- Nakba Day: Mass demonstrations across Palestine and the world against Israeli colonialism, apartheid, occupation, and the continued denial of Palestinian refugees' right to return.
- National Committee statement to diplomats on 13 May reaffirms commitment to Palestinian struggle and Right of Return. For more information see: http://stopthewall.org/analysisandfeatures/1650.shtml
Global
Events
l
Justice
is
the
Key
to
Tomorrow:
Flying
21,915
Black
Balloons.
Ramallah
(Qalandia
camp
football
field),
Jerusalem,
Bethlehem
(Aida
Camp),
Jenin,
Haifa
Palestine
– as
well
as
Amman
(SAS
Hotel),
Rome,
Berlin,
Santiago
and
other
cities
across
the
globe,
turning
the
skies
over
Israel's
independence
celebrations
black.
2pm.
For
more
visit:
www.60yearsofnakba.org
or
contact:
balloons@60yearsofnakba.org.
l
Radio
Free
Palestine:
18
Hours
of
Broadcasting
on
60
Years
of
Dispossession.
This
is a
coordinated
radio
broadcast
from
12am(midnight)
until
6pm
(Eastern
Time)
that
will
be
hosted
by
the
International
Middle
East
Media
Center
in
Bethlehem
(imemc.org,
Palestine),
in
collaboration
with
the
Badil
Centre
for
Palestinian
Residency
and
Refugee
Rights,
CKUT
90.3fm
in
Montreal
(Quebec),
CHRY
105.5fm
in
Toronto
(Ontario,
Canada),
KBOO
90.7fm
in
Portland
(Oregon,
USA),
Pacfica
Radio
and
Democracy
Now!
(USA),
CKDU
88.1fm
(Nova
Scotia,
Canada),
CFUV
101.9fm
(British
Columbia,
Canada),
CFRC
101.9fm
(Ontario,
Canada),
CILU
102.7fm
(Ontario
Canada),
WPFW
89.3fm
(USA),
WRNC
97.7
(USA),
and
Radio
Resonance
(London,
UK).
You
can
listen
live
at:
http://live.kboo.fm:8000/high.m3u
Learn
More
at:
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=2196
Contact:
news@ckut.ca
Events
in
Palestine
l
Central
Demonstration,
Ramallah.
Work
and
Traffic
stoppage
at
12pm;
Demonstration
leaves
al-Awda
camp
at
12:05pm,
marching
along
Irsal
street
to
Manara
Square;
1pm
rally
at
Manara
square.
Contact:
Wajih
Atallah,
Union
of
Youth
Activities
Centers
in
the
Refugee
Camps,
tel.:
0599-255584,
mail:
uyac@uyac.org
l
Central
Demonstration,
Haifa.
For
more
information
visit:
ittijah.org,
contact
info@ittijah.org
l
Jerusalem
Demonstration
Commemorating
60
Years
of
Nakba:
End
the
Israeli
Occupation
Now!
Starts
10am
from
Damascus
Gate
(Bab
El-'Amoud).
Organized
by
independent
residents,
Contact:
Mohammad
Abu
Humus:
050
5679572
l
Central
Demonstrations,
Gaza
Strip.
Rafah:
Starts
at
11am
Marching
from
Al-Nijma
Square
to
Al-Shabbura
(Rafah).
The
March
will
culminate
in a
large
cultural
event.
Jabaliya
Refugee
Camp,
demonstration.
l
Mass
marches,
demonstrations
as
well
as
cultural
events
across
Palestine
in
Gaza,
Ramallah,
Jenin,
Nablus,
Salfit,
Qalqilya,
Bethlehem.
l
Nakba
Commemoration,
Tubas;
Recreation
of a
destroyed
village;
Intergenerational
Dialogue
and
Discussion.
l
Nakba
Commemoration,
Beit
Sahour.
Festival
will
include
tents
presenting
Palestinian
cuisine
and
various
cultural
performances.
