Several years ago, I introduced the idea of a Nakba commemoration to
my progressive synagogue in Philadelphia. The response was a stunning
barometer of the work ahead. “It’s too bad the Nakba has to fall on
Israel Independence Day. That’s The Day for celebrating the Jewish
state. It’s not a day to talk about Palestinians.” Fast forward six
years: an orange flier neatly tucked inside this month’s synagogue
newsletter is headlined “Yom Ha’Atzma-ut al Naqba Commemoration” on
April 16, 2010.

The winds are shifting, but the sailing is by no means smooth. Just
yesterday attending a congregational bat mitzvah, I inadvertently seated
myself among the pro-Israel camp. Greetings were strained. I like these
people. Prior to my coming-out as an anti-Zionist, they liked me
too. Now I am seen as one of “those people” who insists on bringing up
the “N” word each year as we plan for Yom Ha’Atzmuut (Israel
Independence Day).

Like many Jews, even within the progressive community, my
co-congregants may know but refuse to talk about the “N” word. The
Nakba, or “catastrophe,” names the Palestinian experience in 1948.
Expulsion and transfer from their homes in historic Palestine allowed
for the creation of Israel as a Jewish state. Simply put, the Nakba was
and is the dark side of Jewish statehood. 

Nakbaphobia – Jewish fear of acknowledging and taking responsibility
for the irrefutable historical record of the Palestinian experience in
1948 – must be confronted. As victims of historic injustice, Jews
resist seeing ourselves as perpetrators and oppressors. Our
post-holocaust mantra “Never again,” has emboldened Israeli militarism
while numbing our senses, blinding much of the Jewish community to the
ethical tradition of Judaism as well as the humanity of Palestinians.

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