David Barsum Perley

David Barsum Kashish (1901 – 1979), better known as David Barsum Perley, was an Assyrian nationalist writer and activist.^[1] Originally of the Syriac Orthodox Church,^[2] Perley dedicated his life's work to researching and advancing the Assyrian community, and his writings/philosophy would become part of the backbone for larger Assyrian nationalist thought.

David Barsum Perley
Born	1901 Elazığ
Died	1979
Other names	David Barsum Kashish
Education	Boston University (BA) New York University (JD)
Occupation(s)	Lawyer, writer
Years active	1935 - 1979
Known for	Assyrian nationalist activism

Early life

A younger Perley (c. 1908) with other Assyrian school children in Harput, sitting under Ashur Yousif

David Kashish was born in 1901 in Elazığ (Harput) as the second youngest of six children.^[3][4] His family was active in the Assyrian community of Harput and were members of the Syriac Orthodox (Jacobite) Church.^[5]

Kashish was a student of the Assyrian nationalist figure Ashur Yousif,^[6] and he attended the Euphrates College in Harput.^[4] His father was killed during the Assyrian genocide, and after a two-year stay in Russia, he settled in Massachusetts.^[7][1] At some point, he changed his last name to Perley.^[8]

Career and activism

Perley had first enrolled in the International College Springfield upon his arrival.^[5] Perley graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1926 and from New York University with a Juris Doctor in 1933.^[3][4] He practiced law in Paterson, New Jersey, focusing on immigrant cases.^[1]

After the Simele massacre, Perley was left distraught and contributed to two chapters in The British Betrayal of the Assyrians.^[3] He founded the Assyrian National Federation (now the Assyrian American National Federation) in response to the massacre.^[9] The notion of a British betrayal towards the Assyrians would remain a consistent theme throughout his writings.^[10]

Much like other Syriac Orthodox Assyrians at the time, Perley loathed being labeled by his religious denomination.^[11] Perley was critical of the mixing of religious affiliation with ethnicity and emphasized Assyrian ethnic identity over church names, dedicating writings to defending the Assyrian Church of the East from the Nestorian misnomer.^[12] He was also critical of scholars who disputed Assyrian continuity and pinned the ancient Assyrians as a cruel empire,^[13] challenging those such as Arnold J. Toynbee and Adolf Leo Oppenheim.^[4][14]

In 1944, Perley authored Whither Christian Missions, representing Assyrian accounts of the Simele massacre.^[11] In 1973, Perley was awarded the "Star of Ashur" as the highest honor of the Assyrian Universal Alliance.^[12]

Legacy

Perley is remembered as a strong advocate of the Assyrian cause, using many of the opportunities available to him to strengthen and grow while dedicating his time to researching Assyrian history.^[15][9] His philosophical views on Assyrian nationalism are often cited when understanding views of the movement during the 20th century.^[16]

In 1984, a memorial fund was established by Perley's family and friends in his honor at Harvard University.^[17] The fund was established in order to promote the research of Assyrian history, culture, language, and literature past the 17th century. A collection of books from the fund is maintained by the Middle East Division of Harvard Library.^[2]

In August 2016, a collective of writings by Perley was published as the first book of the independent Nineveh Press.^[18][19] The book's editor, Tomas Beth-Avdalla, had begun compiling materials in 2010 and had sent manuscripts to an Assyrian publisher in Sweden, which was rejected. The book contains articles, letters, speeches, and other published work by/related to Perley.^[12]

Quotes

“I am an Assyrian, and as an Assyrian I am obligated to be actively interested in the destiny of the Assyrians, once the greatest nation now almost forgotten. I would be an arch-criminal if I failed to assume this obligation”.^[20]

"One's being an Assyrian is a synthesis of heritage, religion, and culture, and emotional consciousness that transcends all diversities, theological demographics, and otherwise. To be an Assyrian is to feel: the past is my heritage I shall forget it not; the present, my responsibility; the future, my challenge.”^[21][22]

"The term Assyrian is one single unity. The approach of this oneness of all Assyrians regardless of their religious adherence, is through the avenue of blood, and through the majesty of common memories. Religion is a faith acquired and is changeable. Nationality is one's flesh and blood; it is his total nature. Even death cannot undo it."^[9][23][24]

"The Soul of Assyria is spiritual through and through, and not material, and that which is spiritual is coexistent with Eternity.^[9]

"You must remember the past in order that you may adequately look forward to an on-coming future with hope or with fear. And if fate has made my origin to be in ruin and desolation, no outrage or lamentation will retard my assent to the fact that therein lies my fixed abode."^[25]

Further reading

• Perley, David Barsum (2016). Beth-Avdalla, Tomas (ed.). A Collection of Writings on Assyrians. Enschede: Nineveh Press. ISBN 978-9198344103.
• Perley, David Barsum (1944). Whither Christian Missions?: John Van Ess of the Foreign Missions of the Reformed Church in America Persecutes the Assyrian Race and Church. Randolph Press.