Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, January/February 2007, page 18

Special Report

Looking Back to Look Forward: A Call for International Commemoration of Nakba 60

By Isabelle Humphries

WITH GAZANS being slaughtered daily by high-tech Israeli weapons—many “Made in the USA”—campaigns focusing on commemorating the 60th anniversary of the 1948 Nakba dispossession might seem to be a low priority. Not so, say numerous Palestinian activists—including the global Palestinian Right of Return Coalition, with members from Palestine and in exile, and the BADIL Resource Centre for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights in Bethlehem.

After all, what is happening in occupied Palestine today is simply the latest stage in the ongoing Nakba, or catastrophe. A solution for the suffering of the Palestinian people will never be found unless the roots of this injustice are placed firmly in the public eye.

Therefore, Palestinian refugee community organizations within and without Palestine—along with some radical Israeli groups such as Zochrot, a Jewish organization working to bring the Palestinian catastrophe of 1948 into Israeli public consciousness—are calling for international cooperation in commemorating Nakba 60 in 2008. Concurrent with the 1948 commemoration is the 40th anniversary in 2007 of the 1967 occupation, or Naksa.

“Since 1948 more than two-thirds of the Palestinian people have become refugees,”states BADIL in its call to action. “As Israel imposes occupation and further colonization through the construction of the Apartheid Wall and more Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and….is turning ‘post-disengagement’ Gaza into a prison, it is up to local and global civil society to build pressure for enforcement of international law—the foundation for Palestinian freedom and a just peace between Palestinians and Israelis.”

The coming anniversary is particularly poignant, as it is probably the last decade anniversary when 1948 eyewitnesses are alive to give testimony. Umm Khaled, for example, living in Nazareth, the largest Palestinian town in Israel, is doubly dispossessed. In 1948, newly married with young children, she was forced to flee with her husband from his village of Saffuriyya. At the same time, her mother and father lost their home in the northern city of Safad.

Drinking coffee one day, she asked about my recent visit to Safad. Today the town known to Palestinians as “the bride of the north” is entirely cleansed of its Palestinian inhabitants. Even though she knew exactly what I would have found there, Umm Khaled’s eyes lit up. “Did you see the citadel?” she asked. “Our house was up there.”

Yes I did see the citadel, and yes, the houses are still there—but they are occupied by others. In Safad, many of the homes now belong to a group of Jewish artists who promote the city on their Web site under the banner of “The City of Art, Jewish Mysticism and Tourism.”

And, yes, I did pass by the ghost village of ‘Ayn al-Zaytoun on the outskirts of Safad, peering briefly into the gully in which around 70 Palestinian POWs were massacred in May 1948.

Badil and others are calling for international supporters to organize events ranging from academic conferences to 1948 eyewitness testimony hearings to musical concerts and art exhibitions. Activities already are being planned from London to Beirut to Athens, where Greek supporters launched their campaign in early November.

Nor is this a campaign lacking focus or direction; all involved have a clear commitment to a specifically rights-based solution to the injustice in Palestine. In July 2005, nearly 200 Palestinian civil society organizations laid out a three-part vision for a campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS). The Nakba 60/Naksa 40 campaign shares exactly these strategic aims.

Campaigners see Israel’s responsibilities to follow international law as clear-cut; a) to end its occupation and colonization of Arab land (Syrian as well as Palestinian); b) to recognize the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and c) to protect and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, lands and properties.

Activists in commemorative events and the BDS Campaign are perfectly aware of the long struggle needed to convince the international community of the necessity of such a solution. But that is precisely why they are reaching out to the international supporters at the grassroots—because real change can come only through involvement of us all, in our home communities.

Individuals or groups wishing to be involved in organizing local activities, or simply desiring more information, are invited to contact BADIL at < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it > or to visit <www.badil.org>.

Isabelle Humphries is conducting Ph.D. research on the Palestinian refugee community inside Israel’s 1948 borders. She can be reached at < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >.

< Prev		Next >