hadithi za Injili na za hija za Kirusi kwenda Palestina katika karne ya 19, ambapo theluthi tatu za hija hiyo ilifanyika wakati wa Pasaka (Hummel and Hummel 1995). Ushairi huu wa kuinjilisha uliongozwa na mawazo ya kidini ya nchi ambayo mshairi alikuiita ‘Palestina’, ingawa Lermontov hakuwahi kuitembelea (Merlo 2013). Katika karne ya 19, uwakilishi wa Kiorthodoksi wa Kiorientalist wa Kirusi kuhusu Palestina ulienda sambamba. Muhimu zaidi, maandishi ya Kirusi kuhusu nchi hiyo na shughuli zake za kisiasa zilikuwa na athari kubwa katika mtazamo, dhana na matukio halisi ya Palestina ya mwisho ya Ottoman.

Palm Sunday is a Christian feast before Easter which commemorates Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The 1837 poem Vetka Palestiny (The Palm Branch of Palestine) by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (1814–1841), a highly influential Russian Romantic poet also called ‘the poet of the Caucasus’ and the most important figure of Russian poetry after Alexander Pushkin’s death in 1837, encapsulated Russian Orientalism and late Ottoman Palestine. With strong echoes of European Romanticism (1800‒1850), the 1803 romantic poem by Reginald Heber, Lermontov’s romantic-evangelical poem evokes the stories both of the Gospels and of Russian pilgrimage to Palestine in the 19th century, three-quarters of which pilgrimage took place at Easter (Hummel and Hummel 1995). This evangelising poetry was inspired by the religious imagination of the country the poet called ‘Palestine’, although Lermontov had never visited it (Merlo 2013). In the 19th century Russian Orientalist Orthodox representations of Palestine went hand in hand. Crucially, Russian writings on, and political activities in the country had a major impact on the perception, conception and actual events of late Ottoman Palestine.

Mapema mwaka 1820, Dmitrij Daškov, mwanadiplomasia na mshauri wa pili wa Ubalozi wa Urusi mjini Istanbul, alikuwa mwandishi wa kwanza wa Kirusi kwenda Palestina kama hija. Pia aliandika insha iliyoitwa kuhusu safari zake (Merlo 2013). Kwa kweli, nyingi za taswira za kihistoria na kifasihi za Kirusi kuhusu Palestina katika karne ya 19 zilikuwa maelezo na masimulizi halisi ya mahujaji wa Kirusi (Hopwood 1969: 10; Merlo 20133). Mnamo 1848

Earlier in 1820 Dmitrij Daškov, a diplomat and the second counsellor of the Russian Embassy in Istanbul, was the first Russian writer who went to Palestine as a pilgrim. He also wrote an essay entitled on his travels (Merlo 2013). In fact, many of the Russian historical and literary representations of Palestine in the 19th century were actual descriptions and narrations of Russian pilgrims (Hopwood 1969: 10; Merlo 20133). In 1848

Nikolai Gogol (1809–1852), kiongozi mkuu wa uhalisia wa fasihi ya Kirusi, alifanya safari ya hija hadi Palestina. Taswira za kimapenzi za Mashariki zilizochorwa kuhusu Palestina na Lermontov na waandishi wengine wa Kirusi wa kimapenzi wa karne ya 19 pia zilirejea historia ya Ukristo wa mwanzo na ya Palaestina chini ya Wabyzantine, kipindi ambacho, kama tulivyoona katika sura ya nne, Kanisa la Othodoksi la Palestina lilijitawala lenyewe na kuibuka kuwa mojawapo ya makanisa matano makuu yaliyoongoza Ukristo.

Nikolai Gogol (1809–1852), the leading figure of Russian literary realism, went on a pilgrimage to Palestine. The romantic Orientalist representations of Palestine by Lermontov and other Russian Romantics of the 19th century also harked back to the history of early Christianity and of Palaestina under the Byzantines, a period in which, as we have seen in chapter four, the Palestine Orthodox Church became self-governing and emerged as one of the top five churches governing Christendom.

