Beirut: One of the noteworthy events of the Suez Canal War was the heroic martyrdom of Jules Jammal, a 24-year-old Syrian navy officer who carried out the first martyrdom operation in modern Arab history.
Jammal, who gave his life for the Arab nationalist cause, was referred to as a “glorious martyr” but technically his operation was referred to as “amaliya fida’iya” (sacrifice operation) rather than “amaliya istishadiya” (martyrdom operation).
After the outbreak of the first Palestinian Intifada in 1987, suicide attacks became common in the Arab-Israeli conflict and they were taken to new levels after the US occupation of Iraq in 2003.
While in the past 30 years suicide attacks have been exclusively committed by Islamist militants often from underprivileged and poor backgrounds, they were previously a tactic used by secular Arabists like Jammal.
Jammal was a committed Christian who hailed from a middle class family in a small village between Homs and Latakia.
He joined the Syrian Army and was dispatched to Egypt with Syrian troops after the outbreak of the Suez War.
Jammal rammed his boat into a French warship, sinking it and dying immediately.
Syria and Egypt decorated him with the Order of Merit, Excellence Class, and so did the Damascus-based Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch.
Five streets are named after him until today in Damascus, Latakia, Cairo, Alexandria, and Ramallah.
