The 15th of May is the 66th anniversary of Israel’s declaration of Independence on the Gregorian calendar, and is considered by many Palestinians – and many Arab Israelis – as “the Nakba”, a day of “catastrophe” to commemorate the displacement and dispersion of much of the Arab community in Palestine began.
Sixty-six years later, a debate still rages in the public sphere, in the media and in the Knesset: is the “Nakba” a reasonable expression of Arab/Palestinian identity, or does it express hostility towards the legitimacy of Israel’s founding?
Joining us to debate these issues, and to discuss the Arab minority in Israel (“Palestinians with Israeli citizenship” as many refer to themselves), are two members of Knesset known for their outspoken opinions. MK (Col., res.) Omer Bar Lev is serving his first term as a member of the Labor party, and is a member of the Knesset foreign and defense committee. MK Hanin Zoabi is a former journalist and was the first Arab woman member of Knesset on an Arab list.
