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{{Short description|Palestinian commemoration of 1948 displacement}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{pp-30-500|small=yes}}
{{Infobox holiday
|holiday_name = Nakba Day
|type =
|image =
|imagesize =
|caption =
|official_name =
|nickname =
|observedby =
|litcolor =
|longtype =
|significance = [[Nakba]]
|begins =
|ends =
|date = 15 May
|scheduling = same day each year
|duration = 1 day
|frequency = Annual
|celebrations =
|observances =
|relatedto = [[Yom Ha'atzmaut]]
}}
{{Nakba}}
{{Nakba}}
'''Nakba Day''' ([[Arabic language|Arabic:]] يوم النكبة ''Yawm an-Nakbah'', meaning "day of the catastrophe") is an annual day of commemoration of the [[Palestinian people]] of the displacement that accompanied the creation of [[Israel]] in 1948.<ref name = Lesch>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=CDYsAQAAIAAJ&q=%22nakba+day%22&dq=%22nakba+day%22&hl=en&ei=9zzMTaPaC9HJswbnsMy3AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CE8Q6AEwCTgo| page= 102 | title = History in Dispute: The Middle East since 1945|author=David W. Lesch, Benjamin Frankel| edition= Illustrated| publisher= St. James Press| year= 2004 | ISBN = 1558624724, 9781558624726| quote= The Palestinian recalled their "Nakba Day", their "catastrophe" — the displacement that accompanied the creation of the State of Israel — in 1948.}}</ref>
== Defining Nakba ==
{{main|1948 Palestinian exodus}}
During the [[1948 Palestine War]], an estimated 700,000 Palestinians were [[1948 Palestinian exodus|expelled or fled]], and hundreds of [[List of villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war|Palestinian villages were depopulated]] and destroyed.<ref name= "r3">Morris, Benny (2003).'' The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-00967-7, p. 604.</ref><ref name = "r4">Khalidi, Walid (Ed.) (1992). ''All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948''. Washington: Institute for Palestine Studies. ISBN 0-88728-224-5.</ref> The vast majority of [[Palestinian refugees]], both those outside the [[1949 Armistice Agreements| 1949 armistice lines]] at the war's conclusion and those [[Internally displaced Palestinians|internally displaced]], were barred by the newly declared state of [[Israel]] from returning to their homes or reclaiming their property.<ref name="r3" /><ref name = "r4" />


'''Nakba Day''' ({{langx|ar|ذكرى النكبة|translit=Dhikra an-Nakba|lit=Memory of the Catastrophe}}) is the day of commemoration for the ''[[Nakba]]'', also known as the Palestinian Catastrophe, which comprised the destruction of Palestinian society and homeland in 1948, and the permanent displacement of a majority of the Palestinian people. It is generally commemorated on 15 May, the [[Gregorian calendar]] date of the [[Declaration of Independence (Israel)|Israeli Declaration of Independence]] in 1948. For [[Palestinians]], it is an annual day of commemoration of the displacement that preceded and followed Israel's establishment.<ref name=Lesch>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CDYsAQAAIAAJ&q=%22nakba+day%22|page=102|title=History in Dispute: The Middle East since 1945|author1=David W. Lesch |author2=Benjamin Frankel |edition=Illustrated|publisher=St. James Press|year=2004|isbn= 978-1-55862-472-6|quote=The Palestinian recalled their "Nakba Day", "catastrophe" – the displacement that accompanied the creation of the State of Israel – in 1948.}}</ref>
These refugees and their descendants number several million people today, divided between [[Jordan]] (2 million), [[Lebanon]] (427,057), [[Syria]] (477,700), the [[West Bank]] (788,108) and the [[Gaza Strip]] (1.1 million), with another at least quarter of million internally displaced Palestinians in Israel.<ref name=reuters/> The displacement, dispossession and dispersal of the Palestinian people is known to them as ''al-Nakba'', meaning "the catastrophe," or "the disaster."<ref name=Kamrava>{{cite book|title=The modern Middle East: a political history since the First World War|author=Mehran Kamrava|page=125|edition=Illustrated|publisher=University of California Press|year=2005|ISBN=0520241509, 9780520241503http://books.google.ca/books?id=SKSwpfLUYDEC&pg=PA125&dq=nakba+%22loss+of+palestine%22&hl=en&ei=x-DQTZjVEIX3sgbE5OjFCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=nakba%20%22loss%20of%20palestine%22&f=false}}</ref><ref name = Farsoun>{{cite book| url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=3ntlybo9BEQC&pg=PA14&dq=nakba+refugees+return&hl=en&ei=7EzNTYKhOYvasgal_9WxCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=nakba%20refugees%20return&f=false|page=14|title=Culture and customs of the Palestinians|author=Samih K. Farsoun|edition=Illustrated|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2004|ISBN=0313320519, 9780313320514}}</ref><ref name=Gregory>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=yo6VyhJKKb8C&pg=PA86&dq=nakba+past+present&hl=en&ei=OHbNTZ_dFcWKswaE9JS4Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBDgU#v=onepage&q&f=false|page=86|title=The colonial present: Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq|author=Derek Gregory|edition=Illustrated, reprint|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|year=2004|ISBN=1577180909, 9781577180906}}</ref>


The day was officially inaugurated by [[Yasser Arafat]] in 1998, though the date had been unofficially used for protests since as early as 1949.
Prior to its adoption by the [[Palestinian nationalist]] movement, the "Year of the Catastrophe" among [[Arabs]] referred to 1920, when European colonial powers [[Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire|partitioned the Ottoman Empire]] into a series of separate states along lines of their own choosing.<ref name = "Antonius 312">{{citation | first = George | last = Antonius | author-link = George Antonius | title = The Arab awakening: the story of the Arab national movement | page = 312 | orig-year = 1946 | url = http://books.google.com/books?ei=WiTQTbiYBJLpgQe8l-29DA&ct=result&hl=fr&id=GTsVAAAAMAAJ&dq=antonius+arab+awakening+nakba&q=nakba#search_anchor | year = 1979 | publisher = Putnam | quote = The year 1920 has an evil name in Arab annals: it is referred to as the Year of the Catastrophe (Am al-Nakba). It saw the first armed risings that occurred in protest against the post-War settlement imposed by the Allies on the Arab countries. In that year, serious outbreaks took place in Syria, Palestine, and Iraq}}</ref> The term was first used to reference the events of 1948 in the summer of that same year by the Syrian writer [[Constantine Zureiq]] in his work ''Ma'na al-Nakba'' ("The Meaning of the ''Nakba''"; published in English in 1956).<ref name=Davis>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=wlKjZwMwz0wC&pg=PA236&dq=nakba+%22constantine+zurayk%22&hl=en&ei=TIrNTaqCCZHOswbGy4W5Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=nakba%20%22constantine%20zurayk%22&f=false|page=237|title=Palestinian Village Histories: Geographies of the Displaced|author=Rochelle Davis|edition=Ilustrated|publisher=Stanford University Press|year=2010|ISBN=0804773130, 9780804773133}}</ref>


