Land Day Roundup - Reports from Palestine

by Charles Lenchner · 2009-03-30 20:07:00 UTC
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Palestinians commemorate Land Day in the village of Maasara near BethlehemGlobal Voices Online has an excellent post on Land Day. I wish I had written it.

Listen to a great, short piece on Land Day events over at Free Speech Radio Network

Jonathan Cook, a blogger and journalist working from Nazareth, brings forth the words of an eyewitness to the events in 1976 that Land Day commemorates:

“Maybe its significance is surprising given the magnitude of other events in Palestinian history,” said Hatim Kanaaneh, 71, a doctor, who witnessed the military invasion of his village.

“But what makes Land Day resonate with Palestinians everywhere is that it was the first time Palestinians inside Israel stood together and successfully resisted Israel’s goal of confiscating their land.”

[photo credit: Palestine Chronicle.]

What I find interesting is the absence of a formal defense of Israeli actions in 1976 anywhere on the web or on Israeli news sites. Given the significance of the day for the Palestinian cause, you'd think that someone would try to argue that Israeli confiscations of land from Palestinian owners in the 70s were perfectly reasonable policies that stand up to the test of time. Or that sending in the IDF to deal with unarmed protesters is sound security policy.

On the other hand, I rarely hear Palestinian solidarity activists echo the political demands of Israeli Palestinians, namely the demand for a two state solution. I'm not sure it's entirely kosher to hold this community up for its heroism in 1976 while neglecting it's political demands and worldview.

This is especially relevant with an Israeli government that includes Lieberman. One of his demands is to alter the borders of Israel so as to place Israeli Palestinians on the other side, where the West Bank lies. Israeli Palestinians attack this position as racist and fascist, and instead demand the right to remain part of Israel, with equal rights for all.

This Land Day, I'm supporting the right of Israeli Palestinians to remain part of Israel.

Charles Lenchner
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