Shairi la Lermontov pia lilikuwa limetabiri kuongezeka kwa kasi kwa uwepo wa Urusi huko Palestina, ambao ulianza mwaka 1844 kwa kuwasili kwa Archimandrite wa kwanza wa Kanisa la Orthodox la Urusi huko Palestina. Pia katika miaka ya 1840, Warusi walipata ruhusa ya kujenga eneo kubwa la majengo huko Yerusalemu.

Lermontov’s poem had also anticipated Russia’s significantly increasing presence in Palestine, which began in 1844 with the arrival of the first Russian Orthodox Archimandrite in Palestine. Also in the 1840s, the Russians obtained permission to build a huge compound in Jerusalem.

Jengo hili lilijengwa baada ya Vita vya Crimea, katika miaka ya 1860‒1864. Juhudi za Kirusi zilifikia kilele chake kwa kuanzishwa kwa Jumuiya ya Kiorthodoksi ya Kirusi ya Palestina huko St Petersburg mnamo mwaka wa 1882. Mnamo mwaka wa 1889 neno ‘Imperial’ liliongezwa kwenye jina lake, na Jumuiya ikajulikana kama Jumuiya ya Kifalme ya Kiorthodoksi ya Kirusi ya Palestina (Kirusi: Императорское православное палестинское общество; Kituruki: Rus İmparatorluğu Ortodoks Filistin Cemiyeti; Kiarabu:

This was constructed after the Crimean War, in 1860‒1864. Russian efforts culminated in the founding of the Russian Orthodox Palestine Society in St Petersburg in 1882. In 1889 the word ‘Imperial’ was added to the name and the Society became known as the Imperial Russian Orthodox Palestine Society (Russian: Императорское православное палестинское общество; Turkish: Rus İmparatorluğu Ortodoks Filistin Cemiyeti; Arabic:

Jumuiya ya Kifalme ya Kiorthodoksi ya Palestina ya Urusi (Hopwood 1969: 150‒154) na jumuiya ya Kiorthodoksi ya Kipalestina kwa Kiarabu kama Jumuiya ya Kifalme ya Kiorthodoksi ya Kipalestina ( الجمعية الإمبراطورية الأرثوذكسية الفلسطينية ). Ikichochewa na kuanzishwa kwa Mfuko wa Uchunguzi wa Palestina wa Uingereza mwaka 1865, na safari zake za kisayansi za kifalme na karibu za kijeshi kuelekea Palestina katika miaka ya 1870 (tazama hapa chini), Jumuiya ya Kifalme ya Kiorthodoksi ya Palestina ya Urusi ilianzishwa na mwanasiasa na mwandishi Vasili Nikolaevich Khitrovo (1834‒1903), mwandishi wa Palestina i Sina (2011), na iliongozwa na Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, aliyetembelea Palestina mwaka 1881. Jumuiya ya Kifalme ya Kiorthodoksi ya Palestina ya Urusi ilikuwa taasisi ya kitaaluma, ya elimu na ya kijamii. Mbali na kukuza na kupanga safari za mahujaji wa Kirusi kwenda Ardhi Takatifu, ilijenga shule na hospitali huko Palestina na ilifanya kazi kama chombo cha umma kinachotetea maslahi ya Urusi (Stavrou 1961). Jumuiya ilichapisha utafiti wake katika majarida mawili: Soobsheniya Imperatorskovo Pravoslavnovo Palestinskovo Obshestva (Ripoti za Jumuiya ya Kiorthodoksi ya Kifalme ya Palestina) na Palestinskij Sbornik (Makusanyo ya Kipalestina). Pia ilianzisha nyumba ya tafsiri na uchapishaji huko Yerusalemu, kwa kiasi fulani kusaidia shule zake kubwa za lugha ya Kiarabu na seminari za mafunzo ya ualimu wa kidunia katika Palestina ya marehemu ya Ottoman, za aina ya kwanza katika Palestina ya kisasa. Vyuo hivi vya mafunzo ya ualimu vya mwanzo vilitengeneza njia kwa elimu ya juu ya kidunia ya kisasa katika Palestina na kwa Chuo cha Kiarabu (pia kinachojulikana kama Chuo cha Kiarabu cha Serikali), chuo cha elimu ya juu chenye makao yake Yerusalemu ambacho kilikuwepo katika kipindi chote cha Mamlaka ya Kiingereza kuanzia 1918 hadi 1948.