==Timing==
Initially, use of the term Nakba among Palestinians was not universal. For example, many years after 1948, Palestinian refugees in [[Lebanon]] avoided and even actively resisted using the term, because it lent permanency to a situation they viewed as temporary, and they often insisted on being called "returnees."<ref name=Sadi>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=A4U9iw4R1TYC&pg=PA253&dq=nakba+term&hl=en&ei=qYXNTZybAczDswbosNm6Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=nakba%20term&f=false|pages=253–254|title=Nakba: Palestine, 1948, and the claims of memory|author=Ahmad H. Sa'di, Lila Abu-Lughod|edition=Illustrated|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=2007|ISBN=0231135793, 9780231135795}}</ref> In the 1950s and 1960s, terms they used to describe the events of 1948 were more eupheumistic and included ''al-ightisab'' ("the rape"), ''al-ahdath'' ("the events"), ''al-hijra'' ("the exodus"), and ''lamma sharna wa tla'na'' ("when we blackened our faces and left").<ref name=Sadi/> Nakba narratives were avoided by the leadership of the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO) in Lebanon in the 1970s, in favor of a narrative of revolution and renewal.<ref name=Sadi/> Interest in the Nakba by organizations representing refugees in Lebanon surged in the 1990s due to the perception that the refugees' [[right of return]] might be negotiated away in exchange for Palestinian statehood, and the desire was to send a clear message to the international community that this right was non-negotiable.<ref name=Sadi/>
{{main|Nakba}}
[[File:Palestinian refugees.jpg|thumb|Palestinian refugees in 1948]]
Nakba Day is generally commemorated on 15 May, the day after the [[Gregorian calendar]] date for [[Declaration of Independence (Israel)|Israel's Independence]]. In Israel, Nakba Day events have been held by some [[Arab citizens of Israel|Arab citizens]] on [[Yom Ha'atzmaut]] (Israel's Independence Day), which is celebrated in Israel on the [[Hebrew calendar]] date ([[Iyar|5 Iyar]] or shortly before or after). Because of the differences between the Hebrew and the Gregorian calendars, Independence Day and the official 15 May date for Nakba Day usually only coincide every 19 years.<ref>Hertz-Larowitz, Rachel (2003). Arab and Jewish Youth in Israel: Voicing National Injustice on Campus. ''Journal of Social Issues'', 59(1), 51–66.</ref>


==Commemoration==
Though the Nakba refers to the events of 1948, their continued salience due to the irresolution of the [[Israeli-Palestinian conflict]] has prompted Palestinians like [[Mahmoud Darwish]] to describe the Nakba as, "an extended present that promises to continue in the future."<ref name=Gregory/>
{{Multiple image
| image1 = Nakba Day 2010 Hebron.JPG
| align = right
| direction= vertical
| caption1 = Palestinian girl in a protest on Nakba Day 2010 in [[Hebron]], [[West Bank]]. Her sign says "Surely we will return, Palestine." Most of the Palestinian refugees in the West Bank are descendants of people whose families hail from areas that were incorporated into Israel in 1948.<ref name=reuters>Figures given here for the number of Palestinian refugees includes only those registered with [[UNRWA]] as June 2010. [[Internally displaced Palestinians]] were not registered, among others. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-israel-refugees-idUSTRE74E2BP20110515 Factbox: Palestinian refugee statistics]</ref> The key is a symbol of the houses which Palestinians left as part of the Nakba.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shuttleworth |first1=Kate |title=In pictures: Nakba Day protests |url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pictures-nakba-day-protests-284884524 |access-date=8 August 2014 |work=[[Middle East Eye]] |date=15 May 2014 }}</ref>
| image2 = 42nd St Bway 7th Av td (2018-05-18) 06 - Nakba Day Protest.jpg
| caption2 = A demonstration for Nakba Day on Broadway at 42nd Street in Times Square, Midtown Manhattan.
}}
As early as 1949, one year after the establishment of the State of Israel, 15 May was marked in several West Bank cities (under Jordanian rule) by demonstrations, strikes, the raising of black flags, and visits to the graves of people killed during the 1948 war. These events were organized by worker and student associations, cultural and sports clubs, scouts clubs, committees of refugees, and the [[Muslim Brotherhood]]. The speakers in these gatherings blamed the Arab governments and the [[Arab League]] for failing to "save Palestine", according to author Tamir Sorek. By the late 1950s, 15 May would be known in the [[Arab world]] as Palestine Day, mentioned by the media in Arab and Muslim countries as a day of international solidarity with Palestine.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Tamir |last=Sorek |title=Palestinian Commemoration in Israel: Calendars, Monuments, and Martyrs |publisher=Stanford University Press |page=67 |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-8047-9520-3 |url=http://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=23855
}}</ref>


== Timing ==
===March of Return===
{{main|March of Return (Israel)}}
Nakba Day is generally commemorated on May 15, the day after the [[Gregorian calendar]] date for [[Declaration of Independence (Israel)|Israel's Independence]].
Commemoration of the Nakba by Arab citizens of Israel who are [[internally displaced persons]] as a result of the 1948 war has been practiced for decades, but until the early 1990s was relatively weak. Initially, the memory of the catastrophe of 1948 was personal and communal in character and families or members of a given village would use the day to gather at the site of their former villages.<ref name=Masalha/> Small scale commemorations of the tenth anniversary in the form of silent vigils were held by Arab students at a few schools in Israel in 1958, despite attempts by the Israeli authorities to thwart them.<ref name=Cohen>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780520257672|url-access=registration|quote=nakba commemorations decades.|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780520257672/page/142 142]|title=Good Arabs: the Israeli security agencies and the Israeli Arabs, 1948–1967|publisher=University of California Press|author=Hillel Cohen|edition=Illustrated|year=2010|isbn=978-0-520-25767-2}}</ref> Visits to the sites of former villages became increasingly visible after the events of [[Land Day]] in 1976.<ref name=Masalha/> In the wake of the failure of the [[Madrid Conference of 1991|1991 Madrid Conference]] to broach the subject of refugees, the [[Association for the Defense of the Rights of the Internally Displaced]] in Israel was founded to organize a March of Return to the site of a different village every year on 15 May so as to place the issue on the Israeli public agenda.<ref name=Masalhap216>Masalha, 2005, p. 216.</ref>


