Nakba Catastrophe Remembered in Sacramento
By Ras H. Siddiqui
A unique event was held in downtown Sacramento, California on Wednesday, May 15, 2018 to remember the catastrophe (Nakba) that converted the residents of Palestine 70 years ago into refugees. This protest was sponsored by various organizations, including Act Now to Stop War and End Racism - ANSWER Coalition, Student for Justice in Palestine - UC Davis, Sacramento Area Peace Action, Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Human Rights and the Palestinian American League.
The event was joined by Code Pink and quite a large contingent from the Jewish Voice for Peace organization. It would be fair to report that the Palestinian and Muslim representation was in minority here.
This protest rally was not large by any means but it was vocal and quite visible. One cannot overlook the fact that it was being held against the backdrop of fresh military action against protestors in Gaza recently where 60 people, including children,were killed.
I spoke with one member of the Jewish Voice for Peace organization and asked her why she was here. She said that she supports the Palestinians and their human rights and that her group has been working in Sacramento for about 10 years and the situation is as bad as it has ever been. She added that in terms of the killing of non-violent protesters, if that was to happen in the USA, it would be intolerable. But in Israel it seems that the army can do what they want to an unarmed people. This is terrible, tragic and very sad. But why do American Jews want to stand with Palestinians, I asked? Because Jewish values are not that of the Israeli government, she said.
I also talked with a spokesman from the ANSWER Coalition who said that they were here once again to condemn the actions against the Palestinian people. We saw a massacre yesterday which they are trying to call “deadly clashes,” he said. It wasn’t clashes. It was peaceful protesters demanding their human rights, demanding that Israel follow international law and comply with the UN Resolutions which have been around since 1949. Pressed further, the spokesman said that ANSWER stands with the oppressed people, no matter where they are from, but we look up to the Palestinian people for their struggle and for their heroic resistance.
And, finally, a member of the local Palestinian American League explained to this writer how the situation had become intolerable for people in the occupied territories (West Bank and Gaza) and why Americans should not side with a land grab and displacement. He spoke of the number of groups who came out in support at this event because people know what is right and what is wrong.
To conclude, nobody was asking for the destruction of the state of Israel here at this protest. What attracted this writer to the event was an invitation from a friend and recent images of a David versus Goliath struggle (ironically) between an abandoned and marginalized people against a vastly superior military force. The Palestinians are not waging war. All they are calling for is the implementation of some human decency and fairness in a scenario where their rights are being denied and their ancestral land and property is being slowly taken over.
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