Najib Harb is a name that shined in the world of journalism in Syria, as he is considered the first journalist in Jabal al-Arab and founded the first newspaper there known as Al-Jabal newspaper.
Najib Harb's origins go back to Lebanon, where he was born in the town of Ghrayfeh in the Chouf District. He received his education in Lebanon, and his family immigrated to As-Suwayda at the end of World War I.
Najib Harb is considered the first to practice the profession of trouble in Jabal al-Arab, where he founded the first Arab press office in 1932 and was a correspondent for several local and Arab newspapers.
In 1942, Najib Harb issued Al-Jabal newspaper, a daily illustrated political newspaper that was the first in Jabal al-Arab. He was its owner and managing director, then he moved its offices to Damascus in 1947, and it continued to be published in Damascus.
Like other newspapers, it was suspended after Husni al-Za'im's coup on March 30, 1949, then it resumed publication after Sami al-Hinnawi's coup on August 14 of the same year.
The newspaper continued to be published after Adib Shishakli's coup on 12/19/1949 until its owner stopped it during the period of the decree issued by Shishakli, which stipulated merging every two newspapers into one. It resumed publication after this decree was abolished in 1953.
The newspaper stopped publishing again along with the rest of the newspapers in Syria after the union between Syria and Egypt in 1958, following the issuance of the law regulating press affairs in the Syrian region, under which newspaper concession owners were asked to relinquish their concessions and stop issuing their newspapers within 15 days from its date.
About three thousand issues of Al-Jabal newspaper were published, in most of which Najib Harb had an article or commentary on local and Arab events. He also published articles in the diaspora press, wrote about the reality of Arab expatriates, and called for strengthening the ties between them and the motherland.
He joined the National Bloc in 1933 and assumed the position of General Secretary of the National Youth in 1937 in As-Suwayda.
Najib authored a manuscript titled "Battles of the Mountain for the Sake of Unity," which covers the period between 1930 and 1946, the year of independence. Najib Harb passed away in 1974.
Najib Harb passed away in 1974 in Damascus, and his body was transferred to the village of Al-Mujaymir in Jabal al-Arab, where a grand and solemn funeral was held for him, and he was buried there.
