Nakba Day

The war in Israel-Palestine in 1948 is known, to Israelis, as the “War of Independence”. This same year is remembered, to Palestinians, as the Nakba, meaning “catastrophe” in Arabic. The Nakba is the lesser-known side of the story; the side that the average westerner does not hear. It is even considered a taboo topic in many circles of society. The lack of publicity of this event, however, does not deter its significance. The Nakba, according to Rashid Khalidi in Palestinian Identity, serves as the solidifying event in the formation of Palestinian identity. In the process of conquering land in order to create the nation of Israel, millions of Palestinians were driven from their homes, never to return and never to be confiscated. Hundreds of villages were depopulated.
Last Friday, May 15, I joined hundreds of Palestinians in commemorating Nakba Day.


Our tour guide, who was born in the town of Lifta, told us many stories of life there before 1948. Here he is pictured with one of the old buildings in the background.

It is the tradition that Palestinians visit their villages of origin. For that reason, I joined a tour that went to Lifta and Ein Kerem; two villages depopulated in 1948. Being the first time to depopulated villages, I was struck by the obviousness of their presence. As one enters into Jerusalem, deserted buildings are seen on a hill. These are the buildings of Lifta. They are clearly visible. Their presence is even more recognizable when walking through the old streets, by the old spring, and into old buildings: schools, homes, mosques, and churches.
If these buildings are so obvious, I wonder how the stories of the Nakba are so little heard. In some cases, depopulated villages have been completely covered up with parks or nature reserves. Israeli discourse tends not to mention the people who lived and worked in these lands before they came. But in those villages, like Lifta, where buildings and streets are clearly visible, how can Israelis still be in denial? When there are Israeli hiking trails that go right by these old buildings, how can people not know? In talking with a coworker, I discover that many Israelis do know that these buildings were once Arab villages. They, however, think that Palestinians willingly fled their homes, thus putting the blame on them.


Walking down a street through the old buildings of Lifta.

In some cases, Palestinians did willingly flee their homes. This is not, however, the case for every village. In the village of Deir Yessin, the Israeli army came in a massacred the citizens. News of this massacre spread far and wide, causing many Palestinian villages to flee their homes, leaving their towns deserted, for fear the same would happen to them. Other villages were driven out of their homes at gunpoint. Naim Ateek, the founder of Sabeel, was one such village inhabitant. He recalls the day soldiers came to his town, telling everybody they must leave within a few hours, or they would be killed.
This catastrophic event left a permanent mark on Palestinians. Many are still alive who remember being driven from their homes. For those who were not yet born, their parents and grandparents memories of the Nakba cause this event to flow through their blood as well. Some of the refugees of 1948 have moved to different villages and established new lives, but still wish for compensation that is long overdue. Others still live in grim conditions in refugee camps that have existed since 1948. For those in refugee camps, where poverty and traumatic conditions abound, dreams of returning to the towns of their origins run deep and bring up the complicated and persistent question of the “right of return”, which is still a stumbling block in a final solution to the peace process.
It is hard for me, coming from North America, a privileged background, and with untold freedoms to imagine the impact of such a catastrophe and power it plays in the present day lives of Palestinians. I come up with the question, “what is the purpose of looking back, if not to figure out how to move forward?”


Boys contribute to the celebration by dancing Dabka, traditional Palestinian dance.

On this tour, however, I did see Palestinians moving forward. Although, we were visiting depopulated villages, all participants were celebrating. There was music, dancing, and picnicking. Nakba Day was celebrated as if it were Palestinian Independence Day. I could see that Rashid Khalidi is right when he says that the Nakba solidified Palestinian identity. It is the event that is remembered by Palestinians to this day. It is the event that brings them together and pushes them forward, continually searching for peace and justice.

Here are a couple Cornerstone, Sabeel’s English Newsletter, issues that address the Nakba.

Cornerstone 50 - The Ongoing Nakba
Cornerstone 51 – A Time to Remember, A Time for Truth.--In this issue, look especially for the Personal Testimony of Josef Ben-Eliezer on Pg. 18, a Jewish immigrant from Germany, and holocaust survivor, who spoke at Sabeel’s conference last fall about his experience in the Israeli army responsible for killing and driving Palestinians from their homes