الجمعية الإمبراطورية الأرثوذكسية الفلسطينية ) (Hopwood 1969: 150‒154) and to the Palestinian Orthodox community in Arabic as the Palestinian Orthodox Imperial Society ( الجمعية الإمبراطورية الأرثوذكسية الفلسطينية ). Spurred by the establishment of the British Palestine Exploration Fund in 1865, and its imperial, quasi-military, scientific expeditions to Palestine in the 1870s (see below), the Imperial Russian Orthodox Palestine Society was founded by politician and writer Vasili Nikolaevich Khitrovo (1834‒1903), author of Palestina i Sina (2011), and chaired by the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich who had visited Palestine in 1881. The Imperial Russian Orthodox Palestine Society was a scholarly, educational and social organisation. In addition to promoting and organising Russian pilgrimage to the Holy Land, it built schools and hospitals in Palestine and acted as a public body defending Russian interests (Stavrou 1961). The Society published its own research in two journals: Soobsheniya Imperatorskovo Pravoslavnovo Palestinskovo Obshestva (Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society Reports) and the Palestinskij Sbornik (Palestinian Collections). It also established a translation and publishing house in Jerusalem partly in support of its extensive Arabic-language schools and secular teacher training seminaries in late Ottoman Palestine, the first of their kind in modern Palestine. These pioneering teacher training colleges paved the way for modern secular higher education in Palestine and for the Arab College (also known as the Government Arab College), a Jerusalem-based university college which existed throughout the Mandatory period from 1918 until 1948.

Kufuatia Mapinduzi ya Urusi ya 1905, kulikuwa na upungufu fulani katika bajeti za Jumuiya ya Kiorthodoksi ya Kifalme ya Palestina. Baada ya Mapinduzi ya Kibolshevik ya Oktoba 1917, Jumuiya hiyo ilibadilishwa jina na kuitwa Jumuiya ya Palestina ya Urusi (Kirusi: Российское Палестинское Общество; Kiarabu:

Following the 1905 Russian Revolution there was some decline in the budgets of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society. After the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917 the Society was renamed the Russian Palestine Society (Russian: Российское Палестинское Общество; Arabic:

Huu ni maandishi ya Kiarabu kuhusu Jumuiya ya Kirusi-Kipalestina (الجمعية الروسية الفلسطينية), ambayo ilikuwa imeunganishwa na Chuo cha Sayansi cha USSR. Wakati wa kipindi cha Mamlaka ya Uingereza (Mandatory period), Waingereza waliweka vikwazo vikali kwa shughuli za Jumuiya hiyo nchini Palestina, na baada ya mwaka 1948

الجمعية الروسية الفلسطينية ) and was attached to the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. During the Mandatory period, severe restrictions were imposed on the activities of the Society in Palestine by the British and after 1948

Israel ilichukua ardhi na mali zake nyingi. Hata hivyo, jina la awali la Jumuiya, la karne ya 19, Imperial Russian Orthodox Palestine Society, lilirejeshwa mwaka 1992 baada ya kuvunjwa kwa Umoja wa Kisovieti mnamo Desemba 1991 na kuundwa kwa Shirikisho la Urusi. Zaidi ya hayo, hadi leo Jumuiya inaendesha na kusimamia miradi huko Palestina chini ya jina lake la awali la Kiarabu la "Kipalestina", lililobuniwa mwishoni mwa karne ya 19: Palestinian Orthodox Imperial Society.

