Quick History: Remembering the Nakba

May 15th is the Nakba, or the catastrophe, which refers to the creation of the state of Israel within Palestine and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians that ensued. In 1948, the British Mandate in Palestine expired, which triggered the establishment of the State of Israel and the first Arab-Israeli war.

For Palestinians, the Nakba was not just a single day. Rather, the Nakba has continued for the past seventy-six years. Six million Palestinian refugees live throughout the territory as well as in neighboring countries. On this day, we solemnly remember the Nakba, and look forward to visions of a free Palestine.

Goldsmith University Student Movement

A Reflection by Annabell Knapp

Student's 5-week occupation of Stuart Hall at Goldsmith University in London. (Photo credits: Annabell Knapp)

Student movements are the way. Since organizing with other students around Palestine over the past few months, it is obvious to me that student movements help build momentum and bring the first rounds of change needed to fight back against oppressors. It is also from these movements that I found that we must take extreme direct action for this change to happen. For months before Goldsmiths for Palestine's (G4P) first occupation, the students of Goldsmiths, University of London, held rallies and protests demanding that our university to divest and call out the Israeli government's genocide against the Palestinian people, but it wasn't until we went into an occupation that they would sit down and meet with us. After weeks of them pulling us along, we were forced to go into a flash encampment in the library, and it is from this we were able to get our senior management team to release commitments saying that they would meet our demands. This is a major victory for us and all student movements, showing it is possible to do so! This is only the first step in cutting off support and funding to the Israeli government, and as student movements grow globally, hopefully, more university, companies, and governments will end their complicity in this genocide.  Participating in my uni's student movement has reminded me that nonviolent action is not linear and often requires us to repeat steps and return to the drawing board. This is a major theme throughout KNV and becomes extremely clear in practice. I often referred to the six steps and the principles of KNV during my time in occupation and now as we continue to try to work with our senior management. This has been very useful for me as we negotiate and plan other direct actions. it has also been nice to have a community of passionate activists again, which reminds me of my time as an OEP intern and fellow, which has been incredibly welcoming. it is in spaces like OEP and G4P that remind me that when we care for each other and work together, we can make change happen, and it has been really exciting to experience this and now watch other students get to experience this as well. I am hoping that from the student movements for Palestine happening globally, we will be able to see a free Palestine in our lifetime. 

Students at Goldsmith University list their demands for the school during their 5-week occupation. You can read the university's commitments to their students' demands here. (Photo credits: Annabell Knapp)

Find an Action Event Near You

Online

Event: Jewish Voice for Peace Power Half-Hour for Gaza

Date: Daily at 3:00 pm EST

Description: We’re still here and growing in numbers! Join us every weekday at 12PT/3ET to channel grief into action. Bring a friend! We need all hands on deck now to act. Wherever you are, you are needed urgently now to act to stop the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

As we hold the devastation of the last 5 months of genocide, in which thousands of Palestinian lives have been lost, we are terrified and enraged. The U.S. government has continually sent weapons to the Israeli military as it wreaks one atrocity after the other in the over 2 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza. We must act together to demand a permanent ceasefire, an end to U.S. funding to Israel’s military, and a free Palestine.

Come to channel grief and fear into action to stop the bloodshed. All are welcome. All are needed. Register here.

Event: Mennonite Action Organizing Call

Date: May 23rd at 8:00 pm EST

Description: Join Mennonite Action's next mass call on May 23 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. Our monthly theme will be Land, Palestine, and Indigenous Solidarity, and will feature Sarah Augustine, Director of Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery. We'll gather in Beloved Community, and hear exciting updates about upcoming events and action with Mennonite Action. Nonviolence is the only path which will lead us towards the peace and safety which all of us deserve. Now is the time to get involved. Register here.

Event: Action Hour for a Ceasefire

Date: Every Friday at 12:00 pm EST

Description: Join AFSC staff every Friday at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT to hear updates from Gaza. Then, take action with us as we contact our elected officials and call for an immediate cease-fire and humanitarian access to Gaza. Our elected officials need to keep hearing from us. Register here.

Michigan

Event: People's Conference for Palestine

Date: May 24th-26th

Description: Join us in Detroit, Michigan from May 24-26 at Huntington Place for a three-day convening of organizations, collectives, movement leaders, community members, students and intellectuals, artists and cultural workers, and activists to reflect, exchange, and strengthen ourselves and our fight for a free Palestine. This moment calls on us to deepen our relationships, our strategies, our tactics, and our unity for the struggle ahead.

Through panels, workshops, exhibitions, and cultural performances, this conference will be an opportunity to come together and build upon this critical juncture in our struggle through education and advancing popular consciousness. Sign up to join here.

The Bay Area

Event: Flowers for Palestine

Date: May 12th at 3:00 pm

Location: 3629 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Oakland CA

Description: Flowers For Palestine pop-up market happening at Eli's Mile High Club on May 12th. The pop-up market will feature a mix of different vendors, it will have something for everyone! We will be raffling off prize packs throughout the market, with all proceeds going to fund mutual aid for Gaza. Find more information here.

Southern California

Event: Peace Vigil for Palestine

Date: Every Saturday at 12:00 pm

Location: The plaza corner of Sunset Cliffs Blvd. and W. Point Loma Blvd., entry to Ocean Beach, San Diego, CA

Description: Find more information here.