By the early 1990s, annual commemorations of the day by Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel held a prominent place in the community's public discourse.<ref name = Masalha>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xYWNCX-eYRcC&q=%22nakba+day%22&pg=PA221|page=221|title=Catastrophe remembered: Palestine, Israel and the internal refugees: essays in memory of Edward W. Said (1935–2003)|author=Nur Masalha|author-link=Nur Masalha|publisher=Zed Books|year=2005|isbn=978-1-84277-623-0}}</ref><ref name=footnote1>In 2006, for example, [[Azmi Bishara]], an Arab member of the [[Knesset]] told the Israeli newspaper ''[[Maariv]]'': "Independence Day is your holiday, not ours. We mark this as the day of our Nakba, the tragedy that befell the Palestinian nation in 1948." ([http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/079/396.html ''Maariv'' article (in Hebrew)])</ref>
In Israel, Nakba Day events by Arab citizens have been held on [[Yom Ha'atzmaut]] (Israel's Independence Day), which is celebrated in Israel on the [[Hebrew calendar]] date ([[Iyar|5 Iyar]]). Because of the differences between the Hebrew and the Gregorian calendars, Independence Day and the official May 15 date for Nakba Day usually only coincide every 19 years.<ref>Hertz-Larowitz, Rachel (2003). Arab and Jewish Youth in Israel: Voicing National Injustice on Campus. ''Journal of Social Issues'', 59(1), 51-66.</ref>


===Other commemorations===
== Commemoration==
[[Meron Benvenisti]] writes that it was "…Israeli Arabs who taught the residents of the territories to commemorate Nakba Day."<ref name=Benvenisti>{{cite book|page=164|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ygfujnZiLrwC&q=%22nakba+day%22&pg=PA164|title=Son of the cypresses: memories, reflections, and regrets from a political life|author=Mêrôn Benveniśtî|publisher=University of California Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-520-23825-1}}</ref> Palestinians in the [[Israeli-occupied territories|occupied territories]] were called upon to commemorate 15 May as a day of national mourning by the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]]'s United National Command of the Uprising during the [[First Intifada]] in 1988.<ref name=Mishal>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zsj6vGgSKbgC&q=nakba+may+15&pg=PA96|page=96|title=Speaking stones: communiqués from the Intifada underground|author=Shaul Mishal |author2=Reʼuven Aharoni |publisher=Syracuse University Press|year=1994|isbn= 978-0-8156-2607-7|quote=May 15, which denotes the ''nakba'', will be a day of national mourning and a general strike; public and private transportation will cease, and all will remain in their houses.}}</ref> The day was inaugurated by [[Yasser Arafat]] in 1998.<ref>Rubin, Barry and Rubin, Judith Colp (2003). ''Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-516689-2}}, p. 187.</ref>
[[Image:Nakba Day 2010 Hebron.JPG|thumb|200px|Palestinian girl in a protest on Nakba Day 2010 in [[Hebron]], [[West Bank]]. Her sign says "Surely we will return, Palestine." Most of the Palestinian refugees in the West Bank are descendants of people whose families hail from areas that were incorporated into Israel in 1948.<ref name=reuters>Figures given here for the number of Palestinian refugees includes only those registered with [[UNRWA]] as June 2010. [[Internally displaced Palestinians]] were not registered, among others. [http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/15/us-palestinians-israel-refugees-idUSTRE74E2BP20110515 Factbox: Palestinian refugee statistics]</ref>]]
Commemoration of the Nakba by [[Arab citizens of Israel]] who are [[internally displaced persons]] as a result of the 1948 war has been practiced for decades, but until the early 1990s was relatively weak. Initially, the memory of the catastrophe of 1948 was personal and communal in character and families or members of a given village would use the day to gather at the site of their former villages.<ref name = Masalha /> Small scale commemorations of the tenth anniversary in the form of silent vigils were held by Arab students at a few schools in Israel in 1958, despite attempts by the Israeli authorities to thwart them.<ref name = Cohen>{{cite book | url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=K7bfI3GUpAMC&pg=PA142&dq=nakba+commemorations+decades&hl=en&ei=aYvNTZ62A4TNswbk6oCzCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CD8Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false | page = 142 | title = Good Arabs: the Israeli security agencies and the Israeli Arabs, 1948–1967 | publisher = University of California Press | author = Hillel Cohen|edition=Illustrated|year=2010 | ISBN= 0520257677, 9780520257672}}</ref> Visits to the sites of former villages became increasingly visible after the events of [[Land Day]] in 1976.<ref name = Masalha /> In the wake up of the failure of the [[Madrid Conference of 1991 | 1991 Madrid Conference]] to broach the subject of refugees, the Association for the Defense of the Rights of the Internally Displaced in Israel was founded to organize a March of Return to the site of a different village every year on May 15, so as to place the issue on the Israeli public agenda.<ref name = Masalhap216>Masalha, 2005, p. 216.</ref> By the early 1990s, annual commemorations of the day by Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel held a prominent place in the community's public discourse.<ref name = Masalha>{{cite book | url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=xYWNCX-eYRcC&pg=PA221&dq=%22nakba+day%22&hl=en&ei=uR_MTdW3HsvJsgbgmd24AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCwQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=%22nakba%20day%22&f=false |page=221|title=Catastrophe remembered: Palestine, Israel and the internal refugees: essays in memory of Edward W. Said (1935–2003) |author=[[Nur Masalha]]|publisher=Zed Books|year=2005|ISBN=1842776231, 9781842776230}}</ref><ref name = footnote1>In 2006, for example, [[Azmi Bishara]], an Arab member of the [[Knesset]] told the Israeli newspaper ''[[Maariv]]'': "Independence Day is your holiday, not ours. We mark this as the day of our Nakba, the tragedy that befell the Palestinian nation in 1948." ([http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/079/396.html ''Maariv'' article (in Hebrew)])</ref>


