The Palestinian Nakba and its Continuous Repercussions

Introduction

A number of books were published in Arabic about the meaning of the Arab colossal defeat (Nakba) in 1948 and its implications during the first decade following this eventful catastrophe. In the summer of 1948, Constantine Zurayk was the first to try and analyze the reasons behind the Nakba, followed by Musa al-‘Alami during the following year.¹ However, in the years that ensued, very little was published about the meanings of the Nakba and its repercussions, either by Palestinians or by other Arab intellectuals. Then, ‘Aref al-‘Aref published his six-volume seminal work entitled Al-Nakba, Nakba of Bayt al-Maqdis or Paradise Lost.² These books and other Arab publications during the first decade after the catastrophe were important contributions to the Arab understanding of this traumatic event and of the necessary conditions to overcome its results. However, the stream of intellectual works on this topic seemed to dry up from the late 1950’s writers turning instead to other issues such as the political changes then taking place in the Arab regimes and other current events.

The next intellectual attempt to grasp the full-fledged meaning of the Nakba took place in the aftermath of the June 1967 Arab Naksa (setback). But even this attempt was again short-lived and overpowered by the obsession with military and political events in the region. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that very little was written in this period about the meaning of the Palestinian catastrophe and its long run implications.³

The scope of this article does not allow a detailed discussion of all the Nakba’s meanings and implications on the Palestinian people. What it attempts to do is to outline some of the different aspects of the Nakba, focusing on the collective dimensions. The Palestinian catastrophe and its implications intensified over time and gathered new meanings, stemming from the tragic experiences of the Palestinians in their exile. The passing of more than sixty years has done very little to erase the Nakba’s deep direct and indirect repercussions on subsequent Palestinian generations. The experience of statelessness and the injustice which befell the refugees has only intensified. Therefore, the history of the Palestinian people is deeply marked by a dividing line between the pre-1948 and post-Nakba periods. I briefly examine the thirty years that preceded the Nakba, and then review the years which followed, focusing on new readings of the 1948 event.

The Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in June 1967, the colonization of these newly occupied Palestinian territories and the repressive measures of the occupiers, particularly after the eruption of the first Intifada in December 1987, added new chapters to the tragic saga of Palestinian suffering. Contrary to what many think, particularly in Israel, the Nakba was not a one-time event connected to the war in Palestine and its immediate catastrophic repercussions on the Palestinians. Rather, and more correctly, it refers to the accumulated Palestinian experience since the 1948 war up to the present. After the Oslo agreements in 1993, there were hopes that the stateless Palestinian people would soon earn freedom and independence. However, the failure of the peace process to end the Israeli occupation and allow the birth of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel pushed the Palestinians back to square one. Furthermore, the eruption of a new cycle of violence which began in September 2000 added new dimensions to the disintegration of Palestinian society. For many Palestinians, these more recent events are adding new chapters and new meanings to the long-lived catastrophe since 1948. By outlining the major effects of the Nakba on the Palestinians during six decades, this paper is intended to enhance understanding and empathy for the continuous and multiple dimensions of the Palestinian catastrophe from the late 1940’s to today.

Early Interpretations of the Nakba and Its Causes

As early as August 1948, Constantine Zurayk (1909–2000) had grasped the full meaning of the Arab defeat in Palestine and coined the notion of the Nakba (catastrophe) in his book “The Meaning of the...