Arab Awakening

Letters and declarations

“…For George Antonius, these transformative processes created 'new forces and tendencies which were not inherent in the trends of the national movements' . 37 Antonius is correct in this observation, particularly when considering that transformation and dislocation would also result in pushback against these movements, but also in inertia and competition among existing institutions designed to implement such strategies. Perhaps the most severe of all points of dislocation from the fall out of the Great War was found in the establishment of the state of Israel.…”

After Liberalism?

“…The nature and direction of the protests that swept much of the region showed that liberal thinking in a broad sense was very much alive, and that it did not depend, at least not directly, on Western agency. Indeed, the use of the term "Arab Awakening" by Arabs themselves suggested 270 continuity with a more liberal past, recalling popular reform movements initiated over a century ago (Antonius, 1938). Yet, at the same time, as events progressed, it became clear that the diverse demands of the reformers and the responses of new regimes would probably defy any universal or common logic of liberalism, revealing its problematic and contested nature when placed in a global context (Hovden and Keene, 2006: 6-7).…”

Education and Empowerment: Lessons and History of the Christian Education Network in Israel and Palestine

“…Antonius, a Greek‐Orthodox Arab born in 1891, was educated at the nondenominational British‐run Victoria College 1 in Alexandria, Egypt. Antonius (1938) became a long‐time employee of the British colonial administration, eventually settling in Jerusalem where he was an advocate of the Palestinian Arab community. He published The Arab Awakening in 1938.…”