Israel confiscated much of its land and property. However, the original 19th century name of the Society, Imperial Russian Orthodox Palestine Society, was restored in 1992 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991 and the creation of the Russian Federation. Furthermore, today the Society operates and runs projects in Palestine under its original ‘Palestinian’ Arabic name coined in the late 19th century: the Palestinian Orthodox Imperial Society.

Nembo ya Dola ya Urusi, lenye tai mwenye vichwa viwili, hapo zamani lilihusishwa na Dola ya Byzantine. Watawala wa Urusi kwa muda mrefu walijiona kuwa walinzi wakuu wa Ukristo wa Othodoksi, hasa baada ya wanachama wengi wa makanisa ya Othodoksi ya Kigiriki kuanzia mwaka 1460 hadi uasi wa Wagiriki wa mwaka 1821 kuwa chini ya udhibiti wa Waottoman. Katika karne ya 19, Urusi ya kifalme iliendelea kujiona kama "Roma ya Tatu" na mrithi wa Dola ya Byzantine. Iliendelea kuleta tishio kubwa la kijiografia na kisiasa kwa dola ya Waottoman. Hii ya mwisho ilitafuta miungano na mataifa mengine ya Ulaya, hasa Waingereza na Wafaransa, ili kudhibiti matarajio ya Urusi. Hali hii ilisababisha Vita vya Crimea vya mwaka 1853‒1856, ambavyo chanzo chake cha karibu kilihusisha ushindani wa Ulaya kuhusu Yerusalemu na haki za wachache wa Kikristo wa Othodoksi huko Palestina.

The coat of arms of the Russian Empire, with its double-headed eagle, was formerly associated with the Byzantine Empire. The rulers of Russia had long held themselves to be the main protectors of Christian Orthodoxy, especially after most of the membership of the Greek Orthodox churches from 1460 until Greek rebellion of 1821 fell under the control of the Ottomans. In the 19th century imperial Russia continued to view itself as the ‘Third Rome’ and the successor to the Byzantine Empire. It continued to pose a serious geo-political threat to the Ottoman state. The latter sought alliances with other European powers, notably the British and French, to keep Russian ambitions in check. This led to the Crimean War of 1853‒1856, whose immediate cause involved the European competition over Jerusalem and the rights of Orthodox Christian minorities in Palestine.

Wakristo wa Kiorthodoksi ndio kundi kubwa zaidi miongoni mwa Wakristo wa Kipalestina. Warusi hawakujiona tu kuwa warithi wa Ukristo wa Kiorthodoksi na Dola ya Byzantium Mashariki, na walinzi wa jumuiya ya Kiorthodoksi huko Palestina, bali pia walikuwa na wasiwasi kutokana na kupungua kwa kasi kwa uwiano wa Waorthodoksi miongoni mwa Wakristo wa Kipalestina, kutoka asilimia 90 mwaka 1840 hadi kama theluthi mbili mwaka 1880, kutokana na shughuli za kuwaeneza dini za makanisa ya Kiprotestanti na ya Kikatoliki ya Kirumi.

The Orthodox Christians were the largest group among the Christian Palestinians. The Russians not only saw themselves as heirs to Orthodox Christianity and the Byzantine Empire in the East and protectors of the Orthodox community in Palestine, they were also concerned about the sharp decline in the proportion of the Orthodox among Palestinian Christians from 90 per cent in 1840 to about two-thirds in 1880 as a result of the proselyting activities of the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches.

Katika nusu ya pili ya karne ya 19, Urusi, ikishindana na mataifa mengine ya Ulaya kupata ushawishi huko Palestina, ilichukua hatua za vitendo zilizolenga kuimarisha uwepo wa Urusi. Ubalozi wa Urusi ulianzishwa mjini Jerusalem mwaka 1858. Hili lilifuatiwa na kuundwa kwa Kamati ya Palestina (1858) (اللجنة الفلسطينية ‒1864), chombo kilichoungwa mkono na Wizara ya Mambo ya Nje ya Urusi, na mwaka 1860 Jumuiya ya Palestina ya Urusi (RPS) nayo ilianzishwa. RPS iliwaongoza mahujaji wa Kirusi kwenda Palestina, ilinunua mali na kujenga makao ya wageni, makanisa na shule mjini Jerusalem na Nazareti.

