Al Difa

Al Difa was first published on 20 April 1934.[2] Its founders, Ibrahim Al Shanti, Sami Al Siraj, and Khayr Al Din Al Zirikli, were three journalists who left the newspaper Al Jamia Al Islamiyya.[3] Ibrahim Al Shanti was the owner of Al Difa which adopted a pan-Arab and pan-Islam political stance.[3] Al Shanti was the sole editor of Al Difa.[4][5]

Al Difa was published five days per week during its initial period and later became a daily newspaper.[3] The paper had rural and Muslim readers in the Mandatory Palestine.[4] It presented its readers several prizes such as cars and motorcycles.[6] The paper was actively interested in the development of Jaffa and submitted a five-year development plan in 1934 to the municipality to improve the city's living, health-care and educational conditions.[7]

The last issue of Al Difa in Jaffa appeared on 29 December 1948.[3] Then it was published in East Jerusalem which was under the rule of the Hashemites.[4] Al Difa moved to Amman, Jordan, in 1967 when East Jerusalem was occupied by Israel.[1] The paper was banned by the Jordanian government on 26 May 1971 due to the publication of an article which allegedly offended the Jordanian authorities.[1] Al Difa produced 3,874 issues during its run.[3]

Al Difa was one of the mouthpieces of the Istiqlal Party between its start in 1934 and 1939.[8] The paper's editors participated in the Arab Journalists’ Congress held in Ramla on 27 May 1936.[9] It was organized to make it possible for the newspapers to reinforce national solidarity and to provide correct information to their readers during the emerging Arab riot.[9] Although Al Difa was not affiliated with any party during the World War II period, it supported Amin al-Husseini and the Palestinians' struggle against the British rule opposing the Zionism.[3][8] It was also an advocate of Nazi policies and was financed by the Arab Bank in the 1940s.[4] Major contributors of the paper when it was based in Jaffa included Mahmoud Abu Al Zalaf, Mahmoud Yaish, and Ahmad Khalil Al Aqad.[3]

The circulation data given in the report by the Royal Peel Commission which had been formed to examine the Arab riots in the region in 1936 indicate that shortly after its start Al Difa reached the circulation level of the influential Falastin newspaper.[9] Their circulation was reported to be between 4,000 and 6,000 copies in the report.[9] Al Difa sold 13,000 copies in 1946, whereas Falastin sold 9,000 copies.[8] One of the reasons for Al Difa's having higher circulation than Falastin was that the readers considered Al Difa as a "Muslim publication".[9]

On the other hand, both Al Difa and Falastin were read aloud publicly in various cities and settlements of the Mandatory Palestine showing that they had readers everywhere in the region.[10]