The event is often marked by speeches and rallies by Palestinians in Israel, the [[West Bank]] and [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]], in [[Palestinian refugee camps]] in [[Arab League|Arab states]], and in other places around the world.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8066892.stm|work=BBC News|title=Anger over Palestinian Nakba ban proposal|date=25 May 2009|access-date=19 May 2010}}</ref><ref>Bowker, Robert (2003). ''Palestinian Refugees: Mythology, Identity, and the Search for Peace''. Lynne Rienner Publishers. {{ISBN|1-58826-202-2}}, p. 96.</ref> Protests at times develop into clashes between Palestinians and the [[Israel Defense Forces]] in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/749690.stm Analysis: Why Palestinians are angry], [[BBC News Online]], 15 May 2000.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/748844.stm Violence erupts in West Bank], [[BBC News Online]], 15 May 2000.</ref><ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1074174 Israel – Palestinian Violence], [[National Public Radio]], 15 May 2000.</ref> In 2003 and 2004, there were demonstrations in [[London]]<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3037117.stm Pro-Palestine rally in London], [[BBC News Online]], 15 May 2003.</ref> and [[New York City]].<ref>[http://www.nkusa.org/activities/demonstrations/Al-Nakba04.cfm Al-Nakba Day Rally in Times Square], 2004.</ref> In 2002, [[Zochrot]] was established to organize events raising the awareness of the Nakba in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] so as to bring Palestinians and Israelis closer to a true reconciliation. The name is the Hebrew feminine plural form of "remember".<ref name=Masalha/>
[[Meron Benvenisti]] writes that it was "…Israeli Arabs who taught the residents of the territories to commemorate Nakba Day."<ref name=Benvenisti>{{cite book|page= 164 | url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=ygfujnZiLrwC&pg=PA164&dq=%22nakba+day%22&hl=en&ei=4B7MTbnZCouVswb1rtGrAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22nakba%20day%22&f=false |title=Son of the cypresses: memories, reflections, and regrets from a political life|author = Mêrôn Benveniśtî|publisher= University of California Press | year = 2007 | ISBN = 0520238257, 9780520238251}}</ref> Palestinians in the [[Israeli-occupied territories| occupied territories]] were called upon to commemorate May 15 as day of national mourning by the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]]'s United National Command of the Uprising during the [[First Intifada]] in 1988.<ref name=Mishal>{{cite book|url = http://books.google.ca/books?id=Zsj6vGgSKbgC&pg=PA96&dq=nakba+may+15&hl=en&ei=rkbMTezzIpCTswa--KGoAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CFQQ6AEwCDgo#v=onepage&q=nakba%20may%2015&f=false|page=96|title=Speaking stones: communiqués from the Intifada underground|authors=Shaul Mishal, Reʼuven Aharoni|publisher=Syracuse University Press|year=1994|ISBN=081562607X, 9780815626077|quote=May 15, which denotes the ''nakba'', will be a day of national mourning and a general strike; public and private transportation will cease, and all will remain in their houses.}}</ref> The day was inaugurated by [[Yasser Arafat]] in 1998.<ref>Rubin, Barry and Rubin, Judith Colp (2003). ''Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography''. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516689-2, p. 187.</ref>


{{anchor|2011 commemoration}}<!-- this is linked from the main page -->
The event is often marked by speeches and rallies by Palestinians in Israel, the [[West Bank]] and [[Gaza]], in [[Palestinian refugee camps]] in [[Arab League|Arab states]], and in other places around the world.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8066892.stm | work=BBC News | title=Anger over Palestinian Nakba ban proposal | date=2009-05-25 | accessdate=2010-05-19}}</ref><ref>Bowker, Robert (2003). ''Palestinian Refugees: Mythology, Identity, and the Search for Peace''. Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 1-58826-202-2, p. 96.</ref> Protests at times develop into clashes between Palestinians and the [[Israel Defense Forces]] in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/749690.stm Analysis: Why Palestinians are angry], [[BBC News Online]], 15 May 2000.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/748844.stm Violence erupts in West Bank], [[BBC News Online]], 15 May 2000.</ref><ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1074174 Israel - Palestinian Violence], [[National Public Radio]], 15 May 2000.</ref> In 2003 and 2004, there were demonstrations in [[London]]<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3037117.stm Pro-Palestine rally in London], [[BBC News Online]], 15 May 2003.</ref> and [[New York City]].<ref>[http://www.nkusa.org/activities/demonstrations/Al-Nakba04.cfm Al-Nakba Day Rally in Times Square], 2004.</ref>
On [[2011 Nakba Day|Nakba Day 2011]], Palestinians and other Arabs from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria marched towards their respective borders, or [[Purple Line (ceasefire line)|ceasefire lines]] and checkpoints in [[Israeli-occupied territories]], to mark the event.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-was-infiltrated-but-no-real-borders-were-crossed-1.362215|title=Israel was infiltrated, but no real borders were crossed|author=Gideon Biger|date=18 May 2011|publisher=Haaretz|access-date=18 May 2011}}</ref> At least twelve Palestinians and supporters were killed and hundreds wounded as a result of shootings by the [[Israeli Army]].<ref name=AFP15May2011>[http://reliefweb.int/node/401863 Bloodshed along Israel borders kills 12 on Nakba Day] AFP. 15 May 2011.</ref> The Israeli army opened fire after thousands of Syrian protesters tried to forcibly enter the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights resulting in what [[Agence France-Presse|AFP]] described as one of the worst incidents of violence there since the 1974 truce accord.<ref name=AFP15May2011/> The IDF said troops "fired selectively" towards "hundreds of Syrian rioters" injuring an unspecified number in response to them crossing onto the Israeli side.<ref name=AFP15May2011/> According to the [[BBC]], the 2011 Nakba Day demonstrations were given impetus by the [[Arab Spring]].<ref name="BBC">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13373006 Israeli forces open fire at Palestinian protesters]. ''[[BBC News]]''. 15 May 2011.</ref> During the 2012 commemoration, thousands of Palestinian demonstrators protested in cities and towns across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Protesters threw stones at Israeli soldiers guarding checkpoints in [[East Jerusalem]] who then fired rubber bullets and tear gas in response.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18073381 Thousands of Palestinians mark 'Nakba Day']. ''[[BBC News]]''. 15 May 2012.</ref> In 2021, Nakba Day occurred during the [[2021 Israel–Palestine crisis]] and at least 29 Palestinians were injured by Israeli security forces in the West Bank according to [[Al Jazeera English]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Frykberg|first=Mel|date=15 May 2021|title=Israeli forces wound dozens of Palestinians at Nakba Day marches|work=[[Al Jazeera English]]|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/15/israeli-forces-wound-dozens-of-palestinians-at-nakba-day-marches|access-date=15 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gladstone|first=Rick|date=15 May 2021|title=An annual day of Palestinian grievance comes amid the upheaval.|work=[[New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/15/world/middleeast/nakba-day.html|access-date=15 May 2021}}</ref>


