Carlos Medina Lahsen

For decades, the idea has been spread that Club Deportivo Palestino was founded on August 20, 1920, in Osorno, during an olympiad of Arab institutions, or even earlier, in 1916, under the name “Club Sportivo Palestina.” However, recent research shows that these versions are inaccurate and that the true origin of the club dates back to Santiago, in 1920.

Within the framework of the documentary 4 Colores, researcher Carlos Medina Lahsen found in the National Library of Chile statutes dated 1916 belonging to the “Club Sportivo Palestina,” with rules and signatures of its members (1). Initially, it was thought that this club was the direct predecessor of today’s Palestino or that its football branch had been founded in 1920.

A deeper review showed that the “Club Sportivo Palestina” played between 1917 and 1918, but disappeared after a reorganization in 1919 (2). In 1920 a new institution appeared, the “Palestina Football Club,” made up of teenagers and registered in the Liga Infantil de Football, unlike the previous club, which was composed of adults. In addition, this new club had two teams: Palestina FC I and II, active during 1921 and 1922.

The journalistic records of the Chilean press were not rigorous, and this new club was referred to by different names (“Sportivo Palestina Infantil,” “S. Palestina,” or simply “Palestina”), which has caused historical confusion (3). Likewise, the newspaper La Nación published that the club celebrated its first anniversary in July 1921, which suggests its founding in 1920, but does not provide an exact date. In 1931, the magazine Los Sports (4) explicitly indicated that the official founding date was August 8, 1920.

On the other hand, the press of the Arab community in Chile provides key information. In the newspaper Al-Watan, one of the first board meetings held on December 8, 1920, is recorded (5), specifically where the club’s first board of directors was elected. According to the wording of the minutes (see Image 01), it can be deduced that Salomón Ahues acted as provisional president during the club’s first period before electing the new board for the next 6 months.

As for the myth of the team’s founding in the city of Osorno, it arose from an olympiad of Arab organizations held there in 1950 (6), an event that drove the professionalization of the team, but had no relation to its founding. The myth was reinforced in 1958 when the famous singer and songwriter Luis Dimas composed the club’s anthem (7) with the phrase “Nació en Osorno, olímpica ciudad…” (“It was born in Osorno, olympic city…”), which perpetuated the confusion. The club adopted the anthem without noticing the error, since until that time it lacked an official one (8).

This confusion even permeated the famous Wikipedia site (9), and even official club channels, such as the website of Club Deportivo Palestino itself (10), which was corrected after the commemoration of the team’s centenary.

Another important detail is that, in Osorno, almost all Arab families are of Syrian origin (11), not of Palestinian origin. Therefore, it would have been very strange for them to have founded a team with the name “Palestina Football Club” (the institution’s first name); unlike Chillán, which did have teams with that name (12), both in the 1920s and in the late 1940s.

This myth that the club was born in Osorno led to another much smaller myth that was spread, but which is worth clarifying. In 1954, a Palestino of Rahue was founded, in the western sector of the city of Osorno, and it plays in the Football Association of Rahue (13). In a 2016 article, its president stated that “it was founded in 1954 after a group of founding members took the team to Santiago to professionalize it” and added: “A group of members who stayed in Osorno decided to found the club with the same name but to play in the local competition” (14). Beyond the fact that Palestino de Rahue was indeed founded in 1954, the rest lacks historical support.

There is also the issue of the exact founding day. In the oldest publications, it can be seen that all sources say the team was founded on August 8, 1920. In contrast, the version saying it was founded on August 20 is much more recent.

In the absence of a specific milestone or event indicating a change in the founding date, a detailed review was made of the most relevant publications indicating a founding date, including sports publications, Arab community publications, institutional magazines, and sticker albums, which is reflected in the following comparative table in Image 02.

Based on these sources, it can be seen that, with the exception of Revista Foto Sport No. 67 of 1978, in all publications before the end of the 1980s, it is said that the team was founded on August 8.

On the other hand, it is striking that the version saying the club was founded on August 20 begins with the same Revista Foto Sport No. 67 of 1978, but the next publication stating the same corresponds to Revista Triunfo No. 226 of 1990, and from then on, all publications up to the present repeat the same version, including the team’s website and its Wikipedia website.

With regard to institutional magazines, the founding date was published as August 8 up to the 1965 magazine, but unfortunately the founding date is not named in later institutional magazines, whether from the 1970s, 1990s, or early 2000s.

As can be seen, until the late 1970s the August 8, 1920, version predominated, while the August 20 variant appeared only in 1978 and became consolidated in the 1990s.

