Hasib Sabbagh facts for kids

Hasib Sabbagh (Arabic: حسيب الصباغ, also spelled Hassib; 1920 – 12 January 2010) was an important Palestinian businessman. He was also an activist who worked for peace and a generous person who gave money to good causes.

Early Life and Education

Hasib Sabbagh was born in Tiberias, Palestine. His family was Palestinian Christian.

School Days

In 1938, he graduated from the Arab College of Jerusalem. This was a special school for the best public school students in Palestine. It was a boarding school with very high standards. Students were expected to study hard, and they learned from some of the best teachers. Here, Sabbagh made many friends who would be important throughout his life.

University Life

In 1938, Sabbagh started studying civil engineering at the American University of Beirut (AUB). This was a very important experience for him. He not only learned skills for his future job but also met students from all over the Arab world. These students had many different ideas about politics and the future of their region.

Hasib Sabbagh passed away on January 12, 2010, after being sick for some time.

Working for Peace and Understanding

Hasib Sabbagh became a key person in helping different groups talk to each other.

Becoming a Mediator

In 1970, Sabbagh met Yasser Arafat, who was the leader of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). They became close friends. Sabbagh, along with others, became a go-between for the PLO and the Lebanese government. He tried to help Arafat understand the complex politics in Lebanon. He also spoke up for Palestinian refugees with the Lebanese leaders.

The Lebanese civil war, which started in 1975, made Sabbagh even more active. He worked hard for peace and to help different groups in Lebanon and between Palestinians and Lebanese to get along.

Efforts to Prevent Conflict

In April 1975, a serious event happened where many Palestinians were killed. Sabbagh quickly met with a PLO leader to try and stop things from getting worse. He asked a religious leader, Patriarch Antonius Butrus Khraysh, to speak out against the killings. The Patriarch agreed and made a statement on the radio.

Sabbagh also tried to arrange a meeting between the leader of the Phalangist party and Yasser Arafat. He believed that if they had met early on, it might have stopped a lot of the fighting and sadness that followed. Even though that meeting didn't happen then, Sabbagh continued to work tirelessly. He brought leaders from different groups together to solve problems and prevent conflicts from getting bigger.

International Connections

Throughout the war, Sabbagh acted as a mediator, trying to find solutions. He helped pass messages between the PLO and the United States government. In 1982, when Israel invaded Lebanon, Sabbagh traveled to Saudi Arabia. He asked King Khalid to talk to the United States to stop the bombing of Beirut and allow the PLO to leave safely. When the bombing stopped, Sabbagh was important in sharing information about the PLO's conditions for leaving Beirut peacefully.

Sabbagh was a long-time member of the Palestine National Council. He helped Arafat connect with important people around the world in the 1970s and 1980s. He also strongly supported Arafat's efforts to push the Palestine Liberation Organization towards new peace talks in 1988.

Consolidated Contractors Company

In 1943, Hasib Sabbagh and four other contractors started the Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) in Haifa. After leaving Palestine in 1948, Sabbagh moved to Lebanon. CCC was restarted in Lebanon in 1950. It grew to become the largest multinational company in the region and one of the biggest construction companies in the world.

Giving Back: Philanthropy

Hasib Sabbagh was also a very generous person.

Diana Tamari Sabbagh Foundation

In 1979, after his wife Diana Tamari passed away, Sabbagh founded the Diana Tamari Sabbagh Foundation. This foundation became one of the largest Arab charitable organizations.

Through this foundation, Sabbagh supported many universities and colleges in the Arab world and in Western countries. He also helped start important discussions and dialogues, especially in the United States at places like the Council on Foreign Relations and the Carter Center. He also supported efforts for dialogue between Muslims and Christians.

In Palestine, he supported the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH). He also helped create the Welfare Association for Palestinians and led the Palestinian Students Fund. He was on the boards of many academic groups and organizations that supported Palestinian causes, like the Institute of Palestine Studies.

See also

• Palestinian Christians