==Objections to commemoration==
In 2002, [[Zochrot]] was established to organize events raising the awareness of the Nakba in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] so as to bring Palestinians and Israelis closer to a true reconciliation. The name is the Hebrew feminine plural form of "remember".<ref name=Masalha/>
[[File:Nakba Day 2011 Arroub.jpg|thumb|right|Nakba Day 2011 in Arroub camp in Hebron, Palestine.]]
[[Shlomo Avineri]] has criticised observance of Nakba Day on the grounds that a more important issue is the failure to solidify a stronger national movement for Palestinian citizens as a foundation for nation-building.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080511200200/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/981931.html ''The real Nakba''] by [[Shlomo Avineri]], 5 September 2008</ref><ref>cf. {{cite web|last=Karsh|first=Efraim|url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/reclaiming-a-historical-truth-1.366893|title=Reclaiming a historical truth|publisher=Haaretz|date=10 June 2011|access-date=11 August 2014}}</ref> Arab citizens of Israel have also been admonished for observing Nakba Day in light of their higher standard of living when compared to that of Palestinians who reside outside of Israel.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/937182.html "Time to stop mourning"] by [[Meron Benvenisti]]</ref>


On 23 March 2011, the [[Knesset]] approved, by a vote of 37 to 25,<ref>[http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143069 ''Knesset Approves Nakba Law''], by Elad Benari, 23 March 2011</ref> a change to the [[Government budget|budget]], giving the [[Ministry of Finance (Israel)|Israeli finance minister]] the discretion to reduce government funding to any [[non-governmental organization]] (NGO) that commemorates the Palestinian Nakba instead of the Israeli Day of Independence.<ref name=Zureik>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rBIKE-BOYC4C&q=nakba+definition&pg=PA17|page=17|title=Surveillance and Control in Israel/Palestine: Population, Territory and Power|author=Elia Zureik|editor1=Elia Zureik |editor2=David Lyon |editor3=Yasmeen Abu-Laban |edition=Illustrated|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2011|isbn=978-0-415-58861-4}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4046297,00.html "MK Zahalka: Racist laws target Arab sector"] by Roni Sofer, 22 March 2011</ref> A previous form of the bill, which first came under consideration by the Knesset in July 2001 and again in 2006, established the commemoration of the Nakba Day as a criminal offense, subject to 1-year imprisonment and/or a fine of NIS10,000 (~$2,500). Palestinians argue that the bill imposes restrictions on freedom of speech and expression, curtails equality, and applies conditions that suppress the national consciousness and historical narrative of the Palestinian people.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Olesker|first1=Ronnie|title=Law-making and the Securitization of the Jewish Identity in Israel|journal=Ethnopolitics|date=15 March 2013|volume=13|issue=2|pages=105–121|doi=10.1080/17449057.2013.773156|s2cid=145339153}}</ref>
===2011 commemoration===
On Nakba Day of 2011, Palestinians and other Arabs from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Syria, and Lebanon marched towards their respective borders with Israel to mark the event. At least 12 Palestinians and their supporters were killed as a result of shootings by the [[Israeli Army]]. According to the [[BBC]], the 2011 Nakba Day demonstrations were given impetus by the [[2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests|revolutions and uprisings]] taking place throughout the [[Arab world]].<ref name="BBC"/>


After months of legislative limbo due to numerous appeals filed by organizations such as [[Adalah (legal center)|Adalah]] and the [[Association for Civil Rights in Israel]], as well as several Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel, the [[Supreme Court of Israel]] rejected the appeals, and upheld the Nakba Law, on 5 January 2012. Chief Justice [[Dorit Beinisch]] and Justices [[Eliezer Rivlin]] and Miriam Naor concluded: "The declarative level of the law does indeed raise difficult and complex questions. However, from the outset, the constitutionality of the law depends largely upon the interpretation given to the law's directives." Deductions could equal up to three times the event's sponsorship cost; repeat violations would double the amount of the fine.<ref>[http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/01/05/3091036/israels-supreme-court-rejects-nakba-law-suit "Israel's Supreme Court rejects Nakba Law suit "] by The [[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]], 5 January 2012</ref>
At the [[Qalandia]] checkpoint in the West Bank near [[East Jerusalem]], a standoff between Israeli soldiers and around 100 Palestinian protesters ensued with Palestinians hurling stones at Israeli forces who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Dozens of Palestinians were injured in the clashes. Further clashes took place in various cities in the West Bank and neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. In East Jerusalem, Nakba Day commemorations began on May 13. Israeli authorities arrested 70 people throughout the city and clashes resulted in one Palestinian death in [[Silwan]] and more than 30 injuries, including an Israeli police officer and two gendarmes.<ref name="AJE"/> Roughly 1,000 Palestinians marched towards the [[Erez Crossing]] in the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces intermittently fired at them with tanks and machine guns resulting in at least one death and the injury of around 80 demonstrators.<ref name="AJE"/><ref name="BBC"/> [[Hamas]], which governs the territory, reportedly asked protesters to withdraw from the border.<ref name="AJE">[http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/2011515649440342.html Palestinians killed in 'Nakba' clashes]. ''[[Al-Jazeera English]]''. 2011-05-15.</ref> Hundreds of Arabs as well as Jews held the first public commemoration of the Nakba in [[Jaffa]] to protest the "Nakba law" passed by the Israeli [[Knesset]] in March. Demonstrators chanted Palestinian and [[pan-Arabism|pan-Arab solidarity]] slogans <ref>Hartman, Ben. [http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=220514 Hundreds hold first-ever Nakba Day march in Jaffa]. ''JPost''. 2011-05-15.</ref>

Tens of thousands of unarmed demonstrators, mostly [[Palestinian refugee]]s, in Lebanon marched to the Israeli border chanting "By our soul, our blood, we sacrifice ourselves for you, Palestine" as the [[Lebanese Army]] fired warning shots in the air to scatter the crowds. Israeli forces then fired at demonstrators who they accused of vandalizing the border fence - although the fence wasn't breached. According to Lebanese sources at least ten protesters were killed while scores were injured.<ref name="Economist">{{cite web|url=http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/05/israel|title=Israel: Unrest on the borders|publisher=The Economist|date=15 May 2011|accessdate=16 May 2011}}</ref>

