it is also Independence Day for Israel, a day of celebration.
living here, in Kfar Qara inside the state of Israel, presents an odd juxtaposition. today is a holiday for Israel, full of parties, BBQs, fireworks, and fun. for the Arab community, the Nakba is a day like any other, except to remember the tragic fate that overcame them in 1948.
Instead of celebrating today, I'm at work - though only for part of the day - and then I'm staying in Kfar Qara with my new family. I won't be BBQing today.
I don't have a problem with the State of Israel existing, or with the Jewish people having a homeland. I have a problem with the way the State was created; the Exclusivity which declared it a Jewish State for Jewish people only in 1948, systematically disinheriting and marginalizing the entire Arab population who were currently living on the land. Israel could have been an inclusive state, becoming a state where Jews, Muslims, Christians could live together in a pluralistic and democratic state. Instead, once again the human race (we love to do this) chose to give in to feelings of entitlement and privilege one group over another.
That's what I have a problem with. Now don't get me wrong, I know we Americans are even worse. Our country was created on a foundation of massacres and bloody extermination of people groups. We had our own feeling of entitlement to land and resources, and we still do today, perhaps more than any other country in the world. We all bear some guilt for this. I still celebrate the 4th of July, perhaps because I still see America as a country that is progressing and becoming slowly more open and accepting as the years pass by.
We all choose our battles. I can't protest everything. But because of where I am, and the still-recent and all too fresh emotions that are attached to this day, this day is a battle I'm still willing to fight. So today, the day of the Nakba, I won't be celebrating.
