LAUSR

ABSTRACT British rule over Palestine between 1920 and 1948 was a vibrant and fateful period in the modern history of the country in all arenas (political, economic, societal, demographic and cultural), one of the most active of which in Palestinian society at the time was education. Many Palestinian educators assumed their role as freedom fighters, agents of Arab nationalism and defenders of the homeland. These educators saw the British and the Zionists as bitter enemies to be resisted and expelled, though some had a distinctly progressive humanistic vision that allowed them to view the collective enemy as worthy human beings. This complex reality created many internal contradictions and difficulties among these humanistic educators, led by prominent Palestinian educator Khalil al-Sakakini (1878–1953). This article attempts to describe and understand Sakakini’s contradictions and internal conflicts and how he dealt with these internal contradictions and distinguished between Jews and Zionists.