On March 30, 1976, thousands of Palestinians in Arab towns across Israel took to the streets to protest the government's decision to expropriate 14,000 acres of privately owned lands. Six Palestinians died in the general strike that followed; hundreds were wounded and arrested.
Every March 30 since, Land Day has commemorated those people, and in remembrance that this was done to Israeli citizens of Arab origin, in a clear expression of institutional discrimination, which remains until now in what is described as Israel’s “democracy.” Yet, the expropriation has continued since then in many forms.