AP Photo: Jordanian protestors burn products from Israeli settlements during a rally in front of the fruit and vegetable market, south of Amman, in Jordan, Saturday, May 15, 2010, marking the 62nd anniversary of the “Nakba”, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven out during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.
In 1948 more than 60 percent of the total Palestinian population was expelled. More than 530 Palestinian villages were depopulated and completely destroyed. To date, Israel has prevented the return of approximately six million Palestinian refugees, who have either been expelled or displaced. Approximately 250,000 internally displaced Palestinian second-class citizens of Israel are prevented from returning to their homes and villages. [source]
edit: photo was changed as I found this one to be a bit more interesting and relevant. the original one I published can be found here.
Boycott and divestment are one of the methods to free Palestine, annulling the surrender treaty of Wadi Araba, and closing the Zionist entity’s embassy in Amman, should be our priorities to achieve ..
Friends of the earth has reported that The river – which runs 217 kilometers (135 miles) from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea – and its tributaries are shared by Israel, Jordan, Syria and the West Bank.
In 1847, a US naval officer who led an expedition along the river described navigating down cascading rapids and waterfalls. Today the Jordan is a brackish stream barely a few meters (yards) wide.
A couple of kilometers south of the Sea of Galilee – which is actually a lake – a dam cuts off the flow of the river. Just south of the dam, raw sewage gushes from a pipe.
“This is what is today the source of the lower Jordan River,” FoEME director for Israel Gidon Bromberg says, pointing to the foul-smelling water.
“No one can say this is holy water. No one can say this is an acceptable state for a river this famous worldwide.”
A few meters away, saline water – diverted from salt springs to protect the nearby lake – flows into the foaming brown mess.
About 100 kilometers downstream, a Russian clad in a white robe immerses himself in the river at a site in Jordan where many Christians believe Jesus was baptized.
Thank you for sharing both photos.
A big salute for all those who had to suffer from such terrible happening, those who still suffer, those who took them in and helped them whoever they may be and those who still encounter the worst of occupation …
I wonder how a “still questionable” holocaust gets to manipulate people across the world emotionally while the Nakba is not that well recognized or discussed internationally as an inhumane episode in the history of humanity. Well, it is about media for most…
It is impressive how Jordanian-Israeli ties have been steady for a long time now, even after Israel stole water, claimed Islamic heritage to be Jewish, destroyed several holy sites and now judaizing the entire holy city of Jerusalem while going on with faster growing settelments.
While many claim that Jordan’s role is important to perserve the Islamic sites in Jerusalem-at least- it has been made crystal clear several times that Israel will now deny this role by expanding its destruction. So what’s the point of this “so called” called for relation?
@TFJ: True Friends of the Earth Jordan has rang the alarm on this matter, and a conference that featured 150 experts; Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian talked about this last week and agreed that the most important thing to save the river (which the country is named after) is to stop exploiting its water. check this out for more details if you wish;
http://www.star.com.jo/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18658&catid=30:jordan&Itemid=109
Yasmine: I think locally, the Nakba has also become an annual opportunity to address the normalization and peace treaty status between Jordan and Israel. In my opinion, as King Abdullah recently highlighted, this is probably the lowest point with regards to relations between the two countries, since the signing of the treaty, which, according to the King, has yielded little for Jordanians; although i do believe that many of the economic elements alive today would disappear if that treaty chose to disappear one day as well.
in any case, despite which side one falls on, i think jordanians themselves are at their height of anti-normalization sentiments.
that said, normalization has become a deadly throw-around label that people have misused, and eroding the heart of the entire issue: palestine.
Nas: Locally, the Nakba has become the sort of day in which people remember many things at a sudden, but most importantly question the nature of Jordanian-Israeli relation while there is no transperancy in that matter.
While King Abdullah stresses that the bilateral relations with Israel are hitting rock bottom, still the ties carry on. Perhaps there are many elements at stake, but regarding the economic one too? What about all the financial resources of state that has been drained by selfish people, poor investments and corruption issues? would’nt it be better if we got off those shady ties with a country that pays no respect to us nor to the treaty and focus on within resources?
On another note, issues like these showcase a difference in tone between the government and the people which sounds interesting to me.
I agree with you, as many groups and people are flashing the “normalization” card at several occasions only to score some specific purposes and gains, and at the epicenter of all this huge discussion lays Palestine, and the human cause of it.
