Marking the 77th Anniversary of the Nakba

Nakba Day, annually commemorated on May 15, marks the displacement of over 700,000 Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The term “Nakba” translates to “catastrophe” in Arabic. The day is a remembrance of the mass displacement of Palestinians and the destruction of their homeland. It is also a day to assert the Palestinian right of return.

The Nakba: The 1948 Palestinian Expulsion

During the 1948 Nakba, Israel destroyed or depopulated more than 500 Palestinian towns and villages. Some villages were razed to the ground, while others were rendered uninhabitable. Israeli forces systematically demolished Palestinian homes, often after expelling the inhabitants, and engaged in widespread looting of property, businesses, and even cultural artifacts. Entire Palestinian towns were depopulated, and over 700,000 Palestinians were exiled from their homes to make room for Jewish immigrants who arrived from all corners of the globe. The destruction of homes and displacement caused immense suffering, and the issue of Palestinian refugees and their right to return remains a core element of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Lifta, Palestine: A Testament to the Nakba

Before the Nakba, the village of Lifta, Palestine, had orchards, several olive presses, a winepress, a modern clinic, two coffeehouses, two carpentry shops, barbershops, a butcher, and a mosque. Its population was about 3,000. Most were Muslims, a few were Christians, and a small number were Jewish, all living side by side peacefully. About 10,000 dunams around Lifta were planted with grain, vegetables, and fruit, including olives and grapes. 

On Dec. 28, 1947, a Jewish militia launched a machine-gun and grenade assault on a cafe in Lifta. The militia blew up 20 buildings, put the village under siege, and expelled Palestinian Arab inhabitants. Jewish immigrants repopulated the abandoned village.

No Other Land: Bringing Attention to the Genocide in Palestine

On March 2, 2025, “No Other Land” won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. The documentary primarily takes place in Masafer Yatta, a collection of 20 Palestinian villages in the southern occupied West Bank. The film’s co-directors, Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, spent five years making the film, which shows Israeli soldiers tearing down homes and evicting residents to create a military training ground and the encroachment of Jewish settlers on the Palestinian community. 

Palestine Today: The Nakba Continues

Today, we are witnessing the Israeli apartheid regime carry out genocide in Gaza.  

• Much of the Gaza Strip has been destroyed after more than 15 months of relentless Israeli bombings, leaving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians with nowhere to live.
• There has been a reported rise in the demolition of Palestinian residences in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
• Sources suggest that demolitions are linked to settlement expansion, aiming to clear areas of Palestinian presence.
• Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups have been fighting the Gaza war in the Gaza Strip and Israel since Oct. 7, 2023. It is the fifteenth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict, and it continues the Middle Eastern crisis. The first day was the deadliest in Israel’s history. The war is the most fatal for Palestinians in the history of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

We call on everyone to transcend the anguish and horrors wrought upon civilians by the current conflict in Gaza and reaffirm our collective commitment to the Charter of the United Nations and international law. You can:

• Demand that the US stop arming Israel. 
• Demand immediate and uncompromising action to stop the mass starvation and slaughter unfolding in Gaza. 
• Act now to protect student activists against deportation and attack.
• Tweet at the Media: Do your jobs. Report that Israel is continuing its genocide.