In the second half of the 19th century Russia, competing for influence in Palestine with other European powers, took practical steps aimed at consolidating the Russian presence. The Russian Consulate was established in Jerusalem in 1858. This was followed by the setting up of the Committee for Palestine ( 1858 ) (اللجنة الفلسطينية ‒1864), a body supported by the Russian Foreign Ministry, and in 1860 the Russian Palestine Society (RPS) was also founded. The RPS guided Russian pilgrims to Palestine, bought property and built hospices, churches and schools in Jerusalem and Nazareth.

Hili lilisababisha kuanzishwa kwa koloni ya Kirusi (‘compound’) huko Yerusalemu katika miaka ya 1860. Mwaka 1864 Kamati ya Palestina iliundwa ndani ya Idara ya Asia ya Wizara ya Mambo ya Nje (1864‒1889) (Merlo 2013). Mwaka 1890 serikali ya kifalme ya Urusi iliunga mkono na kuidhinisha kuanzishwa kwa Hovevei Tzion, shirika la hisani lililosajiliwa nchini Urusi, lililojulikana rasmi kama Jumuiya ya Kusaidia Wakulima na Mafundi Wayahudi nchini Syria na Palestina (Общество по поддержке еврейских фермеров и ремесленников в Сирию и Палестину).

This led to the establishment of a Russian colony (‘compound’) in Jerusalem in the 1860s. In 1864 the Committee for Palestine was created in the Department for Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1864‒1889) (Merlo 2013). In 1890 the imperial Russian government supported and approved the establishment of Hovevei Tzion, a registered Russian charity officially known as the Society for the Support of Jewish Farmers and Artisans in Syria and Palestine (Общество по поддержке еврейских фермеров и ремесленников в Сирию и Палестину).

Yakiwa na ruzuku kutoka serikali ya Urusi, na wakipitia Jaffa, kufikia mwaka 1910 takriban mahujaji 8000 wa Kirusi (wengi wao wakiwa wakulima) walitembelea Palestina kila mwaka,4 na kufikia Vita vya Kwanza vya Dunia idadi ya wastani ya kila mwaka ilipanda hadi takriban 14,000. Yakiandaliwa na Jumuiya ya Kiorthodoksi ya Palestina ya Dola ya Urusi, wimbi hili la mahujaji wa Kirusi lilikuwa na athari katika upangaji upya wa utawala wa Waothmani huko Palestina mwanzoni mwa karne ya 20. Maandishi ya Kirusi kuhusu Palestina ya marehemu ya Waothmani, pamoja na mahujaji wengi waliokwenda huko, yalikuwa muhimu sana kwa sababu mbalimbali za kisiasa na yalikuwa na athari (zilizokusudiwa na zisizokusudiwa).

Subsidised by the Russian government, and passing through Jaffa, by 1910 about 8000 Russian (predominately peasant) pilgrims visited Palestine every year,4 and by the First World War the average annual number rose to about 14,000. Organised by the Imperial Russian Orthodox Palestine Society, this influx of Russian pilgrims had an impact on Ottoman administrative reorganisation of Palestine in the early 20th century. Russian writings on, and mass pilgrimage to, late Ottoman Palestine were very important for a variety of political reasons and had (intended and unintended)

Matokeo:

consequences:

• Maandishi ya Kirusi kuhusu Palestina yaliwatia moyo wakoloni wa mwanzo wa Kizayuni.