Black
balloons
will
be
released
for
Nakba
commemoration.
Contact:
uyac@uyac.org.
l
Nakba
Commemoration,
Nazareth
(15-17
May):
The
People,
the
Land,
the
Story.
Cultural
performances;
book,
photo/handcraft
exhibitions;
and
'trips
to
the
roots'.
Organized
by
the
Arab
Cultural
Centre,
contact:
+972-4-608-2352
l
Nakba
Commemoration,
Jaffa.
Forum,
Exhibits,
Testimonies,
Cultural
Performances,
and
Tours
of
Jaffa
Organized
by
the
Arab
Affairs
Cooperative
in
Jaffa.
Contact
info@ittijah.org
for
more.
l
Nakba
Commemoration,
Umm
El-Fahem.
Car
Demonstration,
Painting
and
Photography
Exhibit,
Folklore
and
Heritage
Exhibition.
Starting
at
5pm,
organized
by
Al-Karameh
Cultural
Centre
and
Volunteer
Work
Committee
in
Umm
El-Fahem.
Contact
info@ittijah.org
for
more
information.
l
Trips
and
Tours
of
Destroyed
Villages
in
the
Naqab.
Organized
by
the
Arab
Council
for
Education
in
the
Naqab.
l
Opening
of
The
Nakba
Project:
Return
of
the
Soul
Exhibition
in
Jerusalem.
7:30pm
at
Al-Hoash
Gallery
(1st
floor
of
Nuzha
building,
Nablus
Street).
Gallery
hours:
Mon-Fri:
5pm-10pm;
Thurs-Sat:
12pm-7pm).
Exhibit
will
travel
to
Edinburgh:
July
2008;
Ramallah:
August
2008;
Beirut:
September
2008;
Amman:
October
2008.
For
more
information
contact:
info@alhoshgallery.org
Events
internationally
l
March
of
Return:
Palestinian
Refugees
in
Lebanon
march
towards
the
Lebanon-Palestine
Border;
“Homes
of
Return”
candle
lighting
ceremonies
and
human
chain
activities
in
all
Palestinian
refugee
camps
in
Lebanon.
l
International
Conference:
Freedom
and
the
Right
of
Return,
Palestine
and
60
Years
of
Ethnic
Cleansing
in
Jakarta,
Indonesia.
For
more
information:
www.voiceofpalestine.net
and
www.suarapalestina.net.
l
All
Night
Protest
Calling
for
the
End
of
Israeli
Apartheid
and
Return
of
Refugees.
Starts
at
7pm
in
front
of
Israeli
Embassy
in
Athens,
Greece.
For
more
visit
http://www.intifada.gr,
contact:
victory@intifada.gr.
l
Finding
Palestine.
Festival
in
Rome,
Italy
including:
Painting
exhibits
by
Hazem
Hrab,
Gaza;
Isis
Rsik,
Nazareth;
"Dunum,
Palestinian
Land"
Photos
by
Luca
Tommasini;
National
Premiere
of
"Jerusalem
East
Side
story"
and
screening
of
"the
Iron
Wall"
by
Mohammad
Alatar;
Public
Forum
featuring
Mohammad
Alatar,
Samir
Al
Quariuty,
Sabri
Atiyeh,
Luisa
Morgantini,
Mjriam
Abu
Samra;
Dabka
performance
and
Palestinian
fashion
show
by
the
Palestinian
stylist
Jamal
Taslaq;
Public
Forum:
"Palestinians:
the
tragedy
to
be
victims
of
the
victims"
For
more
information
visit:
http://www.palestinewz.org.
l
Palestinian
Hip-Hop
Show,
featuring
DAM!,
Invincible
and
a
B-Boy
battle.
Straight
from
1948
Palestine.
All
ages
show.
Organised
by
Coalition
Against
Israeli
Apartheid,
Toronto,
Canada.
