S. African Jews in Lubya: We're here to acknowledge the Nakba

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

http://972mag.com/s-african-jews-in-lubya-were-here-to-acknowledge-the-nakba/106213/

In a forest glade set atop the remains of the destroyed Palestinian village of Lubya in the Lower Galilee, a delegation of South African Jews made a public apology to the descendants of refugees from Lubya and their families Friday evening.

The event, a joint initiative of the South African delegation and representatives of Lubya’s displaced persons, concerned the use of donations made by the South African Jewish community to the Jewish National Fund (JNF), which went toward planting the “South Africa Forest.” This forest is part of the larger Lavie Forest that covers what was once Lubya, which was depopulated on July 16-17, 1948. Kibbutz Lavie, founded in 1949, was also established on the lands of the former village.
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For the Palestinians and Israelis present, the event was symbolic of the process necessary for moving forward in the conflict. “We have no problem living with Jews in this country. We want coexistence [...] But coexistence here can only come after racism has ended,” said Wakim Wakim, the head of ADRID. Zochrot’s Amaya Galili reiterated the organization’s call for “the Jewish-Israeli public to take responsibility for the Palestinian Nakba, and to take an active part in redressing past wrongs.”

“We are here as Jewish South Africans to acknowledge that the Nakba took place … We cannot undo the past, but we commit to undoing ‘greening’ as an act of obliteration,” said Shereen Usdin, spokesperson for the South African delegation. South African Jews “understand the importance of joint struggle,” Usdin added, calling on “Jews around the world to come here and acknowledge the Nakba.”

[Little Tich]

1. The only way to move forward is to acknowledge the past.

Hopefully, the Nakba will be taught in Israeli schools, just like the Holocaust, and in the future, I hope the leaders of Israel will stand up and speak to the people on Nakba day, just like they do on Holocaust Remembrance day.

Israel, with warts and all, is still a pretty good place.

[oberliner]

2. Just like the Holocaust?

1. The Holocaust is not part of the curriculum in Palestinian schools.

2. The Nakba was not even remotely similar to the Holocaust in any respect.

[Little Tich]

3. It's not really a pissing contest.

Both the Holocaust and the Nakba are two very formative events for Israel, and without either, things would have looked very different. Both events are still enormously important for the people of Israel, and there are people all over the world that can trace their life history back to these events.

So, commemorating and teaching about both events makes sense to me.

What do you think about the OP?