From Syria, thousands of unarmed Palestinian supporters managed to enter the [[Golan Heights]].<ref name="Economist" /> The Israeli military stated it fired warning shots when several protesters attempted to breach a border fence and enter the Arab [[Druze]] town of [[Majdal Shams]].<ref name="BBC"/> The Syrian government said four Syrian citizens were killed and dozens injured as a result of Israeli fire.<ref name="AJE"/> Israel stated the demonstrators committed a "serious" incursion and that Israeli forces struggled to contain the crowds. Syria condemned Israel stating it "will have to bear full responsibility" for its actions which they described as "criminal." Israel responded by saying "Syria is a police state. Demonstrators do not randomly approach the border without the prior approval of the central government" and that the demonstrations were an "Iranian provocation, on both the Syrian and the Lebanese frontiers, to try to exploit the Nakba day commemorations."<ref name="BBC">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13373006 Israeli forces open fire at Palestinian protesters]. ''[[BBC News]]''. 2011-05-15.</ref>

Nakba Day commemorations took place in other parts of the Arab world as well. At least 120 [[Egypt]]ians were injured as Egyptian security forces forcibly prevented the storming of the Israeli embassy in [[Cairo]] by thousands of protesters who gathered outside. Around 20 protesters were arrested.<ref>[http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/05/2011515131427646668.html Scores injured at Nakba rally in Cairo]. ''[[Al-Jazeera English]]. 2011-05-15.</ref> Although Egyptian forces largely blocked access to the [[Sinai Peninsula]] to prevent a Nakba Day march towards the [[Rafah crossing]], about 80 activists managed to reach it.<ref>[http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=387910 Egyptians rally at Rafah for Palestinian rights]. ''[[Ma'an News Agency]]''. 2011-05-15.</ref> In [[Jordan]], 200 Palestinian students attempted to march towards the Israeli border, but were restrained by Jordanian security forces resulting in the injury of six people.<ref>Muir, Jim. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13406869 Palestinian protests: Arab spring or foreign manipulation?]. ''[[BBC News]]''. 2011-05-15.</ref>

==Objections to commemoration of Nakba Day==
Criticism of the observance of Nakba Day in the Israeli media involves claims that it is marked by Palestinians to celebrate their alleged wishes for the dismantling of the Israeli state and the Jewish majority population, and that the greater tragedy resides in the inability to solidify a stronger national movement for Palestinian citizens.<ref>[http://www.zionism-israel.com/his/Palestine_Nakba.htm ''The Palestine Nakba Controversy'']</ref><ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/981931.html ''The real Nakba''], By [[Shlomo Avineri]], 09/05/2008</ref> Arab citizens of Israel have also been admonished for observing Nakba Day in light of their relatively higher standards of living when compared to that of Palestinian residents living under Israeli military occupation.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/937182.html ''Time to stop mourning''], By [[Meron Benvenisti]]</ref>

Israeli media also reports that displacement and loss of property during the [[20th century]] is not unique to the Palestinians, and that in [[1940]] approximately 800,000 Jews lived in Arab states (mostly in [[Morocco]], [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]], [[Iraq]] and [[Egypt]]), who in the following years were [[Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim lands|banished]] and were disinherited from most of their property.<ref>[http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4065977,00.html ''The Other Nakba: How Arab-Jews' property was robbed''], By Tani Goldstein, 14 May 2011</ref>

In 2009, Mention of the word 'Nakba' in [[Textbooks in Israel|Israeli textbooks]] was banned by the Israeli Ministry of Education.<ref name=Zureik>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=rBIKE-BOYC4C&pg=PA17&dq=nakba+definition&hl=en&ei=J17NTevjBMbwsgbBlLi1Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CE8Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=nakba%20definition&f=false|page=17|title=Surveillance and Control in Israel/Palestine: Population, Territory and Power|author=Elia Zureik|editor=Elia Zureik, David Lyon, Yasmeen Abu-Laban|edition=Illustrated|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2011|ISBN=0415588618, 9780415588614}}</ref>

On 23 March 2011, the [[Knesset]] approved, by a vote of 37 in favor to 25 against,<ref>[http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143069 ''Knesset Approves Nakba Law''], by Elad Benari, 23 March 2011</ref> a change to the [[Government budget]], giving the [[Ministry of Finance (Israel)|Israeli Finance Minister]] the discretion to reduce government funding to any [[non-governmental organization]] (NGO) that organizes Nakba commemoration events.<ref name=Zureik>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.ca/books?id=rBIKE-BOYC4C&pg=PA17&dq=nakba+definition&hl=en&ei=J17NTevjBMbwsgbBlLi1Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CE8Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=nakba%20definition&f=false|page=17|title=Surveillance and Control in Israel/Palestine: Population, Territory and Power|author=Elia Zureik|editor=Elia Zureik, David Lyon, Yasmeen Abu-Laban|edition=Illustrated|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2011|ISBN=0415588618, 9780415588614}}</ref><ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4046297,00.html ''MK Zahalka: Racist laws target Arab sector''], by Roni Sofer, 22 March 2011</ref>

On May 2011, Israeli group [[Im Tirtzu]] has launched a campaign, stating that "the Nakba is a [[myth]] and a [[scam]], aimed at rewriting history and making the victim the aggressor".<ref>[http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART2/240/449.html ''Im Tirtzu new campaign: "Nakba Harta"''], by Amihay Ataeli, 13 May 2011</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Al-Quds Day]]
*[[British Mandate for Palestine]]
* [[Day to Mark the Departure and Expulsion of Jews from the Arab Countries and Iran]]
*[[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine]]
* [[Farha (film)|''Farha'' (film)]]
*[[Israeli Declaration of Independence]]
*[[Israel Independence Day]]
* [[Naksa Day]]
* [[Ongoing Nakba]]
*[[1948 Arab–Israeli War]]
*[[1948 Palestine war]]
*[[Palestinian exodus]]
*[[List of villages depopulated during the Arab-Israeli conflict]]
*[[Palestinian refugee]]
*[[Palestinian right of return]]
*[[Land Day]]
*[[Naksa Day]]
*[[International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People]]
*[[The sons of Eilaboun]], a documentary about the Nakba in Eilaboun
*[[Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries]]


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{Reflist|30em}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/videos/2023/5/15/23723947/palestine-nakba-may-15-protests-israel What Palestinians protest every May 15: The Palestinian Catastrophe, explained.] [[Vox (website)|Vox]].
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1332157.stm In pictures: 'Catastrophe Day' protests], BBC News
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1332157.stm In pictures: 'Catastrophe Day' protests], BBC News
*[http://www.docsonline.tv/?search=Al%20Nakba&type=title&docinfo=97 Al Nakba], full filmdescription of documentary & background
*[http://www.nakba.co.uk/blog/ Nakba], Current news from Palestine
* [http://nakba.co.uk nakba – Daily news and struggles from the Palestinian territory], Nakba news
*[http://www.sonsofeilaboun.com The Sons of Eilaboun] a documentary about the Nakba in Eilaboun (1948)
*[http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2010/03/21/the-day-palestine-was-burnt-off-the-map/ Israeli Jew Speaks for Thousands] Nurit Peled-Elhanan, Sakharov Human Rights Prize laureate
*[http://www.expressionsofnakba.org Expressions of Nakba Competition 2008], Call for Entries by March 30, 2008 with awards and public exhibitions planned throughout the year


