May 15th marks 70 years since the start of the Nakba (‘The Catastrophe’ in Arabic)
Prior to 1948 Jewish people were citizens of Palestine, a thriving homeland where the Arab population was more than double that of the Jewish inhabitants at this time.
The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 came at a huge cost to the local indigenous Arab population with over 750 000 being made refugees, more than 400 villages destroyed or repopulated with Jewish settlements and numerous massacres committed. Today around 6.5 million Palestinian refugees are still waiting their right of return.
The website Palestine Remembered is an excellent resource of information about the history of each village and city, both before and after 1948, along with accounts of the atrocities that occurred, among other insights.
To mark this commemoration, numerous gatherings are occurring all over Australia. Please see this list of events that APAN has compiled:
| Adelaide 10 May, 6pm, Book Launch with Ramzy Baroud, Part of the SA History Festival, Rob Roy Hotel 15 May, 5pm, Nakba Commemoration, Parliament House steps Brisbane 14 May, 6.30pm, Parliamentary Friends of Palestine, Commemoration of Al Nakba, QLD Parliament 15 May, 5.30pm, Nakba Commemoration, King George Square Canberra 19 May, 1pm, Protest for Palestine: 70 years of Nakba, Garema Place Hobart 15 May, 5.30pm, 70 years of Nakba, Parliamentary Lawns, Hobart Melbourne 14 May, 6.30pm, Book Launch: A Palestinian Story, Ramzy Baroud with Sara Saba, Readings, St Kilda 15 May, 9.30-1.30pm, Vigil in Commemoration, State Library, Melbourne 19 May, 12pm, 70 years of Nakba – Protest, State Library Perth: 19 May, 11am, 70 years of the Nakba: Stand with Palestine, Yagan Square Sydney/NSW: 15 May, 1pm, Lecture: The Last Earth, A Palestinian Story, University of Sydney 15 May, 6.30pm, Protest for Palestine: 70 years of Nakba, Sydney Town Hall 16 May, 6.30pm, Commemorating 70 years of Nakba, NSW Parliament |
The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story – by Ramzy Baroud“The Last Earth is a non-fictional narrative of modern Palestinian history. It is a unique rendition of people’s history – an account of how major historic events in Palestine and the greater Middle East impacted ordinary people, as well as how that mass of people, in their tenacity, and even in their dispossession, represent a force that determines history.” Tour details: |
