The Masar Badil, the Palestinian Alternative Revolutionary Path Movement, organized multiple cultural and political events in various cities and regions in honour of the Arab revolutionary writer and intellectual, publisher and translator, Samah Idriss, one of the founders of the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of “Israel” in Lebanon and the Masar Badil itself. Samah passed away on 25 November 2021 after a harsh battle with cancer.
The Masar had called upon its supporters and organizations to respond to the call of the Committee to Commemorate Samah Idriss and organize various events in confrontation of Zionist colonialism coinciding with the first anniversary of the death of the Lebanese Arab writer (1961-2021), editor in chief of Al-Adab magazine and one of the most prominent advocates for Palestinian liberation in Lebanon and the Arab region.
Mohammed Khatib, introducing an internal symposium of the Masar Badil, said that the Committee to Commemorate Samah Idriss has organized around 20 cultural, political, social and educational events in various countries, cities and Palestinian refugee camps, and will continue organizing these events through the end of the first week of December.
“Commemorating this anniversary each year is an occasion to remind ourselves of the honourable positions of struggle of Samah Idriss, committed and firm until the goals of our Palestinian people for return and liberation are achieved. Our comrade Samah Idriss is a revolutionary model of the Arab intellectual committed to the cause of Palestine, and his comrades appreciate his leading role in defending dignity and rights in every way and every location.”
In early November in Brussels, the Masar announced its commitment to commemorate the life of Samah Idriss from 23-30 November 2022, and Khatib noted that these dates will remain part of the ongoing agenda of the Masar, in appreciation of Idriss’ role, recalling his well-known words to the Beirut conference of the Masar: “If we abandon Palestine, we abandon ourselves.”
“We will not wait until the next anniversary to proceed on the path of this Arab struggler or turn these dates into an empty seasonal ritual. Instead, we intend to make his ideas an integral part of our cultural struggle. Comrade Samah was part of a revolutionary Arab school with many symbols and a long history, from Raif Khoury to Ghassan Kanafani, to his friend, the martyr Basil al-Araj,” Khatib said. He called on the attendees to join in the Samah Idriss 2023 program of the cadre school for the Masar Badil.
Oubada Kassar presented a comprehensive report on the activities of the Committee to Commemorate Samah Idriss as well as the upcoming activities in the next week, and several friends and comrades of Samah presented short interventions focused on his life and ideas, as well as how they were each affected by his work and approach. They also discussed the tasks of the Masar Badil and the need to have a deeper understanding of the role of revolutionary Palestinian and Arab culture in developing the liberation struggle towards victory.
Samah Idriss, the late writer, is considered one of the most prominent Arab voices in establishing the movement to boycott the Zionist entity and its supporters in Lebanon and throughout the Arab region. He played an important role in confronting cultural and academic normalization, in addition to his intellectual and political activity in support of the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance and his creative works, including novels, short stories, literary studies, publishing, translations, and more.