Nageeb Arbeely, (July 1863 – January 28, 1904) was a naturalized-American of Syrian descent, appointed by President Grover Cleveland to the post of Consul in Jerusalem in 1885.

[1] Though Arbeely was popular among the American Colony, he was deemed unacceptable by the Ottoman Empire and within a year was recalled from his position in Jerusalem.

Born in Damascus, Ottoman Syria, to Professor Joseph A. Arbeely, Nageeb immigrated with his parents and siblings to the United States in 1878.

The Arbeelys were the first Syrian family to seek refuge in the U.S.,[2] and as Christians they had been persecuted in the Ottoman Empire.

[3] They settled in Tennessee and after completing his studies at Maryville College, Arbeely was appointed there as a professor of French,[4] where he also gave illustrated lectures on the Holy Land.