For
more
information
visit
www.caiaweb.org.
l
Transformar
El
Dolor
en
Amor:
Mass
Demonstration
6:30pm,
Plaza
De
La
Constitucion,
Santiago,
Chile.
l
Candlelight
Vigil:
Remembering
60
Years
of
Dispossession
and
Displacement
4:30–6:30
p.m.,
State
Library
of
Victoria
-
Melbourne,
Australia.
7:30–9:30
p.m.
Film
Screening:
“Jerusalem:
East
Side
Story”
and
others,
RMIT
Capitol
Theatre.
For
more
information,
visit
www.1948.com.au.
l
Poetry
recital
and
film
screening
in
Caracas,
Venezuela:
from
6 pm
Venezuelan
poets
give
homage
to
the
Palestinian
struggle,
at 8
pm
screening
of
the
feature
film
“The
Door
to
Sun”.
The
events
organized
by
the
Foro
Itinerante
de
Participation
Popolar
are
part
of a
whole
week
of
cultural
events
to
commemorate
the
Nakba.
For
more
information
visit
http://www.medioscomunitarios.org/pag/index.php
l
Blood
Donor
Drive
aiming
to
collect
531
Blood
Units
(one
for
each
Palestinian
town
and
village
destroyed
in
the
Nakba)
in
the
United
Arab
Emiretes.
Contact
the
Palestinian
Social
Committee
in
Abu
Dhabi
(PSC),
media@albayyara.com
l
Al-Hannouneh
Folkloric
Dance
8pm
at
Radisson
SAS
Hotel,
Amman,
Jordan.
Part
of
the
“Guardians
of
Memory”
Cultural
Week.
l
Forum
on
60
Years
of
Palestinian
Nakba.
Featuring
Tamer
Khalafi
(Palestinian
refugee),
Dr.
Mai
Al-Kaila
(Ambassador
of
Palestine),
Room:
Aula
Magna
of
Universidad
de
Chile
–
Law
School,
Santiago,
Chile.
l
Palestine:
60
years
of
dispossession
and
resistance:
2-Day
Nakba
Commemoration
Event.
Docklands
Campus
of
the
University
of
East
London,
featuring
Omar
Barghouti,
Joseph
Massad,
Nur
Masalha,
Dina
Matar,
Moshe
Machover,
film
screenings
and
more.
May
15:
2-8pm;
May
16:
10am-8pm.
For
more
information
see:
http://www.prc.org.uk/index.php?module=news&id=45bbf725936ae0e8589cdd689dc19f47&offset=
.
l
"60
years
of
Nakba
-
The
Land
was
not
Empty"
Reading
out
of
the
names
of
all
destroyed
villages
near
Reichstag
(Federal
Parliament
Building),
Berlin
Germany.
l
"60
years
Israel
- 60
years
of
expulsion
of
Palestinians"
Central
Market
Place,
Bremen,
Germany.
l
Palestine
Solidarity
Festival
Honoring
the
special
guest,
the
Palestinian
Awqaf
Minister,
at
the
Palestinian
Consulate
in
the
United
Arab
Emirates.
Contact
the
Palestinian
Social
Committee
in
Abu
Dhabi
(PSC),
media@albayyara.com.
l
Screening
of
"Deir
Yassin".
7pm,
Pond
Room
530,
Detroit,
Michigan,
USA.
Organized
by
Film
Society,
Students
Allied
for
Freedom
and
Equality(SAFE)
and
SABEEL,
contact
Shirley
Zempel:
Zempel.shirley@gmail.com.
l
Symphony
Arabica
by
Merlijn
Twaalfhoven.
A
symphony
performed
by
over
200
professional
musicians,
amateurs,
and
children
from
the
Middle
East
and
the
Netherlands.8:30
p.m.,
Big
Hall
of
the
Tropenmuseum,
Amsterdam,
Netherlands.
For
more
information,
visit
www.arabica.nu.
The
Palestinian
Nakba
on
the
ground
On
this
day,
1948
·
In
the
Haifa
district,
Zionist
forces
captured
the
village
of
Umm
al-Zinat.
