The Nakba, commemorated annually on this day as "Nakba Day", was the destruction of Palestinian society and homeland in 1948 following Israel's creation. Nakba Day protests take place around the world and have been attacked by Israel.
The foundational events of the Nakba took place during and shortly after the 1947-1949 Palestine war, including 78% of Mandatory Palestine being declared as Israel, the exodus of 700,000 Palestinians, the depopulation and destruction of over 500 Palestinian villages and subsequent geographical erasure, the denial of the Palestinian right of return, and the creation of permanent, stateless Palestinian refugees.
Although May 15th had been used as an unofficial commemoration of the Nakba since 1949, Nakba Day was formalized in 1998 after Yasser Arafat proposed that Palestinians should mark the 50th anniversary of the Nakba during the First Intifada.
The Nakba was a key event in the development of Palestinian culture and is a foundational symbol of Palestinian identity, along with "Handala", a ten-year old cartoon character developed by Naji al-Ali; the keffiyeh, a checkered black and white scarf worn around the head; and the "symbolic key" (many Palestinian refugees have kept the keys to the homes they were forced to flee).
On Nakba Day 2011, Palestinians and other Arabs from the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Syria marched towards their respective borders, or ceasefire lines and checkpoints in Israeli-occupied territories, to mark the event. At least twelve Palestinians and supporters were killed and hundreds wounded as a result of shootings by the Israeli Army.
"In resisting the Nakba, the Palestinians have struck at the heart of the Zionist project that insists that the Nakba be seen as a past event. In resisting Israel, Palestinians have forced the world to witness the Nakba as present action; one that, contrary to Zionist wisdom, is indeed reversible." - Palestinian scholar Joseph Massad
-
Al-Nakba: The Palestinian catastrophe - Episode 1 | Featured Documentary
-
Farha (2021) internationally co-produced historical drama film about a Palestinian girl's coming-of-age experience during the Nakba, the 1948 displacement of Palestinians from their homeland. Its on Netflix
-
The History of "Socialist" Zionism | Leftist Zionists did the Nakba & founded Israel
Megathreads and spaces to hang out:
- 📀 Come listen to music and Watch movies with your fellow Hexbears nerd, in Cy.tube
- 🔥 Read and talk about a current topics in the News Megathread
- ⚔ Come talk in the New Weekly PoC thread
- ✨ Talk with fellow Trans comrades in the New Weekly Trans thread
reminders:
- 💚 You nerds can join specific comms to see posts about all sorts of topics
- 💙 Hexbear’s algorithm prioritizes comments over upbears
- 💜 Sorting by new you nerd
- 🌈 If you ever want to make your own megathread, you can reserve a spot here nerd
- 🐶 Join the unofficial Hexbear-adjacent Mastodon instance toots.matapacos.dog
Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):
Aid:
Theory:
I hurt my back (again) and it's so goddamn disheartening to have shit fall apart because I can't operate at full capacity because of my stupid back. I just want to do the things I'm good at but my body won't let me
My life is becoming progressively more sedentary as my physical ability degrades