Saturday 5 May 2012

On Nakba Remembrance: “Israel” Hiding its Dirty Washing in the Closet

Soumaya Saleh



Once again, "Israel" has not failed in screening the double standards of its mere existence. While celebrations were being held and planned across the occupied Palestinian land in commemoration of the illusory "Independence day", or more legitimately "Nakba", activists were being locked up away from the public.


The occupying police forces prohibited members of the left-wing Non-Government Organization "Zochrot" from leaving a building in Tel Aviv on the night before the celebration of the Palestinian displacement.

The activists were meant to be distributing pamphlets to inform the public of the truth behind the façade of their "Independence". The leaflets were printed in Arabic, Hebrew, and English conveying the story of Nakba Day 64 years ago on a land that cries for freedom.

The group's offices were subjugated by occupying police forces, which barred the doors, leaving the activists under this seizure for hours during a celebration in Tel Aviv's Rabin square, where they were initially meant to distribute the flyers, in protest of the celebration.

"As we were about to step out of the offices, at around 10:30 P.M., we discovered, to our dismay, that the police were already surrounding the building and had closed all the exits." Explained the NGO's director general Liat Rosenberg.

He further added "The senior police staff at the scene made it clear that they were determined not to allow us to 'disrupt public order,' and so did not permit us to leave the premises".

The activists would apparently be allowed to leave the building, provided that they surrender the material, display their identification, and agree to be searched and questioned.

According to "Israeli" news site "Haaretz", three NGO members were arrested, including Yuval Halprin, who wasn't inside the building, but who chose to read out the names of Palestinian villages in central "Israel" from outside the offices.

In the views of the "Association for Civil Rights in Israel", the police actions had "no legal grounds". Typically, considering the entire Zionist entity has no legal grounds!

The police issued a statement claiming that "The police did not allow the protesters to reach the central event, display signs and create provocation, but did allow them to protest in an area far away from the central Independence Day event. Three protesters that caused a disturbance were arrested on suspicion for disrupting the peace."

Palestine before 1948
One wonders what a mother tells her child about the meaning of this celebration when asked, as children do naturally. Does she explain the dispossession of Palestinian homes and lands? Does she tell of a history prior to 1948? Does she tell him that the place which he calls home was stolen from a child like himself, who also calls it home, but has been left with no home, and no right to a home?!
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
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