Arab parliamentarian to lead a virtual tour marking Nakba Day

An Arab parliamentarian in Israel is to host a virtual tour of the city of Jaffa on Friday to mark the 72nd anniversary of the Nakba and the fall of the city to Zionist forces.

Sami Abu Shehadeh is a member of the National Democratic Assembly, one of the Joint List MKs in the Knesset.

Every year on 15 May, Palestinians mark the anniversary of the Nakba, or “catastrophe”, when hundreds of thousands were forced out of their homes or fled amid the fighting that accompanied the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

Abu Shehadeh has called on the Palestinian people to join his live link on Facebook entitled “Jaffa, a Memory that Protects the Future” to reinforce their collective memory and historical narrative on which the country’s future are based.

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In addition to the many hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were forced into exile, over 600 Palestinian villages and towns have since been razed to the ground in an effort to ensure that the people can never return to their homes. The right of return is a legitimate right for all refugees, not just the Palestinians.

The Jaffa activist and historian will guide the virtual tour that will start at three in the afternoon from the port of Jaffa and continue through to the Old City.

According to Arab48, the tour will have three main axes: the modern history of Jaffa, the rise of the city as an economic and political cultural centre, and the events of the Nakba in Jaffa.

The 72nd anniversary of Nakba Day coincides with the middle of Ramadan this year.

However, only a limited number of participants will be able to be present in person due to the limits imposed by the Israeli Ministry of Health to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Attendance is possible by pre-registration via the following link: https://tinyurl.com/yb7t3wnn