Karl Sabbagh


Karl Sabbagh is a Palestinian-British writer, journalist and television producer. His work is mainly non-fiction writing pieces: he has written books about historical events and produced documentaries for both British and American broadcasters.
Karl Sabbagh was born in Worcestershire, England in the early 1940s. His father was the Palestinian Christian broadcaster Isa Sabbagh, at the time working for the BBC Arabic Service; his mother, born Pamela Graydon, was English, of American and Irish parentage. His parents divorced soon after he was born, and his father later lived in the United States, but Karl remained in England with his mother.
Sabbagh's book Palestine interweaves a history of Palestine from the 18th century, with an account of his paternal family, who were prominent Christian members of Palestinian society in Galilee throughout that period, settled in the town of Safad from at least the beginning of the 19th century. The book includes a critical account of the Zionist settlement and eventual takeover of Palestine in the first half of the 20th century.
In September 2019, Sabbagh was jailed for 45 months and sentenced to sign the sex offenders register for life after being convicted of grooming a 14 year old girl.