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Yanni Qustandi Yanni (1895-1962) was the 3rd mayor of the village "Kufer Yasif" or Kfar Yasif in the northern region of Israel during the years 1934-1962. He was the head of the Arab People's Front between the years 1958-1962. His father was a Greek architect who came to live in Palestine during the Ottoman regimne. He married a woman from Kfar Yasif and stayed in it till his death. It is said that Yani Yanni's father was the the engineer of the Water Aquaduct that carried the water from Kabri Springs to Acre (material is froman interview made by Nimer Murkus with Mr Hanna Dalli of Kfar Yasif). During primary school, Yanni studied in the Russian Orthodox Primary School in the village, which had earlier been established in 1870 by Russian missionaries. He continued his secondary school years in the Russian Seminar in Nazareth (then a teacher's college. Today it is know by the name Al Maskobiyye building in Nazareth.) Yanni graduated with the diploma of a primary school teacher. In the first years of World War I, Yanni was recruited to the Ottoman army and was taken to Damascus as storage officer. When he returned to Kfar Yasif he was still moved by the war's tragic scenes. He founded an organization, Jamiyet el Nashe'a, with his friends: To'omi Odeh, Najeeb Marzuq Anisi, Saleem Morkus,Khalil Sae'ed, Kareem Farah and Christo Yanni (brother) and Elias Haj Yanni (relative). This civil society organization volunteered to develop the village. The members raised money and produced plays that they composed and performed and also managed to accomplish a vital project for the whole village: installing carosine lamps in all the streets and dak corners and paths throughout Kfar Yasif. After the founding and the first election of the local council of the village in 1925, the organization's buget (made of residents' contributions and performances ticket sales) was transferred to the local council. The members collaborated successfully with the council and continued volunteering. In 1934, Yanni was elected a mayor for the local council after the first and second mayers: Yousef Sliman Boulus, and Najeeb Michael Abu Aqel. People of Kfar Yasif loved Yanni for his honesty and care for the common good of all its inhabitants and voted for his re-election for 30 years,. Yanni's reputation exceeded the borders of his village and he soon became a well-known community and political leader, especially in his struggle against the British Mandate over Palestine, mainly during the Great Arab Revolt 1936-1939. Yanni assisted the rebellions and provided money, food and other supplies (Interview made by Nimer Murkus with Mr. Mbadda Farhat, one of the leaders of the revolt in the Galilee). people of Kfar Yasif still pay gratitude to Yanni Yanni for his protection of village's lands when in 1946, he demanded that all the village's lands be registered as property of the local concil of Kfar Yasif (while in other places lands were registered under the High Commissioner as the representative of the mandate governement. When the mandate ended and the state of Israel was established, other villages lost thier lands because these were legally considered public property of the British government and not private lands.	Material for this data was taken from: Murkus, Nimer (1987) "Yanni Qustandi Yanni 1895-1962". Kfar Yasif Local Council publication 

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