In 1948, the State of Israel was established, marking the end of Jewish exile and centuries of persecution, including the Holocaust. For Palestinians, the same year became al-Nakba – “the catastrophe” – when over 700,000 people were displaced, hundreds of villages destroyed, and an entire nation scattered in exile. One birth, one loss – two truths intertwined.

I am Ibrahim, son of olive trees older than empires, born in a house with a jasmine gate in Al-Lydd.
The year was 1948 – عام النكبة (‘Am al-Nakba, “the year of the catastrophe”). The year the sky broke open and names were erased like chalk in the rain.

They came at dawn.
We heard the bullets before we saw the faces – men shouting words we did not understand, words like “Eretz” and “Tzva.” My mother screamed “يا رب!” (Ya Rab! – Oh my Lord!) while my father held the Qur’an against his chest as if verses could stop fire.........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)