Israel's Nakba denial: Palestinian-Israelis face state-led discrimination

Israel's Nakba denial: Palestinian-Israelis face state-led discrimination

May 15, 2025
Palestinian citizens of Israel commemorate the Nakba or "Catastrophe” annually, marking 77 years of displacement and systemic discrimination since Israel’s founding. Despite comprising 20% of the population, they face state-enforced segregation, land confiscations, and poverty—evident in towns like Lod and Um al-Fahm. Israel’s legal framework denies the Nakba while fragmenting Palestinian identity into subgroups (Druze, Bedouin, etc.).
 
Bedouin communities, like al-Araqib, endure repeated demolitions, and Palestinian Israelis suffer lower life expectancy and income than Jewish citizens. Some Palestinian Israelis fight to reclaim ethnically cleansed villages, only winning symbolic rights to visit ruins or bury their dead. Their struggle continues against state-led erasure.

Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh reports.

Ubai Aboudi is Director of the Bisan Center for Research Development.

He joins us from Ramallah in the occupied west bank to discuss this.