The Sixtieth Anniversary of the Nakba

Al-Watan published an editorial on the sixtieth anniversary of the Nakba today. The Nakba is the catastrophe of the Palestinians who left and were ejected from their lands as the Israeli state was established in 1948. Interestingly, the editorial strikes an uncompromising tone saying that "the Palestinians have a deep understanding that they will inevitably return [to their lands] carrying the keys of their houses of old." A recent Brookings Institution/Zogby poll found that 73 percent of Arabs polled are ready for a "just and comprehensive peace with Israel if Israel is willing to return all the territories occupied in the 1967 war including East Jerusalem," although 52 percent do not believe this will ever happen. The poll did not address the right of return, but 19 percent of those polled said that Arabs should continue the fight even if Israel returns the lands occupied in '67. So, with the sixtieth anniversary upon us, it seems there is little consensus, even rhetorically, as to what is expected and what is desired to end the conflict. Do people truly believe that the Palestinians will inevitably return to their homes of old? Is this possible?

On another note, I read Leo Africanus by Amin Maalouf recently on a trip through Andalusia and Morocco. One passage struck me. Leo's uncle, an Andalusian notable, speaking of his unwillingness to tell Andalusian exiles in Fes that they will never return to their homes, says, “Perhaps one day it may be necessary for someone to dare to teach them to look unflinchingly at their defeat, to explain to them that in order to get to one’s feet again one must first admit that one is down on the ground. Perhaps someone will have to tell them the truth one day. But I myself do not have the courage to do so.”