Another curious detail is that, although it doesn’t add up historically, it is at least noteworthy. For the club’s 100th anniversary, a letter was received signed by Alejandro Domínguez (see Image 03), who was president of the South American Football Confederation at the time, congratulating the team on the 100th anniversary of the institution, with a letter dated none other than August 8, 2020. (15)

In conclusion, the documentary and journalistic evidence available allows us to affirm that Club Deportivo Palestino was officially founded in Santiago on August 8, 1920. The versions that place its origin in 1916 or in the city of Osorno respond to later confusions, spread in the second half of the 20th century.

Finally, to this day no specific source has been identified that justifies the change to the August 20 date.

Sources:

(1) “Documentalistas encontraron el antecedente más remoto del equipo árabe. Estatutos de 1916: El documento que puede cambiar la historia de Palestino”. El Mercurio, Revista de Deportes, 15 de febrero de 2015, págs. 7 y 8.
Link: https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/archivos2/pdfs/MC0069780.pdf

(2) “Club Sportivo Palestina y la Declaración Balfour: Cuando comienza todo”, Carlos Medina Lahsen. Sitio web Asifuch, 03 de noviembre de 2021.Link: https://asifuch.cl/club-sportivo-palestina-y-la-declaracion-balfour-cuando-comienza-todo/

(3) “Aniversario del Sportivo Palestina Infantil”
Diario La Nación N°1660, 31 de julio de 1921, pág. 13.

(4) “Clubes de tennis de la capital. ‘Palestina Sport Club’”
Revista Los Sport N°411, 23 de enero de 1931, pág. 6

(5) Diario Al-Watan, N°045, 11 de diciembre de 1920, pág. 7.

(6) “Revista de la I Olimpiada de la Juventud Chilena de Ascendencia Árabe”. Frente Unido de la Juventud Chilena de Ascendencia Árabe Seccional Osorno. 1950.

(7) Aunque Luis Dimas (nombre artístico del cantante de origen palestino Luis Misle) afirma que el compuso el himno, posiblemente fue solo el intérprete, pues en la carátula del disco de vinilo aparecen los siguientes créditos:
Letra: Renato Hernández; Musica: Hugo Ramirez
Link: https://palestinohistorico.cl/es/audios-y-musica/

(8) “Palestino TV #5 | Luis Dimas”. Canal ARABTV.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlvaOnic3Ys&ab_channel=ARABTV

(9) Modificaciones en sitio web Wikipedia referido al Club Deportivo Palestino:

Antes de la corrección:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200926151548/https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Deportivo_Palestino

Después de la corrección:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210214211724/https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Deportivo_Palestino

(10) Modificaciones en sitio web www.palestino.cl:

Antes de la corrección:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210812061137/https://palestino.cl/historia/

Después de la corrección:
https://web.archive.org/web/20211025043901/https://palestino.cl/

(11) La mayoría de las familias son de origen sirio-armenio, originarios de la ciudad de Mardin (actualmente ubicada en Turquía). Algunos apellidos de dichas familias eran Kauak, Aleuanlli, Anuch, Nahum, Martabit, Razazi, Alaff, Nallar, Aho, Tarzijan, Garabed, etc.. En aquel momento en Osorno había unas pocas familias de origen palestino, por lo tanto, era muy poco probable que palestinos o sus descendientes hayan fundado un club con nombre de ‘palestino’. De hecho, el equipo más importante fundado por árabes, ha sido el Club Deportivo Sirio de Osorno, que participó en la Olimpiada Árabe de Osorno de 1950.

(12) Según el diario Al-Watan N°56, del 15 de marzo de 1921, da cuenta de la creación del “Palestina FC de Chillán”, sin dar una fecha de fundación exacta.

(13) Al menos se puede apreciar en redes sociales que el Palestino de Rahue tuvo actividad hasta 2020 dentro de la Asociación del mismo nombre:
Link: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2967309229974536&set=pb.100063575327201.-2207520000

(14) “El Palestino de Osorno que apoya a su ‘par’ en la Copa Sudamericana”, Sitio web SoyChile.cl, 19 de octubre de 2016.
Link: https://www.soychile.cl/Osorno/Deportes/2016/10/19/424572/El-Palestino-osornino-que-apoya-a-su-par-en-la-Copa-Sudamericana.aspx

(15) “Conmebol saluda al próximo centenario del fútbol chileno”, Sitio web Tntsports.cl, 11 de agosto de 2020.
Link: https://tntsports.cl/nacional/Conmebol-saluda-al-nuevo-centenario-del-futbol-chileno-20200811-0014.html