Habib Kahwaji

Habib Qahwaji (1932–2023) was a Palestinian teacher, writer and political activist. He is known for being one of the founders of the Al Ard movement based in Israel. He was a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1977 to 1981. He was one of the Palestinian activists who presented new ways of thinking about the Palestine cause.

Early life Qahwaji was born in Fassuta, Upper Galilee, Palestine, in 1932. His father, Nofal, was one of the early teachers in the region. He was a member of the Arab Popular Front. The founding meeting of the movement was held in Nazareth in April 1959. The other leading figures of Al Ard included Sabri Jiryis, Salih Baransi, and Muhammad Miari. The movement was a supporter of Nasserism.

Qahwaji was arrested and imprisoned in Haifa in 1961. He established the Al Ard Institution for Palestinian Studies based in Damascus and translated studies and books on Zionism and Israeli politics from Hebrew into Arabic. He published articles and books. He also wrote poems.

Qahwaji continued to publish Al Ard as a biweekly magazine in Damascus. He was a member of the PLO Research Center in Damascus and a contributor of its journal Shu'un Filastiniyya.

Qahwaji was not a member of the groups within the PLO and served as a member of the PLO executive committee between 1977 and 1980.