Century Long Struggle for Justice
4 days ago, numerous news channels recorded thousands of Americans participating in the most recent, peaceful protest to end the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, which took place in front of the White House. To understand this genocide, we have to understand at least 76 years of war, when the first Nakba occurred.
What is the Nakba of 1948?
Nakba: “The Catastrophe” also known as “The Arabic term for events of 1948, when many Palestinians were displaced from their homeland by the creation of the new state of “Israel”.
Colonization of Palestine
Al-Jazeera has been tracking and recording the events between the Palestinians and Zionists.
The first Nakba, of 1948, against the Palestinians came with 149 years of prejudice, racism, apartheid, violence and discrimination.
It began when Napoleon Bonaparte offered the Ottoman controlled Palestine as an offering to the European Jews in 1799, writing to them to stand up against their “oppressors”. Even though Napoleon's plan failed, Great Britain revisited the idea 40 years later in 1839.
For the next 83 years, the British government worked with the Zionists to slowly colonize Palestine by driving out, imprisoning, and murdering its inhabitants.
From 1922 to 1947, the Zionists claimed Palestine as theirs.
From 1947 to 1949 the remaining Palestinians protested and made attempts to take back their homeland. In return, the Zionists murdered over 15,000 Palestinians, displacing at least 750,000 more, stealing 78 percent of Palestine, and destroying 530 villages.
October 7 to Present Day.
Reuters reports that since October 7, “Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza has killed more than 35,000 people”, and 2.3 million Palestinians have been driven from their homes and camps through ethnic cleansing.
Gaza's government adds that of the 35,000+ identifiable deaths, about 15,000 of them were children.
Al-Jazeera also states that 17,000 more have become orphans, and 8,000 more have been diagnosed with malnutrition due to Israeli blockage, after just 250 days of the genocide.
The CCC has stated that from Oct. 7 to May 30, they have “logged more than 3,7000 days with protest activity at 535 different colleges, universities, K-12 schools, and school district offices across 317 different U.S. cities and towns.”
How does joining these protests relate to social justice?
The political definition of social justice is “the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political, and social rights opportunities.” Those that attend protests for Palestine know that no matter where in the world a person is, they have an inherited right to these opportunities. There are plentiful organizations, group chats, and websites planning constant protests. Joining any of them or listening to any new events are the best ways.
Works Cited
"Al Nakba." Palestine Remix, Al Jazeera, remix.aljazeera.com/stories/al-nakba.
“How Jews first migrated to Palestine, and how Israel was born." Al Jazeera, www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/5/10/how-jews-first-migrated-to-palestine-and-how-israel-was-born.
"Nakba Day: What happened in Palestine in 1948?" Al Jazeera, www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/15/nakba-day-what-happened-in-palestine-in-1948.
"British Palestine (1917-1948)." Al Jazeera, www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/14/british-palestine-1917-1948.
"The Nakba did not start or end in 1948." Al Jazeera, www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/15/the-nakba-did-not-start-or-end-in-1948.
"Gaza death toll: how many Palestinians has Israel's campaign killed." Al Jazeera, www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/14/gaza-death-toll-how-many-palestinians-has-israels-campaign-killed.
"Israel’s war on Gaza live: 5,698 violations against children by Israel – UN." Al Jazeera, www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/14/israels-war-on-gaza-live-5698-violations-against-children-by-israel-un.
"Crowd Counting Consortium: An Empirical Overview of Recent Pro-Palestine Protests at U.S. Schools." Al Jazeera, www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/14/crowd-counting-consortium-an-empirical-overview-of-recent-pro-palestine-protests-at-u-s-schools.
