Reflections on Nakba Day and Jewish Responsibility

PALESTINE ISRAEL GAZA GENOCIDE, 25 May 2026

Rabbi Cat Zavis | Defend Democracy Press - TRANSCEND Media Service

15 May 2026 – Today is Nakba Day. A day to commemorate the 1948 Nakba in Palestine, when 750,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed to create the so-called Jewish State of Israel.

Entire villages and sacred sites were bulldozed and destroyed and Jewish Israeli towns, villages, parks, and cultural sites were created in their place. In an ironic move, Israel built a “Museum of Tolerance” built on top of a destroyed Arab Muslim cemetery.

In 1948, 200,000 Palestinians were forcibly relocated from their homes and villages in what is now Israel to Gaza. 70% of Palestinians in Gaza are refugees from 1948.

The only way to create a state with a majority of Jews was to ethnically cleanse the indigenous population already living there. They were an inconvenience that Zionists wanted and needed to get rid of to make way for the Jewish State.

I am reading Molly Crabapple’s book Here Where We Live is Our Country. The book chronicles the history and development of the Bund, a Jewish socialist, anti-zionist labor party in the Pale of Settlement and documents the pogroms and attacks on Jews at that time.

As I read about the horrific attacks on Jews at the time, images of the genocide in Gaza, and the ethnic cleansing in Palestine, both in the Nakba in 1948 and the continuing Nakba today, flash before my eyes.

On May 9th, I participated in an Interfaith Pilgrimage for Palestine in Oakland. We walked from Oakland City Hall to the Port of Oakland and ended at the Oakland airport to raise awareness about and call for an end to Oakland’s complicity in the genocide and ongoing Nakba, by demanding an arms embargo and an end to the shipment of arms from the Oakland airport to Israel. You can learn more about the Oakland People’s Arms Embargo here and watch footage of the pilgrimage here.

We chanted  “Palestine will be free, Palestine will be free, We will not avert our eyes, Palestine will be free.” We must not avert our eyes. We must look at what is happening and do everything in our power to stop the genocide and ethnic cleansing. If you ask yourself who you would have been or what you would have done during the Holocaust, you know the answer based on what you are doing today. This moment calls us to turn towards the genocide and ethnic cleansing and do what we can to stop it. Every call, letter, protest, conversation matters. There are plenty of opportunities to deepen your understanding of the history of Palestine and the Nakba from 1948 (really before 1948) to today. Here is a link to a wonderful presentation by the Green Olive Tours – a conversation with Zochrot and ADRID about the Nakba and current efforts to advance Palestinian return.

Jews must honestly look at and critique the ethnic cleansing and genocide in Palestine and commit to the long, hard journey of reparations, repair, the right of return, liberation, justice, and dignity for Palestinians from the river to the sea. Then and only then will Jews and Palestinians live in safety and peace from the river to the sea.

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Author’s email:  rabbicat@beyttikkun.org

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One Response to “Reflections on Nakba Day and Jewish Responsibility”

1. Hoosen Vawda says:

   26 May 2026 at 10:20

   Open Letter to The Editorial Board and Contributors of Transcend Media Service
   Subject: A Respectful Appeal for Collective Moral Agency Beyond Commentary and TMS Publications.
   Dear Esteemed Professors, Senior Members and Founders of Global Peace Organisations, Editorial Board Members, Scholars, “Moral Heirarchists” and Contributors to Transcend Media Service.
   I read your publications in the recent issues of TMS, noting a thread of commonality expressed in support of the ongoing plight of Palestinians. I commend your stance. Thank you for accepting my second appeal, appended as an open plea, to engage in a collective effort to highlight the problem of ongoing suffering, torture and genocide of 72,764+ Palestinians, with over 10,000 reportedly vapourised by the collective allies of Israel. The global silence is indeed abysmal, in this major humanitarian crisis of the 21st century.
   With humility and deep respect for the intellectual legacy of TMS, founded on the principles of peace journalism and the visionary work of Professor Johan Galtung (MHSRIEP), I write to you as a fellow contributor, committed to the shared pursuit of justice, dignity, peace and global harmony. I trust that in your frenetic schedules you will kindly read this document with good intentions.
   Recent reports published within TMS, including those addressing the plight of flotilla activists and the ongoing suffering of Palestinian civilians, reflect the moral clarity and courage that have long defined this platform. These contributions illuminate injustice with scholarly rigour and human compassion.
   Yet, I write today with a gentle but earnest question:
   Can we, as a community, move from witnessing to collective moral action?
   In March 2026, I submitted a draft memorandum proposing that TMS, as a body of globally respected thinkers and “Titans of Peace Propagation” consider endorsing an urgent humanitarian appeal to the United Nations. The intention was not to impose unanimity, but to explore whether our shared ethical commitments might find expression in a unified call for:
   • immediate ceasefire measures,
   • protection of civilians,
   • The targeted killings of journalists
   • Blatant violations of the different Geneva Conventions
   • accountability under international law,
   • and renewed multilateral engagement through the United Nations system.
   I fully appreciate that TMS is not traditionally an advocacy institution, and that editorial independence is essential to its integrity. However, I respectfully submit that:
   There are moments in history when moral scholarship may justifiably seek a collective voice.
   The events currently unfolding, whether involving flotilla activists, civilian populations, or broader regional instability in the Middle East, pose profound challenges not only to international law, but to our shared humanity.
   I wish to clarify that this appeal is not a criticism of editorial decisions, nor an expectation of institutional uniformity. Rather, it is an invitation:
   An invitation to individual conscience
   Should a collective institutional endorsement be impractical, perhaps an alternative path may be considered:
   • voluntary endorsement of the memorandum by individual contributors,
   • publication of parallel perspectives exploring actionable peace mechanisms,
   • or informal cooperation toward engaging established UN humanitarian channels.
   TMS has long illuminated the path toward peace.
   Might it now, in some form, help to gently walk that path together?
   I remain deeply grateful, appreciative and indebted for the platform TMS provides, under the editorial baton of the long serving and esteemed Professor Antonio Carlos Siva Rosa, as well as for the tireless efforts of its editorial Board and contributors. My intention is not to burden, but to contribute, however modestly, to the living tradition of peace through scholarship and ethical engagement, which forms the very basic tenets of peace propagation, as initiated by the late Professor Johan Galtung (MHSRIEP)
   With respect, sincerity, solidarity and hope,
   Hoosen Vawda
   Peace Propagator
   Durban, South Africa
   Global: + 27 82 291 4546
   e-mail: vawda@ukzn.ac.za
   Dated: Tuesday 26th May 2026
   Reference: TMS/Cont/26052026/RHV1

   Reply