The 75th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, which means “catastrophe,” is on May 15th. These two organizations believe that recognizing the Nakba is recognizing each other’s humanity.
If America Knew Team:
The 1948 founding of Israel was preceded and accompanied by a massive ethnic cleansing operation to remove as many of the Muslim and Christian inhabitants as possible.
During Israel’s “war of independence,” over 750,000 Palestinians were driven from their homes, never to be allowed to return. Hundreds of towns were razed; villagers were massacred. Their very existence on the land was nearly wiped from history as Israel built new towns over the ruins.
This devastating humanitarian disaster is given almost no attention in American history books or by the mainstream news media even though it is essential in understanding the ongoing violence in Israel-Palestine and the Middle East in general.
Palestinian refugees and their descendants living in the West Bank and Gaza continue to live under an Israeli military occupation funded by American taxpayers at over $10 million a day.
Israeli forces continue to violate human rights on a regular basis, with multiple cases of assault, abduction (in some cases, of children), andinvasion taking place in the past two months.
It is essential that we educate our communities and demand an end to the use of our tax dollars for killing and destruction.
Here are some things you can do:
• Share our short summary “How Palestine Became Israel” article with people who are new to the issue.
Watch and share Occupation 101, an award-winning documentary film on the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
• Post about the Nakba on Facebook and Twitter.
• Check to see what your local newspaper wrote about this tragedy, and write a letter to the editor with the facts they omitted.
• Learn about the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement and get involved with a local chapter.
• Call your Congressperson and give them your opinion about this issue.
American Friend of Combatants for Peace:
As Combatants for Peace has been planning the upcoming Joint Nakba Ceremony, division is being stirred in the U.S. regarding the commemoration of this important day.
This week, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy attempted to block a Nakba commemoration event sponsored by Rep. Rashida Tlaib. He claimed that it was “wrong for members of Congress to traffic in antisemitic tropes about Israel.” Citing concerns about the Nakba event led by Rep. Tlaib, Jonathan Greenblatt, the national director of the ADL, wrote to McCarthyand asked him to ensure that spaces controlled by Congress “are not being used to espouse discriminatory and hateful rhetoric.”
The Nakba commemoration event did take place in the Capitol building on Wednesday and Congresswoman Tlaib shared that true peace can only be built on truth and justice.
Recently, some AFCFP supporters have reached out to better understand the significance of CfP’s Joint Nakba Ceremony. As a community of Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists, our solidarity and unequivocal commitment to one another invites us to let go of our defenses and to draw near to one another’s stories. Solidarity invites us to bravely safeguard the dignity of all. The Combatants for Peace movement helps us to resist the urge of false dichotomies. As we build a future collectively, we are showing the world that there is a third path, rooted in justice and peace, that we can all walk together.