{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War}}
{{Palestinian Arab villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestine War}}
{{Nakbaend}}


{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1948 Arab–Israeli War]]
[[Category:Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]
[[Category:1948 Palestinian exodus]]
[[Category:Palestinian holidays]]


[[Category:Public holidays in the State of Palestine]]
[[ar:يوم النكبة]]
[[Category:Remembrance days]]
[[de:Nakba]]
[[Category:May observances]]
[[es:Nakba]]
[[eo:La Nakba Tago]]
[[Category:Nakba]]
[[it:Nakba]]
[[he:יום הנכבה]]
[[no:Nakba]]
[[pt:Nakba]]
[[ru:День «Накба»]]
[[sv:Nakba]]
[[tr:Nakba Günü]]
[[uk:Накба]]

Latest revision as of 17:00, 4 November 2024

Nakba Day
SignificanceNakba
Date15 May
Next time15 May 2025 (2025-05-15)
FrequencyAnnual
Related toYom Ha'atzmaut
Part of a series on the
Nakba
Precipitating events
  • Background
1948 expulsion and flight
Discourse
Notable writers
Symbols and memory
Ongoing
Lists

Nakba Day (Arabic: ذكرى النكبة, romanized: Dhikra an-Nakba, lit. 'Memory of the Catastrophe') is the day of commemoration for the Nakba, also known as the Palestinian Catastrophe, which comprised the destruction of Palestinian society and homeland in 1948, and the permanent displacement of a majority of the Palestinian people. It is generally commemorated on 15 May, the Gregorian calendar date of the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948. For Palestinians, it is an annual day of commemoration of the displacement that preceded and followed Israel's establishment.[1]

The day was officially inaugurated by Yasser Arafat in 1998, though the date had been unofficially used for protests since as early as 1949.

Timing

Main article: Nakba
Palestinian refugees in 1948

Nakba Day is generally commemorated on 15 May, the day after the Gregorian calendar date for Israel's Independence. In Israel, Nakba Day events have been held by some Arab citizens on Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel's Independence Day), which is celebrated in Israel on the Hebrew calendar date (5 Iyar or shortly before or after). Because of the differences between the Hebrew and the Gregorian calendars, Independence Day and the official 15 May date for Nakba Day usually only coincide every 19 years.[2]

Commemoration

Palestinian girl in a protest on Nakba Day 2010 in Hebron, West Bank. Her sign says "Surely we will return, Palestine." Most of the Palestinian refugees in the West Bank are descendants of people whose families hail from areas that were incorporated into Israel in 1948.[3] The key is a symbol of the houses which Palestinians left as part of the Nakba.[4]
A demonstration for Nakba Day on Broadway at 42nd Street in Times Square, Midtown Manhattan.

As early as 1949, one year after the establishment of the State of Israel, 15 May was marked in several West Bank cities (under Jordanian rule) by demonstrations, strikes, the raising of black flags, and visits to the graves of people killed during the 1948 war. These events were organized by worker and student associations, cultural and sports clubs, scouts clubs, committees of refugees, and the Muslim Brotherhood. The speakers in these gatherings blamed the Arab governments and the Arab League for failing to "save Palestine", according to author Tamir Sorek. By the late 1950s, 15 May would be known in the Arab world as Palestine Day, mentioned by the media in Arab and Muslim countries as a day of international solidarity with Palestine.[5]

March of Return

Main article: March of Return (Israel)

Commemoration of the Nakba by Arab citizens of Israel who are internally displaced persons as a result of the 1948 war has been practiced for decades, but until the early 1990s was relatively weak. Initially, the memory of the catastrophe of 1948 was personal and communal in character and families or members of a given village would use the day to gather at the site of their former villages.[6] Small scale commemorations of the tenth anniversary in the form of silent vigils were held by Arab students at a few schools in Israel in 1958, despite attempts by the Israeli authorities to thwart them.[7] Visits to the sites of former villages became increasingly visible after the events of Land Day in 1976.[6] In the wake of the failure of the 1991 Madrid Conference to broach the subject of refugees, the Association for the Defense of the Rights of the Internally Displaced in Israel was founded to organize a March of Return to the site of a different village every year on 15 May so as to place the issue on the Israeli public agenda.[8]

By the early 1990s, annual commemorations of the day by Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel held a prominent place in the community's public discourse.[6][9]

Other commemorations

Meron Benvenisti writes that it was "…Israeli Arabs who taught the residents of the territories to commemorate Nakba Day."[10] Palestinians in the occupied territories were called upon to commemorate 15 May as a day of national mourning by the Palestine Liberation Organization's United National Command of the Uprising during the First Intifada in 1988.[11] The day was inaugurated by Yasser Arafat in 1998.[12]

The event is often marked by speeches and rallies by Palestinians in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, in Palestinian refugee camps in Arab states, and in other places around the world.[13][14] Protests at times develop into clashes between Palestinians and the Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.[15][16][17] In 2003 and 2004, there were demonstrations in London[18] and New York City.[19] In 2002, Zochrot was established to organize events raising the awareness of the Nakba in Hebrew so as to bring Palestinians and Israelis closer to a true reconciliation. The name is the Hebrew feminine plural form of "remember".[6]

On Nakba Day 2011, Palestinians and other Arabs from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria marched towards their respective borders, or ceasefire lines and checkpoints in Israeli-occupied territories, to mark the event.[20] At least twelve Palestinians and supporters were killed and hundreds wounded as a result of shootings by the Israeli Army.[21] The Israeli army opened fire after thousands of Syrian protesters tried to forcibly enter the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights resulting in what AFP described as one of the worst incidents of violence there since the 1974 truce accord.[21] The IDF said troops "fired selectively" towards "hundreds of Syrian rioters" injuring an unspecified number in response to them crossing onto the Israeli side.[21] According to the BBC, the 2011 Nakba Day demonstrations were given impetus by the Arab Spring.[22] During the 2012 commemoration, thousands of Palestinian demonstrators protested in cities and towns across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Protesters threw stones at Israeli soldiers guarding checkpoints in East Jerusalem who then fired rubber bullets and tear gas in response.[23] In 2021, Nakba Day occurred during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis and at least 29 Palestinians were injured by Israeli security forces in the West Bank according to Al Jazeera English.[24][25]

Objections to commemoration

Nakba Day 2011 in Arroub camp in Hebron, Palestine.