Yasmine: with regards to your resource argument, speaking for myself, i tend to look at the whole landscape especially when it comes to economics, in the sense that nothing should be ignored, especially in lieu of something else deemed more important or urgent.
and yes, there has always been a contrast between the government’s actions and the people’s will. but then again most people do not agree or support things that exist anyways, including the government itself, the army and late night infomercials; but they exist nonetheless.
governments are only forced to act in accordance with the people’s will when that will is expressed overwhelmingly, constantly and consistently that it is just too overwhelming to ignore. that has never happened on the jordanian street. people voice their discontent briefly and infrequently, and then move on. not enough people genuinely care about this issue to turn the tide, and that goes for other issues as well.
“this is probably the lowest point with regards to relations between the two countries, since the signing of the treaty, which, according to the King, has yielded little for Jordanians; although i do believe that many of the economic elements alive today would disappear if that treaty chose to disappear one day as well.”
I am not only going to disagree with you on this point , but I would argue and say the relationship is stronger than ever, collaboration on all level are very concrete , economic trades, and military relation are constant on daily basis, intelligence “gathering” are communicated every seconds between the two, just go down the bridges and witness yourself the communications,every bus, car or persons that try to cross from and to Jordan are monitored between the two , Jordan is training the collaborationist PA forces to quell any uprising in occupied Palestine, when the king says the relation are all time low , it is just absurd and naive to believe what comes out of the king’s mouth ..
Al nakba is kind of routine at this point … its the day that is remembered by those who want to use it for political reasons, to generate money or just to have a purpose for themselves…
Only those who can afford the theatrics are the ones that care about it, and i bet you that if you ask any Palestinian they wouldn’t be even able to name the date. That’s at least my impression of it, on the other hand that 60 percent number sounds very dubious to me ….
Nas:Looking at the bigger picture, one would think that at some point these “resources” will cost us a lot more than they are of use. For now, sure all seems getting by but latter on it will come crashing upon us.
This reminded me of Hugh Grant acting as PM in one of his movies saying “I fear that this has become a bad relationship, a friend who bullies us is no longer a friend,” which is why I think we should have the foresight and the will to come up and consider other options.
When are the people going to stand up for what they want loud and clear? Governments should always be reminded that they are set anyway to serve people and realize their vision; while Public opinion has to matter at some point, it is still unwilling to do so.
“Al nakba is kind of routine at this point … its the day that is remembered by those who want to use it for political reasons, to generate money or just to have a purpose for themselves…”
O waw, Where do you get your pearl of wisdom bambam ? I never knew that Palestinian commemorate the theft of their ancestral homeland for “political” reasons or to generate money and to have purpose for themselves , I must say, this is really deep stuff man .
@yasmine
I wonder how a “still questionable†holocaust gets to manipulate people across the world emotionally while the Nakba is not that well recognized or discussed internationally as an inhumane episode in the history of humanity. Well, it is about media for most…
I was curious to see what was written about Al Nakba on the BBC website and this is what I found
http://tinyurl.com/2w5qfow
On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition Palestine between a Jewish and an Arab state. Jerusalem was placed under an international regime.
The Jews agreed but the Arabs did not. They called the declaration of the state of Israel “al-Nakba”, the catastrophe.
Fighting ensued but when an armistice was declared in 1949, the Israelis had extended their territory, leaving Jordan with the West Bank, Egypt with Gaza and Jerusalem divided.
Thousands of Palestinians had fled or had been driven out. Today, some 4.5 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants are scattered across the region.
Read more here about the history of Israel
TFJ: Absolutely you can hold on to your view, but it just means that’s you are unable to cut through the BS when it comes to this. Here is a suggestion go to a Nakba Fundraiser(lajnet il quds is a good one) and ask what have they done with the money they got over the past god know how many years or hear the the PLO or hamas speech of Nakba … and compare to 5 others from the past 50 years …
and tell me if its not a political fund raising event …
@Tala: History has many versions but one thing is sure, while all the Israeli acts take place, media also provides different vesrsions of what happens which leaves many people wondering what really is going on…
What should come out too is the reality of the life of those 4.5 million Palestinians, especially who live in camps still.
More yet to come…
Bambam, In matter of fact, I was in one of those fundraising events last night in Fremont ,CA and even donated money..
@TFJ Sounds Lovely I have this great bridge that i want to sell you drop me an email because its too good of a deal to just leave it in the comments sections, hurry or someone else might buy it off me.
bambam,, Keep burying your head in the sand , Palestine will be free despite all odds..
Free Jordanian , unfortunately , we have such people like bambam who adhere to the defeatist ideology.