Nakba Day: The Ephemera of Martyrdom

Nakba Commemoration Day for Palestinians is the counterpart of Israel’s Independence Day, which takes place one week earlier. These days respectively mark the forcible expulsions of Palestinians from the nascent state of Israel and the declaration of statehood by Israel. One tribe’s independence is another tribe’s disaster. One person’s freedom fighter is another person’s terrorist. Parallel yet inverted narratives are everywhere in history and the present, from Manifest Destiny to the Ukraine, the Sudan, Northern Ireland and elsewhere today