The
village,
which
had
been
home
to
more
than
1,400
people,
has
since
been
reduced
to
rubble.
·
Today,
the
attacks
on
the
pocket
of
villages
Jaba’,
Ijzim
and
‘Ayn
Ghazal
began
in
the
Haifa
district.
This
“Little
Triangle”
resisted
Israeli
attacks
until
the
end
of
July
when
more
than
8,000
people
were
eventually
driven
from
their
homes.
At
least
130
villagers
were
reported
dead
or
missing,
with
residents
of
Ijzim
recalling
later
that
they
had
been
fired
upon
by
soldiers
and
aircraft
as
they
left
their
village.
Both
Jaba’
and
‘Ayn
Ghazal
were
systematically
destroyed.
Nakba
Today
Jerusalem
today
is
facing
an
ever
increasing
drive
to
ethnic
cleansing.
The
months
after
the
Annapolis
conference
have
seen
a
further
acceleration
of
settlement
construction.
More
than
3,500
new
housing
units
in
the
settlements
have
been
approved,
a
large
infrastructure
project
to
link
the
outer
Jerusalem
settlements
via
a
ring
road
has
been
announced
and
land
confiscation
to
this
purpose
started.
To
make
space
for
the
new
Jewish
settlers
and
ensure
a
Jewish
majority
in
the
Palestinian
capital,
the
Wall
cuts
off
people
and
villages,
some
of
them
completely
ghettoized
from
all
sides.
Palestinian
houses
are
under
threat
of
demolition.
Between
1967
and
1999,
almost
6600
Palestinians
in
Jerusalem
had
already
seen
their
ID
cards
revoked
under
a
variety
of
pretexts,
expelling
them
from
their
city.
While
this
policy
continues,
presently,
about
10,000
children
in
Jerusalem
are
unable
to
register
in
their
parents’
ID
cards
and
receive
personal
documents.
The
Arab
population
in
Jerusalem
still
comprise
35%
of
the
total
population
and
pay
33%
of
total
taxes
levied
by
the
occupation
municipality,
while
they
receive
less
than
5%
of
the
municipality’s
budget
allocation.
More
than
25%
of
the
shops
in
the
city
have
been
shut
down
completely
due
to
the
siege
and
elevated
taxes
imposed
by
the
Israeli
authorities
on
Palestinians.
The
poverty
rate
among
the
Jerusalemites
is
over
50%.
Life
in
the
Jerusalem
becomes
a
daily
act
of
resistance
for
its
Palestinian
population.
The
ethnic
cleansing
of
Jerusalem
that
is
slowly
transforming
the
city
that
has
been
for
centuries
a
cultural
and
commercial
hub
for
people
from
different
continents
and
faiths
into
a
Jewish-only
metropolis
started
in
1948.
38
villages
and
suburbs
in
West
Jerusalem
were
ethnically
cleansed,
turning
approximately
23,000
Palestinian
into
refugees.
Further
3
villages
and
the
Maghrabi
Quarter
in
the
old
city
were
destroyed
after
the
1967
war.
Currently,
the
occupation
authorities
are
working
at
the
implementation
of
their
“Jerusalem
2020”
plan
to
attempt
the
final
destruction
of
this
unique
city’s
cultural
diversity
and
its
Palestinian
presence,
history
and
future.
For
more
information
see:
Civic
Coalition
for
the
Defense
of
Palestinian
Rights
in
Jerusalem
www.ccdprj.psBadil
report
"Displaced
by
the
Wall"
at:
http://www.badil.org/Publications/Books/Wall-Report.pdf
Anti-Apartheid
Wall
Campaign
fact
sheet
on
Jerusalem
and
the
Wall:
http://www.stopthewall.org/downloads/pdf/jerusalemfinal2.pdf
Final
Note
One
of
the
main
points
that
we
have
tried
to
get
across
with
the
Nakba-60
daily
press
release
series
from
Badil
and
Stop
the
Wall
has
been
that:
while
the
most
important
date
in
the
Palestinian
calendar,
today
15
May,
is a
commemoration
of
the
expulsion
of
over
750,000
Palestinians
from
their
homes
and
lands
sixty
years
ago,
the
Nakba
has
continued
until
the
present
day.
