Naji Al-Ali, The feather of a fighter: MU Seminar & Exhibition
The Faculty of Media Communication and Fine Arts at Al Maaref University held a blended seminar and an exhibition on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, entitled “Naji al Ali: The feather of a fighter, the conscience of Palestine, and the icon of the caricature”, at the University Campus in Beirut, hosting the son of Naji Al-Ali, Khaled, as well as the Palestinian Journalist Khaled Fakih and the Journalist Khodor Salameh.
During the seminar, which was attended by the faculty students and several academics, Al-Ali plunged into his father's life since he was expelled from Palestine to Lebanon, as well as his studies and journeys to work at a number of Arab and foreign newspapers. Al-Ali indicated that his father was prominent for his revolutionary-based caricatures that dealt with political issues related to his homeland Palestine and the rest of the Arab countries, pointing out that his father has a legacy of about forty thousand caricatures during his lifetime, depicting his signature character, Handala, and others.
A special occasion speech, written by the founder of As-Safir daily, Talal Salman, was delivered by the student Zahraa Shokr. Palestinian journalist Khaled Fakih participated remotely, detailing about the symbols, characters and figures set by Naji Al-Ali, which indicates his foresight of the reality of Palestine starting with the outbreak of the Intifada all the way to some Arab countries’ normalization of ties with the Israeli enemy. Then, Columnist Khodor Salameh addressed the same topic, stressing the need to invigorate Naji Al-Ali's thought and approach, by establishing an institution that preserves his intellectual and artistic legacy, same as Ghassan Kanafani’s Foundation.
Towards the end of the seminar, the Head of the Lebanese Anti-Normalization Association and the Secretary of the Great March of Return, Dr. Abdul Malek Sukkarieh, the MCFA Dean, Dr. Ali Takash and the columnist Khodor Salameh paid tribute to Naji Al-Ali by plant a tree in his name at the university campus, with “Palestine, the Compass” written on its banner. Afterwards, they headed along with the attendees to inaugurate the exhibition, which was held by the students to mark the occasion.