A-Infos (en) US, Minneapolis Al Nakba Day Recognition

On Tuesday, May 15, 2007 in front of the Minneapolis Central Library at 
12:00pm, members of JFAETTO (Jews For An End To The Occupation) joined the 
international commemoration of Al Nakba Day, or "Day of Catastrophe". Just as 
in other cities in around the world.--Boston, San Francisco, Philidelphia, and 
Tel Aviv, we mapped out a grid and outline of the state of Israel and Occupied 
Territories and asked passersby to help us put the names of the 531 Palestinian 
villages destroyed in 1948 back on the map. ---
After one hour of setting up the event, we were stopped by library security 
officers for "Defacing Library Property" with sidewalk chalk and electrical 
tape. Not letting this--or the cold wind--deter us, we moved our event across 
the street and recreated the map. Over a span of 4 hours, we spoke to many 
people and placed 100 Palestinian villages on the map. Many people who we asked 
to help us, did. Some people stopped to argue politics, but most who stopped 
showed interest and appreciation for a creative way to share important 
information. A group of high school students stayed for 15 minutes to ask 
questions and put villages on the map. We were happily surprised by the support 
from Minneapolis bus drivers who asked questions en route, and yelled 
variations of, "Keep up the fight!" as they passed. Even after we packed up our 
things and left, the maps, messages, and names of villages remained, baring 
witness to the haunting reality of Al Nakba for hundreds more to observe.

International Nakba Day is commemorated annually on May 15th in recognition of 
the totality of the destruction of Palestinian life in the area that became the 
state of Israel in 1948 – Palestinian localities, culture, and people. During 
the 1948 War that led to the creation of the state of Israel, 531 Palestinian 
villages were destroyed and nearly 800,000 people were expelled. They and their 
descendents have grown to become the largest and longest-standing refugee 
population in the world.

If you're interested in learning more about JFAETTO, email jfaetto (at) lists 
(dot) riseup (dot) net.
========================================
* An antiauthoritarian anticapitalist initiative
_______________________________________________
A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
http://ainfos.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
http://ainfos.ca/en