Today we join with all those who commemorate the Nakba; the catastrophe that began in 1947 which saw Zionist militias destroying over 500 Palestinian villages and towns and driving 750,000 Palestinians into exile, and you can read PSC’s account of this history here. But history continues to play out in the same way for Palestinians today as Israel continues to demolish Palestinian homes and villages, colonise the West Bank and East Jerusalem with illegal settlements, deny Palestinian citizens of Israel equality under the law, and deny Palestinian refugees the right to return to their homeland.

Palestinians face what many are calling a “New Nakba” – annexation of the settlements in the West Bank; no Palestinian capital in Jerusalem; Palestinians left trapped in network of disconnected Bantustans, permanently denied the right to determine their own lives as a people. Alongside this will be an attempt to persuade the word to redefine the status of refugee so that it is removed from the descendants of those expelled in 1948, thus leaving the majority of Palestinian people cut off from their homeland in a permanent exile.

But the global solidarity movement for Palestine grows daily. The thousands who marched for Palestine on Saturday were inspired by Ahed Tamimi’s address to them. The march and the speakers sent a clear strong message of UK support to the Palestinian people.

On this Nakba Day, please support PSC campaign calls below.

#DeactivateAirbnb for one day

Stand for justice and #deactivateAirbnb on 15th May, Nakba Day.

Join the international day of action against Airbnb’s decision to continue listing holiday homes in illegal Israeli settlements. Every settlement home is a war crime built on stolen Palestinian land.

Click here to deactivate your Airbnb account for one day

#BoycottEurovision2019

On Saturday, as Israel invites the world to drown out the Palestinian call for justice with the Eurovision Song Contest, we will be hosting a “Not the Eurovision: Party for Palestine” gig in central London featuring a whole host of incredible artists including Lowkey, Wolf Alice, Mic Righteous and more. This gig will be linking up with concerts around the world as part of the Watch Globalvision initiative. We are down to our last batch of tickets, so don’t miss out and buy yours here now!

Together Against Trump

On June 4th we will be back on the streets of London as part of the mass demonstration against Trump’s visit to the UK. Once again, we will be organising a large and vibrant Palestine bloc on this demo – more details coming very soon!

MAKE APARTHEID HISTORY

1948-2018: a 70 YEAR COMMEMORATION OF the NAKBA

Israel was founded 70 years ago today, on 14th May 1948.  Palestinians commemorate the next day, 15th May, as their ‘Nakba’ – day of catastrophe.

This Arabic term refers to the mass expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from British Mandate Palestine during Israel’s creation (1947-49) when between 750,000 and one million Palestinians were expelled and made refugees by Zionist paramilitaries, and subsequently Israeli forces, during Israel’s creation in 1947-49.

Brian Eno is a supporter of Palestine . He was born on the same day as the founding of Israel. Here he speaks to MAH of his support for Palestine and in particular, his reasons for backing the BDS campaign.

NAKBA 2018 -CALENDAR EVENTS

Every May, along with so many other organisations and projects around the world, Make Apartheid History commemorates the ‘Nakba’. MAH is recording both ICAHD and @70 cultural events.

May 14-20^th

https://www.palestinecampaign.org/events/70-celebration-contemporary-palestinian-culture/

@70: A CELEBRATION OF CONTEMPORARY PALESTINIAN CULTURE

A week-long festival of theatre, dance, films and talks commemorating the Palestinian experience of dispossession and loss of a homeland.

May 19^th

https://www.palestinecampaign.org/events/icahd-2018-uk-annual-conference/

Israeli Committee Against House Demolition UK Annual Conference

May 20th

https://www.palestinecampaign.org/events/psc-returnconf/

The PSC Right of Return conference – @70: Palestinian Refugees and the Right of Return – aims to provide the tools and education necessary for activists in the UK to continue to campaign for the right of return of Palestinian refugees, as enshrined in International law.

ABOUT MAH

Make Apartheid History has an extensive video gallery from a wide range of contributors. MAH connects civil rights, anti-apartheid and Palestinian struggles. This year, 2018, has three momentous anniversaries:  100 years since the birth of Nelson Mandela, 70 years since the Nakba and 50 years since the murder of Martin Luther King.

KEEP IN TOUCH!

MAH on Facebook and Twitter

 

NAKBA means ‘The Catastrophe’

On 15 May, people will remember the violent dispossession and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948. These events, which took place during the creation of the state of Israel, are known to Palestinians as ‘the catastrophe’ or, in Arabic, the ‘Nakba’. They are the events which have led directly to today’s situation, with Palestinians dispossessed, stateless and living under occupation in the West Bank, under occupation and siege in Gaza, or in exile around the world, including millions in refugee camps to this day. And the Nakba is not over for Palestinians, as the Israeli Government continues to steal their land in the West Bank through illegal settlement building and the construction of the separation wall.

See more at: Palestinians prepare to mark nearly 70 years of dispossession

And this is what displacement looks like today – one of many thousands of stories.

The refugee issue

Almost 800,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes in 1948-9 and during the June 1967 war a further 325,000 Palestinians became refugees. Under UN Resolution 194, the Palestinians have the right to return to their homes, but Israel has always refused to implement the Resolution. Today over 6 million Palestinians are refugees, hundreds of thousands of whom still live in overcrowded refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza, and in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

Life under occupation

The past 40 years have seen the establishment of over 200 illegal Israeli settlements, housing nearly 500,000 settlers, within occupied Palestine. The separation wall in the West Bank, construction of which was started in 2002, cuts deep into Palestinian land and, along with the “settler only” roads, cuts off many communities from water supplies, hospitals and their agricultural land. Palestinian residents face severe travel restrictions and for many it is impossible to enter Jerusalem or to travel abroad. The treatment of Palestinians, both within Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territory, is widely recognised as a system akin to the Apartheid regime of South Africa.

Palestinians are continually under attack from Israel’s occupying forces and are increasingly harassed by settlers, who attack farmers and steal their land. Collective punishments, such as prolonged curfews and house demolitions are frequently imposed.

Palestinians living in what is today the state of Israel, also face discrimination and are treated as second class citizens.

For more information on the historical background and the situation today, read this [pdf]. 

Google Earth can help bring the 1948 ‘Catastrophe’ up to date.

What does the ongoing ‘Land grab’ started in 1948 look like?

Interactive Maps 

Established in 1979 to protect and promote human rights and the rule of law in the occupied Palestinian territory, Al-Haq is an independent Palestinian non-governmental human rights organisation based in Ramallah, West Bank. They have utilised the power of Google Maps to create interactive presentations that illustrate aspects of the occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and present Al-Haq’s written and visual documentation of human rights violations.

Virtual Field Visits  http://alhaq.mits.ps/index.php/virtual-field-visits

Understanding why Israel’s occupation is ‘settler-colonial’ in nature – much like others in history

 

Ronnie Kasrils is a South African author and activist. He was Minister of Intelligence Services from 2004 to 2008, member of the African National Congress from 1987 to 2007 and a founding member of Umkhonto we Sizwe.

Here, he talks to Make Apartheid History about the similarities between South Africa and Israel. https://makeapartheidhistory.org/portfolio/from-south-africa-to-israel/

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