New York

Event: Palestine Rally

Date:  Every weekday at 5:00 pm and Saturdays at 12:00 pm

Location: Muller Plaza

Event: Palestine Rally

Date: May 1st at 4:00 pm

Location: Union Square

Event: Visions of a Free Palestine

Date:  

Wednesday, May 1: Film Screening (Doors Open 6 PM)

Thursday, May 2: Private Endorser + Artists Event (Invite Only)

Friday, May 3: Open to public from 12 PM – 5 PM | Poetry Night (Doors Open 6 PM)

Saturday, May 4: Open to public from 10 AM – 5 PM | Student Organizers Night (Doors Open 6 PM)

Sunday, May 5: Open to the public from 10 AM – 5 PM

Location: Location details are private and will be sent along with your ticket purchase

Description: NEW YORK! AN ART EXHIBITION + FUNDRAISER IS COMING TO YOU! Our event, Visions of a Free Palestine, from May 1 – May 5 will include days of open art exhibition with pieces from Palestinian, Jewish, and fellow supporters. All pieces will be virtually auctioned in Crown Heights! Come check out their amazing art, see a film, hear some poetry, and buy some merch! Proceeds support aid delivery and more advocacy work! Find more information here.

Know of an event that you don’t see featured? Let us know here.

Understanding Events in Palestine: April 1st-May 3rd

April 1st-April 7th

April 1st:  Israeli air strikes on a convoy kill seven aid workers for the World Central Kitchen charity. Following the strike, US-based Project Hope, and World Central Kitchen announced a pause in operations.

April 1st: Israeli forces have pulled out of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza following a two-week raid, leaving much of the medical complex destroyed. Hamas claims that the Israel Defense Forces killed 400 people in the compound.

April 6th: 100,000 people converged in Tel Aviv-Yafo protesting in support of the resignation of Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

April 7th: Israel pulled its ground troops out of Southern Gaza for tactical reasons. The decision is not believed to be a shift in strategy but rather was done to relieve reservists from the city of Khan Younis, which has been decimated by the IDF. About fifty-five percent of buildings in the city were destroyed.

April 8th-April 15th

April 9th-15th: Thirty-seven communities in the West Bank have been affected by Israeli settler violence. This is triple the amount of communities from the preceding week. 

April 10th: Last day of Ramadan/Eid al-Fitr

April 13th: Iran launched missiles at Israel in retaliation for an Israeli attack on its consulate in Syria. Over 300 drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles were fired at Israel. Most of these were shot down or intercepted with only one person injured. Analysts presume that the attack was perpetrated to send a message to Israel more than to cause harm.

April 15th: More than one million girls in Gaza are facing inhumane living conditions and health risks due to a lack of basic sanitation services and clean water.

April 14th, 15th, and 16th: For the first time in more than six months, three convoys from the World Food Programme crossed Erez Crossing into northern Gaza. The convoys delivered about 404 metric tons of food parcels and wheat flour to nearly 80,000 people. The destruction of roads and unexploded ordnance still pose a risk for humanitarian workers trying to deliver aid. Israel has additionally cleared only a very limited amount of trucks and drivers to deliver aid.

April 16th-April 23rd

April 17th: Columbia’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment is pitched. Students demand divestment and an end to Columbia’s complicity in genocide.

April 18th: The US vetoed a decision to grant Palestine full membership in the United Nations.

April 21st: Israeli strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight killing 22 people, including 18 children.

Week of the 21st: 270,000 tons of solid waste have accumulated across the Gaza Strip. The buildup of waste is creating a public health catastrophe. 

Week of the 21st: The six months of conflict in Gaza have disrupted vaccination cycles. Children's immunity to Hepatitis B, polio, and rotavirus is compromised.

Week of the 21st: Only three of the 11 hospitals still partially functioning across Gaza are providing maternal care: As Sahaba in northern Gaza, Al Awda in Deir al Balah, and Al Emirati in Rafah.

April 24th-May 3rd

April 24th: On Wednesday, Joe Biden enacted a $95 billion war aid bill, encompassing support for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Additionally, the legislation contains a stipulation mandating the sale or prohibition of the social media platform TikTok in the United States. The legislation will send $17 billion in wartime assistance to Israel and $9 billion in humanitarian relief to citizens of Gaza and other war-torn regions.

April 25th: Mass graves were found near two hospitals in Gaza. The bodies showed signs of torture and execution.

May 1st: Columbia University calls in New York City law enforcement. Police carrying riot shields storm a building occupied by the students and clear dozens of people from it, sweeping the encampment on the campus as well. Three hundred students were arrested.

May 1st: By now, over fifty universities and colleges have set up encampments to call for a ceasefire and divestment from Israel by their schools.

May 2nd: A delegation from Hamas is set to visit Egypt soon for further ceasefire talks, a statement by the group says.

May 2nd: Israel warned Biden that if the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, it will initiate a response against the Palestinian Authority that will lead to its collapse.

May 3rd: Israel has reportedly given Hamas one week to agree to a truce and prisoner-captive exchange deal. If Hamas does not agree, Israel threatens a ground invasion of Rafah. An invasion of Rafah would have serious implications for the functionality of the remaining hospitals in the area. An invasion of Rafah would also put the lives of hundreds of thousands of Gazans and undermine current humanitarian operations, which include medical clinics and food distribution.

May 3rd: The UN says rebuilding Gaza will cost as much as $40bn and require an effort on a scale that has not been seen since World War II.

Update on Haya’s GoFundMe

We want to take a brief moment to update you that Haya and her family have reached safety in Cairo, Egypt. We will have more information to follow, but want to extend our deepest gratitude for your support. To learn more or make a donation, visit the GoFundMe page.

Resources

US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Toolkit

Palestine Resource Guide

Fill out this form to tell your Representative to call for a ceasefire

Write your Representatives to stop using our tax dollars to fund illegal settlements

Get involved with Mennonite Action

Get involved with Christians for a Free Palestine

Anti semistism v. antizionism