Al-Karmil (newspaper)

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Al-Karmil was a weekly Arabic-language newspaper published in Haifa from 1908 to around 1944. Named after Mount Carmel, it started toward the end of Ottoman rule with the aim of opposing Zionist colonization in Palestine. Najib Nassar, a Palestinian Arab Christian and staunch anti-Zionist, was the owner, editor, and a key writer, making the paper a leading voice in early Palestinian nationalism. The newspaper often reprinted Zionist-related material from Arab journals in Cairo, Beirut, Damascus, Istanbul, and elsewhere to argue against Zionist aims.

In its early years, Al-Karmil showed a favorable view of the Ottoman authorities, but by 1911 it had shifted to oppose the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) because of what it saw as its pro-Zionist bias. Its contributors included Arabs who had taken part in the Arab Revolt of 1916. From the 1920s, Najib’s wife, Sadhij Nassar, also played a major role as editor and administrator. In 1926 she started a “women’s page” that encouraged female education, participation in politics, and economic independence. She remained active in journalism and the broader women’s movement, and between 1941 and 1944 served as editor when the British authorities would not issue a permit.

During the British Mandate, Al-Karmil continued to publish despite government restrictions. Najib Nassar produced extensive coverage of Zionism, including a sixteen-part series in 1911 that was later published as a booklet. The paper frequently highlighted Zionist activities and how colonial authorities sometimes cooperated with Zionist aims to facilitate land purchases in Palestine. When World War I began, Nassar even faced a British police hunt for suspected spying and fled through Galilee and surrounding areas for several years before returning.

Al-Karmil also broke ground in women’s journalism. The 1926–1933 period, under Sadhij Nassar, has been described as a form of “one-woman press,” with articles on women’s local and regional activities and calls for women to participate in politics while promoting national unity.

The newspaper’s influence extended beyond its pages. In 2020, the Palestinian Museum staged a theatrical work based on Najib Nassar’s life, and in 2022 Middle East Eye described Al-Karmil as monumental for shaping Palestinian national consciousness. Al-Karmil eventually ceased publication around 1944, but its role in early Palestinian journalism and nationalism remains widely recognized.