Today, there is a Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration at American University. Complete with "Israeli delicacies" such as hummus and falafel, the event sought to celebrate the creation of the State of Israel and what she stands for.
Unfortunately, as with previous Yom Ha'atzmaut celebrations at American University, an important element regarding Israel's creation will not be mentioned: the Palestinian refugees of 1948.
There will be no discussion of the force expulsion of 50,000 to 70,000 Palestinians from Ramle and Lydda, or the massacre of Deir Yassin. There will be no mention of the acts of terrorism conducted by Zionist militias such as Lehi and Irgun, whom the State of Israel has since glorified as "freedom fighters." No one will talk about the inconvenient fact that with the creation of Israel, 400 Palestinian villages were demolished, and the 700,000 Palestinian refugees that were expelled and unable to return. While any members of the Jewish diaspora can obtain Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return, these Palestinian refugees and their descendants found themselves longing for a homeland that is no longer theirs.
That is what the creation of Israel means for the Palestinians: the creation of a settler-colonialist society that privileges the Jewish settlers over the native Palestinians, the creation of a state that, to this day, still sought to maximize Jewish land-ownership while continuing to deprive resources for Palestinians. The Palestinian Catastrophe isn't a one-time event that happened in the past in 1948; it is ongoing, showing its ugly face in every Palestinian homes demolished, or in the checkpoint designed to keep the Palestinians into bantustans.
No, settler-colonialism should not be celebrated, nor ethnic cleansing glorified. Celebrating the creation of a settler-colonialist entity without acknowledging and rectifying the past is akin to putting salt on this historical wound. One can choose to ignore these "inconveniences" and Palestinian suffering, but for the Palestinians and their descendants, the occasion will always be Yom An-Nakba.
Unfortunately, as with previous Yom Ha'atzmaut celebrations at American University, an important element regarding Israel's creation will not be mentioned: the Palestinian refugees of 1948.
There will be no discussion of the force expulsion of 50,000 to 70,000 Palestinians from Ramle and Lydda, or the massacre of Deir Yassin. There will be no mention of the acts of terrorism conducted by Zionist militias such as Lehi and Irgun, whom the State of Israel has since glorified as "freedom fighters." No one will talk about the inconvenient fact that with the creation of Israel, 400 Palestinian villages were demolished, and the 700,000 Palestinian refugees that were expelled and unable to return. While any members of the Jewish diaspora can obtain Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return, these Palestinian refugees and their descendants found themselves longing for a homeland that is no longer theirs.
That is what the creation of Israel means for the Palestinians: the creation of a settler-colonialist society that privileges the Jewish settlers over the native Palestinians, the creation of a state that, to this day, still sought to maximize Jewish land-ownership while continuing to deprive resources for Palestinians. The Palestinian Catastrophe isn't a one-time event that happened in the past in 1948; it is ongoing, showing its ugly face in every Palestinian homes demolished, or in the checkpoint designed to keep the Palestinians into bantustans.
No, settler-colonialism should not be celebrated, nor ethnic cleansing glorified. Celebrating the creation of a settler-colonialist entity without acknowledging and rectifying the past is akin to putting salt on this historical wound. One can choose to ignore these "inconveniences" and Palestinian suffering, but for the Palestinians and their descendants, the occasion will always be Yom An-Nakba.