Shlomo Avineri has criticised observance of Nakba Day on the grounds that a more important issue is the failure to solidify a stronger national movement for Palestinian citizens as a foundation for nation-building.[26][27] Arab citizens of Israel have also been admonished for observing Nakba Day in light of their higher standard of living when compared to that of Palestinians who reside outside of Israel.[28]

On 23 March 2011, the Knesset approved, by a vote of 37 to 25,[29] a change to the budget, giving the Israeli finance minister the discretion to reduce government funding to any non-governmental organization (NGO) that commemorates the Palestinian Nakba instead of the Israeli Day of Independence.[30][31] A previous form of the bill, which first came under consideration by the Knesset in July 2001 and again in 2006, established the commemoration of the Nakba Day as a criminal offense, subject to 1-year imprisonment and/or a fine of NIS10,000 (~$2,500). Palestinians argue that the bill imposes restrictions on freedom of speech and expression, curtails equality, and applies conditions that suppress the national consciousness and historical narrative of the Palestinian people.[32]

After months of legislative limbo due to numerous appeals filed by organizations such as Adalah and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, as well as several Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel, the Supreme Court of Israel rejected the appeals, and upheld the Nakba Law, on 5 January 2012. Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch and Justices Eliezer Rivlin and Miriam Naor concluded: "The declarative level of the law does indeed raise difficult and complex questions. However, from the outset, the constitutionality of the law depends largely upon the interpretation given to the law's directives." Deductions could equal up to three times the event's sponsorship cost; repeat violations would double the amount of the fine.[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ David W. Lesch; Benjamin Frankel (2004). History in Dispute: The Middle East since 1945 (Illustrated ed.). St. James Press. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-55862-472-6. The Palestinian recalled their "Nakba Day", "catastrophe" – the displacement that accompanied the creation of the State of Israel – in 1948.
  2. ^ Hertz-Larowitz, Rachel (2003). Arab and Jewish Youth in Israel: Voicing National Injustice on Campus. Journal of Social Issues, 59(1), 51–66.
  3. ^ Figures given here for the number of Palestinian refugees includes only those registered with UNRWA as June 2010. Internally displaced Palestinians were not registered, among others. Factbox: Palestinian refugee statistics
  4. ^ Shuttleworth, Kate (15 May 2014). "In pictures: Nakba Day protests". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  5. ^ Sorek, Tamir (2015). Palestinian Commemoration in Israel: Calendars, Monuments, and Martyrs. Stanford University Press. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-8047-9520-3.
  6. ^ a b c d Nur Masalha (2005). Catastrophe remembered: Palestine, Israel and the internal refugees: essays in memory of Edward W. Said (1935–2003). Zed Books. p. 221. ISBN 978-1-84277-623-0.
  7. ^ Hillel Cohen (2010). Good Arabs: the Israeli security agencies and the Israeli Arabs, 1948–1967 (Illustrated ed.). University of California Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-520-25767-2. nakba commemorations decades.
  8. ^ Masalha, 2005, p. 216.
  9. ^ In 2006, for example, Azmi Bishara, an Arab member of the Knesset told the Israeli newspaper Maariv: "Independence Day is your holiday, not ours. We mark this as the day of our Nakba, the tragedy that befell the Palestinian nation in 1948." (Maariv article (in Hebrew))
  10. ^ Mêrôn Benveniśtî (2007). Son of the cypresses: memories, reflections, and regrets from a political life. University of California Press. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-520-23825-1.
  11. ^ Shaul Mishal; Reʼuven Aharoni (1994). Speaking stones: communiqués from the Intifada underground. Syracuse University Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-8156-2607-7. May 15, which denotes the nakba, will be a day of national mourning and a general strike; public and private transportation will cease, and all will remain in their houses.
  12. ^ Rubin, Barry and Rubin, Judith Colp (2003). Yasir Arafat: A Political Biography. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516689-2, p. 187.
  13. ^ "Anger over Palestinian Nakba ban proposal". BBC News. 25 May 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  14. ^ Bowker, Robert (2003). Palestinian Refugees: Mythology, Identity, and the Search for Peace. Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 1-58826-202-2, p. 96.
  15. ^ Analysis: Why Palestinians are angry, BBC News Online, 15 May 2000.
  16. ^ Violence erupts in West Bank, BBC News Online, 15 May 2000.
  17. ^ Israel – Palestinian Violence, National Public Radio, 15 May 2000.
  18. ^ Pro-Palestine rally in London, BBC News Online, 15 May 2003.
  19. ^ Al-Nakba Day Rally in Times Square, 2004.
  20. ^ Gideon Biger (18 May 2011). "Israel was infiltrated, but no real borders were crossed". Haaretz. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
  21. ^ a b c Bloodshed along Israel borders kills 12 on Nakba Day AFP. 15 May 2011.
  22. ^ Israeli forces open fire at Palestinian protesters. BBC News. 15 May 2011.
  23. ^ Thousands of Palestinians mark 'Nakba Day'. BBC News. 15 May 2012.
  24. ^ Frykberg, Mel (15 May 2021). "Israeli forces wound dozens of Palestinians at Nakba Day marches". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  25. ^ Gladstone, Rick (15 May 2021). "An annual day of Palestinian grievance comes amid the upheaval". New York Times. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  26. ^ The real Nakba by Shlomo Avineri, 5 September 2008
  27. ^ cf. Karsh, Efraim (10 June 2011). "Reclaiming a historical truth". Haaretz. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  28. ^ "Time to stop mourning" by Meron Benvenisti
  29. ^ Knesset Approves Nakba Law, by Elad Benari, 23 March 2011
  30. ^ Elia Zureik (2011). Elia Zureik; David Lyon; Yasmeen Abu-Laban (eds.). Surveillance and Control in Israel/Palestine: Population, Territory and Power (Illustrated ed.). Taylor & Francis. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-415-58861-4.
  31. ^ "MK Zahalka: Racist laws target Arab sector" by Roni Sofer, 22 March 2011
  32. ^ Olesker, Ronnie (15 March 2013). "Law-making and the Securitization of the Jewish Identity in Israel". Ethnopolitics. 13 (2): 105–121. doi:10.1080/17449057.2013.773156. S2CID 145339153.
  33. ^ "Israel's Supreme Court rejects Nakba Law suit " by The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 5 January 2012
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