Sorrow has cast a shadow over the death of the Palestinian veteran journalist Khalid Amayrehpermeating the hearts of Palestinians and Khalid’s beloveds. After a 66-year-old journey, Khalid has been spared in shouldering and defending the Palestinian cause and raising the voice of truth. The Almighty destined his journey to come to an end on July 12, 2023, after passing away from a severe heart attack.
Khalid Amayreh, the Sheikh of Palestinian contemporary journalism, was a prominent Palestinian journalist and a current-affairs commentator. He was born on February 9, 1957, in Dura, Hebron, in the Occupied West Bank. Early in his journey, he obtained his BA in journalism from the University of Oklahoma in the United States and his MA degree in Political Science from Southern Illinois University. He dedicated his life to confronting Zionist propaganda in the media through his publications in both Arabic and English.
Due to his determination, resilience, passion, powerful mind, and quadrilingual tongue, he spread the truth to the world in many languages regarding the Palestinian cause. Furthermore, Amayreh worked as a lecturer of journalism for more than ten years in Palestinian universities.
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Principles and ideas
As a writer led by his principles and ideas, the best examples of his work are seen in his call to the Palestinians to hold on tight to their natural rights, like the right to resist the occupation. His analysis was also clear about the two-state solution from the beginning, as he urged Palestinians to refuse its false promise.
“There is just no time left for a Palestinian state. How can a state be a viable proposition when it has no control over its borders, when there is a military occupation, and when towns are cut off from each other by a system of roads and checkpoints?” he wrote.
No topic was spared of his critique, such as in March 2011 when he published an article describing Israelis as “pathological liars and colonialist invaders from Eastern Europe,” who wished to erect a “Hebrew empire” encompassing Palestine and much of the region. In the end, his work contributed to refuting misconceptions about the Palestinian cause and the Islamic religion.
Uniquely, he was proficient in the language of the media, and people considered him one of the most distinguished journalists of his time. Consequently, he was a writer for Al Jazeeraone of the most important news channels in the Arab region and the world; he analyzed and commented on events in Palestine, global issues, including the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as regional politics focused on Iran; his work also appeared in the Middle East Monitor, breaking news, Middle East International, England Times Palestineand many well-known online publications.
Amayreh often paid a price for his journalism. The Israeli occupation banned him from traveling outside Palestine for many years to deter him from exposing the occupation’s crimes; in January 2009, the Palestinian Authority (PA) arrested my father and questioned and imprisoned him in a blacked-out room for two days for suspicion of affiliation with Hamas, only to later release him due to mass outcry and protest in response to his arrest.
The journalist is a prophet for the voice of truth, conveying it in a strong language and an understandable tongue. But my father was more than this. His friend and journalist, Nawaf Al-Amer, described him as the flowing river, which makes you want to listen to him. He also said that my father was a school of modern journalism unto himself.
A man can die physically, but my father will always live on in our hearts through his words, articles, and books. The words of a free man never die, and nor does his impact.
Please join my family in bidding farewell to a great and distinguished journalist and a dear friend, father, and colleague. May Allah let perpetual light shine upon him and let him rest in peace.
Khalid Amayreh’s published works
His impact was not limited to these books but also includes thousands of his articles about the Palestinian cause.
Journalism and Mass Communication, Theory and Practice (Arabic, 1996)
Refutation of Western Myths and Misconceptions about Islam and the Palestinian Question (Arabic, 1988)
Living Under the Israeli Occupation (Arabic, 2007)
My Story with the Shiites: Major Contradictions in the Shiite Imami Religion (Arabic 2016, English 2017)