Leila Khaled: Icon of Palestinian Liberation Keynote @ Dilemmas of Humanity Conference
Early Life and Forced Exile
Leila Khaled was born in Haifa in 1944. Her father, Ali Khaled, and her mother, Jamila Lattuf, had a large family, comprising seven girls and five boys. In 1948, when Leila was just four years old, her family was forced to leave Haifa after Zionist forces took control of the city. This displacement led them to the Lebanese city of Tyre, marking the beginning of Leila’s lifelong struggle for Palestinian liberation.
Education and Early Activism
Leila Khaled pursued her early education at the Evangelical Union Schools in Tyre and completed her secondary education at the Sidon Girls School. In 1959, she joined the Arab Nationalist Movement, and in 1963, she enrolled at the American University of Beirut. There, she was elected to the administrative committee of the General Union of Palestinian Students in Beirut. However, she had to leave the university after a year due to financial constraints.
Between 1963 and 1969, Khaled worked as an English teacher in Kuwait’s government schools. During this period, she joined the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) immediately after its founding in December 1967.
Revolutionary Activities
Leila Khaled became internationally known for her involvement in the hijacking of two airplanes. On August 29, 1969, she and her comrade Salim Isawi hijacked a TWA airliner, an act for which they were imprisoned in Syria for a month and a half before being released. A year later, on September 6, 1970, she was involved in the hijacking of an Israeli El Al airliner. The pilot landed the plane in London, where Khaled was detained for a month. During this incident, her comrade, Patrick Argüello, was killed by Israeli security guards.
Continued Resistance and Humanitarian Work
From 1973 to 1977, Khaled was active in the Palestinian resistance in Lebanon, taking on roles within the PFLP and the General Union of Palestinian Women. She worked extensively to assist those displaced and wounded by Israeli attacks on Palestinian refugee camps. In 1974, she was elected to the Secretariat of the Women’s Union, participating in numerous international, regional, and local conferences focused on women’s issues.
Leila Khaled also helped establish the House of the Children of Resilience in 1978, a facility to care for children of martyrs from the Tal al-Za‘atar refugee camp. This center continues to operate today.
Academic Pursuits and Political Involvement
Between 1978 and 1980, Khaled studied at the universities of Moscow and Rostov. She returned to Lebanon during the Israeli invasion in the summer of 1982 to aid in providing shelter and medical care through the General Union of Palestinian Women. In 1979, she became a member of the Palestine National Council, a role she holds to this day, contributing to many Palestinian parliamentary delegations.
Leadership and Advocacy
Following the exodus from Lebanon in 1982, Khaled took on various leadership roles within the PFLP. In 1986, she was elected the first secretary of the Palestine Women Organization, which aimed to mobilize women to defend their rights and those of the Palestinian people. She was elected to the PFLP’s Central Committee in 1993 and to its Political Bureau in 2005, a position she still holds.
Legacy and Continued Struggle
Leila Khaled’s life is a testament to her unwavering commitment to the Palestinian cause. Inspired by her personal experiences of forced exile and the suffering of her people, she has championed the struggle for Palestinian liberation and women’s rights. Her contributions in social, humanitarian, and political spheres have left an indelible mark on the Palestinian resistance movement.
Sources
- Abdul Hadi, Mahdi, ed. Palestinian Personalities: A Biographic Dictionary. 2nd ed., revised and updated. Jerusalem: Passia Publication, 2006.
- Dietl, Gulshan. “Portrait of a Revolutionary: Leila Khaled, 20 Years on.” The Middle East, no. 171 (January 1989): 59–60.
- Irving, Sarah. Leila Khaled: Icon of Palestinian Liberation. London: Pluto Press, 2012.
- Khaled, Leila. Women’s Liberation. Beirut: Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Information Department, 1971.
- Khaled, Leila, and George Hajjar. My People Shall Live: Autobiography of a Revolutionary. Toronto: NC Press, 1975.
- Khaled, Leila, and Rogério Ferrari. Palestine: existences-résistances. Paris: Passager Clandestin, 2008.
- Snow, Peter, and David Phillips. Leilaʽs Hijack War: The True Story of 25 Days in September, 1970. London: Pan Books, 1970.
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