In mid-May, two holidays occur. One is Yom Ha'atzmaut, or "Israeli Independence Day" to commemorate May 14, 1948 when the British Mandate ended in Israel. It is also the same time as another holiday which is not recognized inside Israel, Nakba Day. The Nakba, or "catastrophe" in Arabic, refers to the displacement of over 750,000 Palestinian residents who lost their lands and homes, and the destruction of over 500 Palestinian towns when the state of Israel was created in 1948. (Zochrot, 2007)
The following comes from Zochrot, an Israeli organization dedicated to commemorating the Nakba, from www.nakbainhebrew.org:
In the Zionist collective memory, Palestine of 1948 was 'a land without a people, for a people without a land.' Yet, the place where Israel was founded was never empty. This was home to almost one million Palestinians living in over 700 villages and cities, most of which were depopulated and renamed in the period during and immediately following 1948. The Palestinians who were expelled during the Nakba have since grown to become the largest refugee population in the world. In addition, within Israel a quarter of a million Palestinians live as 'internally dispaced' refugees - citizens in their country but defined by law as 'absentees,' denied the right to their land, homes and property.
The Nakba is the central, unspoken trauma at the core of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Bringing the Nakba to light, and undoing its ongoing injustice, is essential to achieving reconciliation between all the peoples of this land.
It is because of this event and the subsequent war of 1967 that there exists an estimated 5.5 million Palestinian refugees or displaced people living in Palestine (including refugee camps), abroad, or inside Israel (Passia.org, 2007). In 2005, the number of displaced people was equal to 74% of the total worldwide Palestinian population. With this situation, it is unrealistic for peace negotiations to not include anything about the "Right of Return," or the right of Palestinians to return to the land from which they were forced to flee in 1948. It is a stated human right in
numerous international doctrines and United Nations resolutions.
The following comes from Zochrot, an Israeli organization dedicated to commemorating the Nakba, from www.nakbainhebrew.org:
In the Zionist collective memory, Palestine of 1948 was 'a land without a people, for a people without a land.' Yet, the place where Israel was founded was never empty. This was home to almost one million Palestinians living in over 700 villages and cities, most of which were depopulated and renamed in the period during and immediately following 1948. The Palestinians who were expelled during the Nakba have since grown to become the largest refugee population in the world. In addition, within Israel a quarter of a million Palestinians live as 'internally dispaced' refugees - citizens in their country but defined by law as 'absentees,' denied the right to their land, homes and property.
The Nakba is the central, unspoken trauma at the core of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Bringing the Nakba to light, and undoing its ongoing injustice, is essential to achieving reconciliation between all the peoples of this land.
It is because of this event and the subsequent war of 1967 that there exists an estimated 5.5 million Palestinian refugees or displaced people living in Palestine (including refugee camps), abroad, or inside Israel (Passia.org, 2007). In 2005, the number of displaced people was equal to 74% of the total worldwide Palestinian population. With this situation, it is unrealistic for peace negotiations to not include anything about the "Right of Return," or the right of Palestinians to return to the land from which they were forced to flee in 1948. It is a stated human right in
numerous international doctrines and United Nations resolutions.Palestinian families leaving behind their homes, olive trees and planted fields in Al-Faluja Village, 1948. (Photo: Palestinian Refugees: Photo Album)
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