• Russian writings on Palestine inspired early Zionist colonial-settlers:

Hovevei Tzion ('Wapenzi wa Sayuni') ambao walianza kuwasili kutoka maeneo ya Dola ya Urusi miaka ya 1880. Mwaka 1890 kuanzishwa kwa Hovevei Tzion kama shirika la kutoa msaada lililosajiliwa nchini Urusi kuliidhinishwa rasmi na serikali ya kifalme ya Urusi kwa jina la Society for the Support of Jewish Farmers and Artisans in Syria and Palestine (Общество по поддержке еврейских фермеров и ремесленников в Сирию и Палестину), ambalo lilijulikana sana miongoni mwa walowezi wa Kisayuni kama Odessa Committee. Kiarabu na Kifaransa zilikuwa lugha mbili kuu za tabaka lililoelimika la Palestina ya mwishoni mwa karne ya 19, na jumuiya hiyo ya Kirusi punde ikajulikana kama ‘Société pour le soutien des agriculteurs et les artisans juifs en Syrie et en Palestine’. Ilijikita katika vipengele vya vitendo vya kuanzisha makoloni ya kilimo, na miradi yake ilijumuisha msaada katika kuanzisha makoloni ya awali ya Kisayuni (moshavot) ya Rehovot na Hadera.

Hovevei Tzion (‘Lovers of Zion’) who began to arrive from the territories of the Russian Empire in the 1880s. In 1890 the establishment of Hovevei Tzion as a registered Russian charity was officially approved by the imperial Russian government as the Society for the Support of Jewish Farmers and Artisans in Syria and Palestine (Общество по поддержке еврейских фермеров и ремесленников в Сирию и Палестину), which came to be popularly known among Zionist settlers as the Odessa Committee. Arabic and French were the two key languages of the educated classes of late 19th century Palestine and the Russian Society soon came to be known as ‘Société pour le soutien des agriculteurs et les artisans juifs en Syrie et en Palestine’. It was dedicated to the practical aspects of establishing agricultural colonies and its projects included help in the founding of the early Zionist colonies (moshavot) of Rehovot and Hadera.

• Wazayuni wa Urusi walitawala Shirika la Wazayuni Duniani lililoanzishwa na Theodor Herzl mwishoni mwa karne ya 19.5

• The Russian Zionists dominated the World Zionist Organisation created by Theodor Herzl in the late 19th century.5

Matarajio ya Dola ya Urusi ndiyo yaliyoleta tishio kubwa zaidi kwa Dola ya Othmani katika sehemu kubwa ya karne ya 19.

• The ambitions of the Russian Empire posed the greatest threat to the Ottoman Empire throughout much of the 19th century.

• Kama tutakavyoona hapa chini, makasisi wa Kanisa la Othodoksi la Urusi huko Palestina, ingawa kwa mujibu wa kanuni wako katika ushirika na Patriarkia ya Othodoksi ya Yerusalemu inayotawaliwa na Wagiriki, walitetea waziwazi jamii ya Waarabu wa Kipalestina wa Othodoksi wa huko. Kwa kuungwa mkono na mamlaka za Urusi, shughuli za kijamii na kielimu za Kanisa la Othodoksi la Urusi huko Palestina, na zaidi ya yote, Jumuiya ya Othodoksi ya Urusi ya Palestina iliyoanzishwa mwaka 1882 – baada ya 1889

• As we shall see below, the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church in Palestine, although technically in communion with the Greekdominated Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, openly championed the local Palestinian Arab Orthodox community. Backed by the Russian authorities, the social and educational activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in Palestine and, more crucially, the Russian Orthodox Palestine Society founded in 1882 – after 1889

Inajulikana kwa Wapalestina kama Jumuiya ya Kifalme ya Othodoksi ya Palestina (ona hapa chini) – ilivutia huruma kutoka kwa Wakristo wa Othodoksi wa Kipalestina wa huko, kwani ilitetea wazo kali kwamba makasisi Waarabu wa huko wapewe uhuru wa kitamaduni na wapandishwe vyeo kuwa maaskofu na viongozi wa Patriarkia ya Othodoksi ya Yerusalemu, badala ya Patriarkia hiyo kuwaagiza makasisi waandamizi kutoka Ugiriki.6 Katika Palestina ya mwishoni mwa enzi ya Waothmani wazo hili lilileta msukumo mkubwa kwa Wakristo wa Othodoksi wa Kipalestina waliosoma, ambao wengi wao walikuja kuwa viongozi mashuhuri wa kitamaduni na kuongoza mstari wa mbele katika harakati za kitaifa za Wapalestina.

