Israeli Nakba Denial

by Sheila Musaji

A recent article on Reuters entitled Israel bans “catastrophe” term from Arab schools caught my attention.  Why is the term Nakba so alarming to the Israeli’s.  The Nakba or day of catastrophe is commemorated by Palestinians on May 15th each year.  This latest attempt to deny the Nakba follows a number of other even more repressive attempts at the same goal including making the commemoration of the Nakba illegal.

In an article Criminalizing commemoration of Al Nakba within current Israeli boundaries  it is reported that: “Israeli Knesset member Alex Miller (Yisrael Beiteinu) submitted a proposal of legislation that would criminalize commemoration of the Nakba. According to this law Palestinian citizens in Israel will be punished with jail terms of up to three years for commemorating their “catastrophe”...”

As Gilad Atzmon has pointed out in his article For God’s sake, Let them be Sad:  “As part of their racist campaign against the indigenous Palestinians, Israeli lawmakers are now insisting upon making the commemoration of the Nakba illegal. Recently a number of Israeli cabinet and Knesset Members proposed a “draft law” that would criminalize the remembrance of 1948 Palestinian holocaust (Nakba) by Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship. Interestingly enough, the Jewish state that sets its raison d’être around the remembrance of Jewish suffering is attempting to ban Palestinians from doing exactly the same with their own.”

SEE ALSO:

Arabs slam bill to criminalize ‘nakba’, Brenda Gazzar http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1242212397013&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Israeli Bill Would Jail Any Arabs Who Commemorate Nakba, Jason Ditz http://news.antiwar.com/2009/05/24/israeli-bill-would-jail-any-arabs-who-commemorate-nakba/  “A bill put forth by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party to ban Nakba commemorations came closer to becoming law today, as the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved the proposal. The bill must now be brought to the Knesset (Israeli parliament) for a vote.”

Israeli Foreign Minister’s Party Proposes Ban on Arab Mourning,  Jeremy R. Hammond http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2009/05/15/israeli-foreign-minister%E2%80%99s-party-proposes-ban-on-arab-mourning/

Stop the Press! This is what Israeli Democracy Looks Like, Nima Shirazi http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/05/19/nima-shirazi-stop-the-press-this-is-what-israeli-democracy-looks-like/