David B. Perley

David Barsum Kashish (1901 – July 14, 1979), better known as David Barsum Perley, was an Assyrian nationalist writer and activist. Originally of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Perley dedicated his life's work to researching and advancing the Assyrian community, and his writings/philosophy would become part of the backbone for larger Assyrian nationalist thought.

Early life A younger Perley (c. 1908) with other Assyrian school children in Harput, sitting under Ashur Yousif David Kashish was born in 1901 in Elazığ (Harput), in the Ottoman Empire, as the second youngest of six children. His family was active in the Assyrian community of Harput and were members of the Syriac Orthodox (Jacobite) Church.

Kashish was a student of the Assyrian nationalist figure Ashur Yousif, and he attended the Euphrates College in Harput. His father was killed during the Assyrian genocide, and after a two-year stay in Russia, he emigrated to Massachusetts, United States. together with Assyrian organizations in Massachusetts, Yonkers, Philadelphia, and Connecticut. The notion of a British betrayal towards the Assyrians would remain a consistent theme throughout his writings.

Much like other Syriac Orthodox Assyrians at the time, Perley loathed being labeled by his religious denomination. He was critical of the mixing of religious affiliation with ethnicity and emphasized Assyrian ethnic identity over church names, asserting that members of the East and West Syriac churches were one like other Assyrian activists in his time. Perley also dedicated writings to defending the Assyrian Church of the East from the Nestorian misnomer. He was also critical of scholars who disputed Assyrian continuity and pinned the ancient Assyrians as a cruel empire, challenging those such as Arnold J. Toynbee and Adolf Leo Oppenheim.

In 1944, Perley authored Whither Christian Missions, representing Assyrian accounts of the Simele massacre. In 1973, Perley was awarded the Star of Ashur as the highest honor of the Assyrian Universal Alliance.

Legacy Perley is remembered as a strong advocate for the Assyrian community, The fund was established in order to promote the research of Assyrian history, culture, language, and literature past the 17th century. A collection of books from the fund is maintained by the Middle East Division of Harvard Library. The book's editor, Tomas Beth-Avdalla, had begun compiling materials in 2010 and had sent manuscripts to an Assyrian publisher in Sweden, which was rejected. The book contains articles, letters, speeches, and other published work by/related to Perley.

Works