The 76th Anniversary of the Nakba
Recognizing the catastrophe that happened to Palestinians in 1948 and that it never ended.
Today marks 76 years since the Nakba (the catastrophe) which resulted in the ethnic cleansing of more than 750,000 Palestinians who were forced to flee their homes in a violent and bloody campaign by Zionist militias that started in 1948. More than 13,000 Palestinians were killed, and this violence and forced expulsion is what directly led to the creation of the state of Israel.
The Nakba never ended.
Since 1948 until today, systems of violence and supremacy, and campaigns dedicated to the cultural erasure and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people in the form of the Israeli military occupation of Palestinian lands, blocking the formation of an Palestinian state recognized by the U.S., the illegal Israeli settlement program, the apartheid system, and the Israeli separation wall.
But nothing illustrates how the Nakba is still ongoing more than the genocide underway in Gaza today.
Gaza, the most densely occupied place on earth, is comprised of 70% refugees whose families were displaced and dispossessed from their homes in 1948 when the Nakba started.
In just the last 7 months, we have witnessed the Israeli government displace 90% of Gaza’s population (1.7 million Palestinians), completely destroy Gaza, mass murder at least 35,000+ Palestinians, and wound and maim another 79,000+ Palestinians. The genocide going on in Gaza today is far worse in terms of civilian deaths and people displaced than when the Nakba started in 1948.
This is the catastrophe of catastrophes.
Today, please take the time to educate yourself on the history of Palestine. I’ve got five essays I’ve written on Palestine here on Medium that are packed with history and information:
- An introduction to this topic
- On the military occupation in Hebron
- My experience with surveillance, policing and profiling in Jerusalem
- My visit to the West Bank separation wall and a Palestinian refugee camp in Bethlehem
- Why justice means freedom for the Palestinian people
Also, please donate to the GoFundMe campaigns linked here to help Gazan families escape to safety as the Israeli military escalates their violent campaign in Rafah and throughout Gaza.
And most importantly, use your voice and whatever platform you have to speak out and advocate for the human rights and liberation of the Palestinian people.
