Nakba Day

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.(June 2008) Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved.

Nakba Day (Arabic: يوم النكبة yawm al-nakba — 15 May) meaning "day of the catastrophe" is an annual day of commemoration for the Palestinian people of the "anniversary of the creation of Israel"^{[1][2][3][4][5]} which marks the beginning of the 1948 Palestinian exodus, the resulting defeat in the 1948 Palestine War, the loss of land that followed from the war^[6] and their displacement and dispossession as a result ^[7]. While for Israelis, the 1948 war gave them independence and this day represents the "fulfilment of a historic ideal of the Jewish people" to establish a homeland for the Jewish people, for Palestinians, the day represents "the dispossession of hundreds of thousands of their people who were made homeless as Israel was born.”^[8] The events in Palestine during the British mandate prior to Israel's declaration of independence, as well as the 1948 Arab-Israeli War that erupted following the invasion by neighbouring Arab states, resulted in the flight or expulsion of an estimated 700,000 Palestinian refugees,^[9] and the destruction and abandonment of up to 418 Palestinian villages.^[10] Palestinian Arabs call these events al-Nakba ("The Catastrophe"). Prior to its adoption by the Palestinian Nationalist movement, the term more commonly referred to the 1920 Battle of Maysalun, in which France invaded Syria and deposed Arab Revolt leader King Faisal I.^[11]

Israel declared its independence on the evening of May 14, 1948. That same night saw the invasion of Israel by five of the seven countries of the Arab League, starting the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Israel defeated armies of Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq and captured just over fifty per cent of the territory allocated as an Arab state in the 1947 UN Partition Plan (but rejected as a state by the Arabs), while the remaining was annexed by Transjordan or controlled by Egypt. After the end of the War, the vast majority of Palestinian Arab refugees outside the 1949 armistice lines were barred from returning to their homes, many of which had been destroyed, or from reclaiming their property.^[9][10] Every year, on the 5th of Iyyar of the Hebrew calendar (which can fall between 15 April and 15 May) Israelis celebrate Independence Day (Yom Ha'atzma'ut).^[12] While Nakba Day is commemorated on May 15 in keeping with the Gregorian calendar instead of the Islamic calendar, Palestinian Arabs and their supporters around the world coordinate some Nakba Day events to coincide with the Israeli Independence Day celebrations.^[13][14][15] Because of the differences between the Jewish and the Gregorian calendars, Independence Day and the official May 15 date for Nakba Day usually only coincides every 19 years.^[16] In Israel, there are Nakba day protests which takes place according to the Hebrew date, on the same day when Israelis celebrate Israel's independence day.

The event is often marked by speeches and rallies in the West Bank, Gaza and in Arab states.^[17] In 2006, Israeli Arab member of the Knesset Dr. Azmi Bishara 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".^[18][19]Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman called for Israeli Arab Knesset members that marked Nakba Day to be tried for treason.^{[citation needed]}

The day was inaugurated in 1998 by Yasser Arafat,^[20] when over one million people participated in marches and other events.^[21] Nakba Day has been marked each year by protests which at times develop to clashes between Palestinians and the Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,^[22][23][24] and in 2003 and 2004, by demonstrations in London^[25] and New York City.^[26]

Grandmother cries over grandson, Nakba 1948.	Palestinan mother Nakba 1948.	Palestinian watch over a school in a refugee camp 1948	Makeshift school for Palestinian refugees.
Palestinian woman a baby and a jug, Nakba.	Refugees in the open Nakba 1948.

[edit] See also

• Yom Ha'atzmaut
• Naksa Day
• Palestinian exodus
• Palestinian refugee
• Israeli independence
• Jewish exodus from Arab lands
• List of villages depopulated during the Arab-Israeli conflict
• International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
• Benny Brunner, director of the documentary Al Nakba: the Palestinian catastrophe 1948

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Al Nakba, full filmdescription of documentary & background
• Expressions of Nakba Competition 2008, Call for Entries by March 30, 2008 with awards and public exhibitions planned throughout the year