known to Palestinians as the Palestinian Orthodox Imperial Society (see below) – attracted sympathy from local Palestinian Orthodox Christians as it championed the radical idea that local Arab clergy should have cultural autonomy and should be promoted to be bishops and leaders of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, instead of the latter importing senior clergy from Greece.6 In late Ottoman Palestine this idea had a galvanising effect on educated local Palestinian Orthodox Christians, many of whom were to become leading cultural figures, and in the forefront of the Palestinian nationalist struggle.

Maeneo ya kitamaduni na ya umma yaliyostawi ya Yerusalemu ya mwishoni mwa enzi ya Dola ya Kiothmani, pamoja na kubuniwa upya kwa utambulisho wa eneo la Kipalestina, na kukua kwa uzalendo wa kieneo na hisia changa za kitaifa, vilivyokuzwa na wasomi Waarabu wa Kiorthodoksi wa Kipalestina kama Khalil Beidas mwishoni mwa karne ya 19 (tazama hapa chini), vilisukuma waandishi wa habari Waarabu wa Kiorthodoksi wa Kipalestina, ‘Issa al-ʿIssa (1878‒1950) na binamu yake Yousef Hanna al-ʿIssa, kuanzisha gazeti la kila siku la Falastin (‘Palestina’) huko Jaffa mnamo Januari 1911. Kwa jina lake la kienyeji la kipekee, lilijengwa juu ya mitazamo ya kisasa kuhusu Palestina. Katika Palestina ya mwishoni mwa enzi ya Dola ya Kiothmani, ilijaribiwa kujenga utambulisho wa ngazi mbili, wa Kiarabu wa Kipalestina na wa Kiothmani, uliotegemea uraia wa Kiothmani na usawa kwa wakazi wote. Kama tutakavyoona, gazeti la Falastin (1911‒1967) halikuwa tu mojawapo ya sauti zenye ushawishi mkubwa zaidi za utambulisho wa kitaifa wa kiasili wa Kipalestina wa kisasa; pia lilipinga kwa nguvu ukoloni wa walowezi wa Kizayuni. Kwa miongo kadhaa Falastin lilibaki likijitolea kwa sababu ya Palestina, kwa uzalendo wa kieneo wa Kipalestina na mshikamano wa Pan-Arab, na kwa jumuiya ya Kiarabu ya Kiorthodoksi katika mapambano yake dhidi ya Patriarkia ya Kiorthodoksi ya Yerusalemu iliyotawaliwa na Wagiriki.

• The flourishing cultural and public spaces of late Ottoman Jerusalem and the reimagining of Palestinian territorial identity and growth of territorial patriotism and proto-nationalism, promoted by Palestinian Orthodox Arab intellectuals such Khalil Beidas in the late 19th century (see below), encouraged Palestinian Arab Orthodox journalists ‘Issa al-ʿIssa (1878‒1950) and his cousin Yousef Hanna al-ʿIssa to set up the daily newspaper Falastin (‘Palestine’) in Jaffa in January 1911; with its distinctly vernacular name, it was based on modern perceptions of Palestine. In late Ottoman Palestine the construction of a two-tier, Palestinian Arab/Ottoman, identity based on Ottoman citizenship and equality for all inhabitants was attempted. As we shall see, the newspaper Falastin (1911‒1967) would also become not only one of the most influential voices of modern indigenous Palestinian national identity; it would also fiercely oppose Zionist settler-colonisation. For decades Falastin would remain dedicated to the cause of Palestine, to Palestinian territorial nationalism and pan-Arab solidarity, and to the Arab Orthodox community in its struggle with the Greek-dominated Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.