First and Second Nakba
by Jonathan Kuttab
On May 15, Palestinians commemorate their initial Nakba (“Catastrophe”) when the state of Israel was established over the larger part of their homeland in 1948.
The creation of the State of Israel required the expulsion and preventing the return of the majority of Palestinians along with the depopulation and destruction of around 530 villages, many of which were later destroyed specifically to prevent Palestinians from returning.
The myth perpetuated by Zionists is that the expulsion came about as a result of the war Arab countries initiated after the declaration of the state and that the refugees left on their own, at the instigation of the Arab Armies who ordered them to get out of the way in order to destroy the new Jewish state.
Historians, including Jewish Israeli historians, have thoroughly debunked this myth, but it continues to exist within Israeli hasbara (“propaganda”) and the apologetics of the Zionist movement: first, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian villages started in earnest long before the Arab armies intervened. Moreover, those armies largely limited their activities to the areas slated to remain in Arab hands according to the Partition resolution. The evidence clearly points to the fact that most Palestinian refugees were either forcibly expelled at gunpoint by the Jewish militias or fled in the panic, prompted by the Deir Yasin massacre and similar atrocities. Most importantly, the refugees were never allowed to return to their homes and land despite repeated UN Resolutions, particularly Resolution No. 194. Zionist apologists still claim that the return of these refugees would undermine the entire Zionist project and demographically threaten the Jewish character of the state.
For this reason, Palestinians speak of the ongoing Nakba, whereby the destruction of their national existence, the prevention of their return, the suppression of their identity, and the expansion of Jewish settlements has been necessary for the success of the Zionist project to establish a Jewish state atop Palestinian lands.
The massive destruction and genocidal behavior of Israel since October 7, 2023 has led many to declare that this is a second Nakba. The attempted expulsion of Gazans (2/3 of whom are refugees who lost their homes and lands in 1948) and the widespread destruction of their homes reminds many of the events of 1948. Reducing Gazans, yet again, to destitute masses living in tents and depending for their basic sustenance on the generosity and pity of the international community also reminds Palestinians today of their continued plight as they contemplate Israeli actions and pronouncements about Gaza and its future. The issues at play in this current round are exactly what they were during the First Nakba: a struggle over land and demography as two groups, with a massive power differential between them, view the struggle as an existential one.
So without in any way pretending there is any symmetry between the claims or rights of each group, the hard reality is that Jewish Israelis and Arab Palestinians are locked into an existential struggle which neither side can win. They must find a new formula to enable them to live and coexist together in all the land, between the river and the sea. It is not possible for one side to achieve “total victory” or to expect to live in peace and security while the other side grieves over its ongoing Nakba and other catastrophes.
Perhaps the real message of May 15 is that it is time to seek new paradigms that include rather than exclude the other, as we seek a path forward towards coexistence, equality, and peace instead of total victory and the domination of others.
(Kairos) A call for global Action and solidarity on Nakba Day
May 15th marks 76 years of the Nakba. Help us amplify the call of Kairos Palestine in their "Call for Global Action and Solidarity on Nakba Day". Read the full statement, implementing the calls to:
Churches
The International Community
Civil Society Groups, unions, and all other groups and individuals