The
Nakba
continues
by
the
very
fact
that
the
refugees
of
1948
and
all
the
Palestinians
and
Arab
displaced
since
have
not
been
allowed
to
return
to
their
homes,
lands
and
properties
despite
the
numerous
international
legal
instruments
and
declarations
that
enshrine
the
refugees'
right
to
return.
The
horrific
plight
of
Palestinian
refugees
in
Iraq
and
Lebanon
shows
all
too
clearly
what
it
continues
to
mean
to
be a
Palestinian
refugee.
Another
aspect
of
the
ongoing
Nakba
is
Israel's
ongoing
displacement
of
Palestinians
throughout
historic
Palestine.
The
examples
of
Wallajeh,
Nu'man,
Bir'im,
Aqaba,
Jaffa,
Qassa,
Jreusalem
and
the
Palestinian
Bedouin
who
we
have
tried
to
convey
through
these
releases
are
only
some
of
the
hundreds
of
cases
of
ongoing
displacement
that
Palestinians
face
today.
We
encourage
you
to
continue
to
educate
yourselves
and
those
around
you
about
Israel's
policies
and
practices
of
colonialism,
apartheid
and
occupation;
about
the
support
for
Israel
provided
by
the
institutions
and
governments
to
which
you
belong;
and
about
finding
creative
ways
to
end
that
support
until
these
policies
and
practices
stop.
We
provide
the
following
background
resources
as a
starting
point.
Background
Resources:
l
For
resources
on
the
history
of
the
Nakba,
information
about
Palestinian
refugees,
and
their
right
of
return
under
international
law,
see
the
Nakba-60
Resources
Info-Packet
at:
http://www.badil.org/Publications/badil-nakba-60-info-packet/index.html
l
For
information
about
selected
cases
of
ongoing
displacement,
please
visit:
http://www.stopthewall.org/activistresources/1583.shtml
l
For
information,
resources
and
links
to
organizations
working
on
the
growing
campaign
for
Boycotts,
Divestment
and
Sanctions
on
Israel
until
it
dismantles
its
military
occupation's
colonial
apartheid
system
in
the
West
Bank,
Gaza
and
Golan
Heights;
ends
systematic
discrimination
against
its
Palestinian
citizens;
and
implements
the
Palestinian
refugees'
right
to
return
to
their
homes
and
properties,
please
visit
the
website
of
the
Boycott
Divestment
Sanctions
Campaign
National
Committee
(BNC):
http://www.bdsmovement.net
-------------------------------------
For
more
information,
please
contact:
Palestinian
Grassroots
Anti-Apartheid
Wall
Campaign
Email:
global@stopthewall.org,
Tel.:
+972-2-297-1505
Badil
Centre
for
Palestinian
Refugee
&
Residency
Rights:
Email:
mediaenglish@badil.org,
Tel.:
+972-2-277-7086
*The
week’s
events
coordinated
by
the
National
Committee
to
Commemorate
the
Nakba.
The
National
Committee
represents
national
movements
and
networks,
including
the
Council
of
National
and
Islamic
forces,
the
Global
Palestine
Right-of-Return
Coalition,
the
Popular
Committees
and
youth
centers
of
the
refugee
camps
all
over
Palestine,
the
Anti-Apartheid
Wall
Campaign,
Badil
Center
for
Palestinian
Residency
and
Refugee
Rights,
Palestinian
NGO
Network
(PNGO),
the
Civic
Coalition
for
the
Defense
of
Palestinian
Rights
in
Jerusalem
and
the
PLO
Department
for
Refugee
Affairs
(DORA). |
