Factsheet by The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) — General Facts & Figures The Palestinian “Nakba” (“catastrophe” in Arabic) refers to the mass expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from British Mandate Palestine during Israel’s creation (1947–49). The Nakba was not an unintended result of war. It was a deliberate and systematic act necessary for the creation of a Jewish majority state in historic Palestine…

Jewish feminists celebrated the fact that Yael Sherer, a brave activist fighting violence against women, lit a torch on Independence Day. But as a Palestinian and feminist, for whom this day is a reminder of the Nakba, this event tore my heart — By Samah Salaime • 7 May 2022 (Translated from Hebrew by Sol Salbe) For all Palestinians, the Independence Day celebrations of the State of Israel are an ongoing ceremony of pouring salt on the Nakba’s wounds.

As Palestinians mark the 74th anniversary of the #Nakba, we should take a moment to debunk one of the most enduring myths surrounding the 1948 war — (Excerpt from Haaretz article, May. 3, 2022) By Seraj Assi In a time-honored fable perpetuated by both Arabs and Israelis alike, the war is depicted as an epic battle between a Jewish David and an Arab Goliath. This is the sheer mythologizing of history.

By Avigdor Feldman (Translated from Hebrew Haaretz by Sol Salbe) Me and lawyers Michael Sfard, Dan Yakir and Hassan Jabareen [Adalah] were chosen by Baron Munchausen, the Honorary President of the Red Cross, to be sent to Ukraine and find out if the warring parties are complying with the humanitarian…

Almost all those who rose up and were alarmed at the Minister of the Interior’s behaviour towards the refugees from Ukraine did not attack the essence of Israel’s policy. The source of this sheer evil doesn’t lie in Shaked but in the “Law of Return” — By Kobi Niv • (Translated by Sol Salbe) How good and soothing is it that we do have that fascist insensitive Ayelet Shaked, upon which one can hang the wickedness of Zionism and smear our faeces as if she is the stinking one and not, God forbid, us, eh?

There is a lively and emotional debate on the “question of Ukrainian refugees”, for and against. • It is somewhat ironic that the 1951 Refugee Convention was an initiative of the young state of Israel, a few years after it expelled hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and did not allow them to return. — By Hanin Majadli • (Translated from Hebrew by Sol Salbe) Never again, the world stood aside, like a sheep to the slaughter, the world closed its gates to Jewish refugees; these and other heart-string-tagging slogans will be the lot of the citizens of Israel even on this Holocaust Remembrance and…

(It takes a Palestinian to explain: The Israelis are not being hypocritical; the situation is worse.) — By Hanin Majadele (Translated by Sol Salbe)* A rare spectacle happened this week: Israeli Jews came out against the occupation, thinking that Molotov cocktails were sexy, that a soldier who blew himself up was a hero, that popular resistance was something to be appreciated. In a demonstration of tens of…

There is no significant difference between Putin’s attitude towards Ukraine and Israel’s attitude towards the West Bank and East Jerusalem. — Rogel Alpher (Translated from Hebrew Haaretz by Sol Salbe) Donald Trump is not alone in his admiration for Vladimir Putin. “Genius”, was the term he used in an interview when describing the moves of the Russian president in an interview. “How clever it is,” he marvelled. Since most Israelis adore…

Because that’s how it is in our eyes, the Jews — we are human beings, and the Palestinians are not. And until we understand that they too are human beings, we will not be human beings either. — By Kobi Niv (Translated from Hebrew by Sol Salbe) In almost every country in the world, when cops or soldiers grab an 80-year-old elderly person who’s not suspected of anything, cuff them, tape their mouth and toss them in some freezing cold hole thus causing its death — it is…