RAMALLAH, West Bank — Over social media, Palestinian activists have criticized some events held for the 68th anniversary of the Nakba, the Palestinian exodus, commemorated on May 15 each year.
The central festival held in Ramallah on May 17, called for by the Supreme National Committee to Commemorate Nakba Day, faced a lot of criticism, as it included performances by local dabke dancers and singer Mohammed Assaf, during which hats made in Israel were distributed to the attendees.
The Ramallah festival happened two days after the Palestinian Embassy in Qatar held a Nakba Day commemoration, during which Qatar unveiled the world's largest key, a symbol of Palestinian hopes to return. The key entered the Guinness Book of World Records on May 15.
In this context, Al Jazeera correspondent Mirvat Sadeq posted on Facebook May 14, “The Nakba was not a matter of folklore. You cannot commemorate it with dabke dancing and folk songs. It was not a wedding where women wear embroidered dresses. The Nakba is not a celebration. It is a disaster and a continuous massacre against people and lands. Tragedies are not to be celebrated with horns and sirens.” Sadeq was referring to the alarm siren that the commemoration committee played for 68 seconds at noon on May 15 in Ramallah to signal the launching of the Nakba events.
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