Jules Jammal

Jules Yusuf Jammal جول يوسف جمال
Personal details
Born	(1932-04-29)29 April 1932 al-Mishtaya, Syria
Died	29 October 1956(1956-10-29) (aged 24) Port Said, Egypt
Nationality	Syrian
Religion	Orthodox Christian
Military service
Allegiance	Syria  Egypt
Service/branch	Syrian Navy Egyptian Navy
Rank	First lieutenant

Jules Yusuf Jammal (Arabic: جول يوسف جمال‎) is said to have been a Syrian military officer, born April 1, 1932, died in the war with Egypt on October 29, 1956 during the Suez Crisis, in Egypt.^[1]

According to a narrative prevailing in the Arab world, Jammal rammed his boat into a French warship, thereby sinking the ship. This story is given credence in some sources. However, as related in the 1967 book Six days in June: Israel's fight for survival^[2] by Washington correspondent and historian Robert J. Donovan,^[3] the tale is false but gained traction in the Arab world after being aired on Radio Cairo. It is cited as an example of the "potency of [the station] to propagate myths [as being] beyond dispute."^[2]

Narrative

According to sources from Arab countries, Jammal's biography and actions are the following: He was born in Lattakia into an Arab Orthodox Christian family. He later joined the Syrian Navy as an officer. During the 1956 Suez Crisis, he is said to have volunteered in the name of Arab nationalism to participate in war defending Egypt against the tripartite invasion by Israel, Britain, and France into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in order to capture the Suez Canal. it is said that he was assigned to one of a set of three motor torpedo boats commissioned to intercept French warships in the waters of Lake Brolos north of the Delta, it is also said that his group managed to deliver a devastating injury to the French Joan of Arc, but the enemy aircraft was able to flood the three boats, and killed most of the sailors and one of them was the first Lieutenant Jules Jammal on the fourth of November in 1965.^[4]

some in the arab world believe that Jules Jammal sunk the ship Jan of Arc. One source calls the ship at issue the "liner Jean D’Arc"^[5][6] and another the "French warship, Jeanne D’Arc".^[7] There was a French cruiser Jeanne d'Arc in service at that time, but it was decommissioned in 1964 rather than sunk. Some sources name the battleship Jean Bart,^[8] which did see action in the Suez Canal, but that vessel was also not sunk; it was decommissioned in 1961.

Legacy

Considered a hero in both Syria and Egypt, he was decorated post-mortem by the two countries. He received the highest military medal by the Syrian government after his death. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser gave him the Egyptian military star. He also received the high honors by the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and the medal of St Peter and St Paul from the same church.^{[citation needed]}

There are a number of streets named after him, including two in Syria (in Damascus and in Latakia),^[9] two in Egypt (one in the Muhandseen area of Giza, Cairo and another in Alexandria) and one in the Palestinian Authority region (Ramallah). Syrian President Hafez al-Assad received his secondary education at the Jules Jammal High School in Latakia.^{[citation needed][10]}

A 1960 film called The Giants of the Sea (in Arabic: عمالقة البحر pronnounced "Amaliqat el Bahr") was released, directed by Al Sayyed Badir and starring Ahmed Mazhar, Abdel Monhem Ibrahim and Nadia Lutfi. The role of Jules Jammal was played by his brother Adel Jammal.^{[citation needed][11]}

The Arab film director Gassan Abdullah announced plans to make a film about Jammal in 2008, since he was regarded as a hero for many in Syria and Egypt for his Arab nationalism.^[12]

A school in Latakia, Syria is named after Jammal.^[13] as well as a military school in Syria.^{[citation needed]}

References