Seventy-eight years have passed, yet the memory remains vivid. Palestinians in their homeland and in the diaspora still recall the devastating impact of the Nakba, the term coined by the Syrian historian Constantine Zurayk to describe the catastrophic events of 1948, the day they lost their most precious possessions.
Palestinians commemorate this anniversary each in their own way and according to their circumstances, but many unite around the historical narrative, clinging to it and to the key of return.
Despite the war of extermination, the policies of intimidation and erasure, and the imposition of facts—indeed, because of them—Palestinians in their homeland and in refugee camps understand, more than ever, that whoever possesses the narrative of their land possesses it.
Therefore, the anniversary witnessed numerous events, all stemming from a single goal: the desire and the necessity to transmit the historical narrative and to shatter the Zionist assumption that the old will die and the young will forget.
Inside the “belly of the whale,” in the 1948 territories, Palestinians inside Israel commemorate the Nakba in conjunction with Israel’s celebration of “Independence Day,” and not on the general Palestinian commemoration date in mid-May, the date of the departure of the British Mandate and the establishment of the Jewish state.
Every year, Palestinians in Israel commemorate the Nakba under the banner "Your Independence Day is Our Nakba," in an effort to collectively distance themselves from their own independence day and reaffirm their Palestinian identity. This is what they did about three weeks ago.
Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 and their subsequent disregard for their plight, Palestinians in Israel have organized a popular march known as the "Great March of Return." This march, which draws large crowds, features participants carrying the names of some 520 Palestinian towns and villages destroyed by Zionism and Israel, and culminates in a political and artistic festival and a series of national cultural events.
This year, due to Israeli pressure and the refusal to grant a permit for the "March of Return" under the pretext of war, the Committee for the Defense of the Displaced within the 1948 Territories limited itself to a "digital March of Return" and sporadic visits by members of the community to the depopulated villages. Nevertheless, various groups of Palestinians within Israel commemorated the Nakba in different ways, most notably through community visits to destroyed villages in the Galilee, Carmel, and the coastal region.
In the depopulated village of Hittin, in the Tiberias district, as on this day decades ago, dozens of the remaining "Hatttinites" (those who remain in their homeland as refugees, i.e., displaced persons) gathered in the courtyard of the historic mosque that survived the demolition, and beside the village spring, which still flows with clear water and memories.
Many of them gathered around Sheikh Mahmoud Rabah Abu Shawqi, 89, listening to his account of his birthplace before he and his family were uprooted, and the beginning of their long exile to Tripoli, and then their settlement in the village of Arraba al-Batouf in the Galilee, after he and his relatives infiltrated across the border, returning from a year-long exile.
Upon arriving in Hittin, Sheikh Abu Shawqi washed his face with water from the spring, then sat on a chair beside the flowing stream, reminiscing about life in Hittin.
He spoke of its abundant water, pointing to the “Al-Uyun” spring, the most plentiful spring in Hittin, located near the shrine of the Prophet Shu’ayb. He explained that the water used to spring from the mountainside, next to a cement well, saying, “We used to bathe in it, and it would flow into a stone basin called a ‘ran,’ running towards the town summer and winter. The women of Hittin would come to it because of the purity and cleanliness of its water.”
Beyond this spring lies the Al-Muntar area, and to its north, the Al-Safah area, both mountainous regions planted with olive groves, and at their summits stand the two hills of Hittin. He also explains that the waters of the “Al-Ayoun” spring reached the town’s farms, orchards, and winter and summer crops, where they grew vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, jute mallow, radishes, lettuce, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini, squash, spinach, and others, in addition to apricot, apple, jujube, grape, almond, mulberry, fig, pomegranate, and walnut orchards. All of this met the town’s needs, and the surplus was exported to the markets in Tiberias.
We returned from exile
Regarding the return after a painful and arduous Sheikh Mahmoud Rabah Abu Shawqi, after taking a deep breath and gathering his strength, told “We returned from Lebanon to Palestine in May 1949, taking the same route. We spent the night in Rmeish, waiting for a signal from our guide to cross the border. We continued running until we reached a spring at the edge of Wadi al-Dhiban, opposite Harfish, at sunrise. We arrived in Beit Jann, where we rested and had lunch with our friends from the Abu Hayya family. After walking day and night, we reached the village of Deir Hanna in the evening. I was carrying a water jug that had been brought with us from Hittin to Lebanon, and from there to Arraba al-Batouf, where we chose to settle because of its proximity to Hittin.”
In response to a question, he said: “All the waters of Lake Tiberias will not extinguish the fire of longing I feel for my childhood and youth in Hittin, and I will not accept any homeland other than Hittin anywhere in the world.”
In addition to dozens of similar visits to the towns of Saffuriya, Ma'alul, al-Mujaydil, al-Shajara, Faradiya, al-Kuwaykat, Umm al-Faraj, and many others, student movements at Tel Aviv University, built on the ruins of the depopulated Palestinian village of Sheikh Munis, commemorated the 78th anniversary of the Nakba two days ago at the university's entrances, affirming their commitment to the Palestinian narrative, the right to self-determination, and the right of return. Meanwhile, a number of far-right Israelis demonstrated, coinciding with the commemoration by Palestinian Arab students at the university.
We will not forget and we will not forgive
During the ceremony, students Lara Abriq Nasra and Reem Ahmoud spoke about the stories of their grandparents who were displaced from the villages of Al-Kuwaykat and Ma'alul, and about their enduring connection to these villages despite the passage of time, more than 78 years after the Nakba.
Reem Ahmoud stated that the Nakba commemoration is a tradition that students are keen to uphold annually, despite all attempts to erase and intimidate them. She added that the students' presence and their commitment to preserving these ceremonies are important and necessary, and that there is a need for all students to participate in such activities.
The Arab Culture Association also organized a seminar at its headquarters in Haifa on "The Ongoing Nakba" and displacement policies, as part of the Return Week events. Researchers Adel Manna' and Mansour Al-Nassasra participated, and the seminar was attended by a large number of students and other interested individuals.
Remember the victim's duty
For his part, Dr. Jamal Zahalka, head of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, told Al-Quds Al-Arabi that Palestinians will not forget, because remembering the victims and the suffering of the oppressed is a moral obligation, and they will not forgive, because the Nakba continues and the crimes persist without end.
Zahalka added: “On the anniversary of the Nakba, our people renew their pledge to continue the struggle to rectify the historical injustice inflicted upon the Palestinian people. On this day, we say that the time has come to achieve justice in our beloved land. On the anniversary of the Nakba, we reaffirm: We will not forget and we will not forgive.”
