In the lead up to commemoration of the Nakba, the Australians for Palestine advocacy group are putting on a public presentation and Q and A event at the Hobart Town Hall on the 12th of May.
The Nakba (‘catastrophe’) was the shattering of Palestinian society that took place in 1948 following Israel’s so-called ‘war of independence’. During this time, 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes to become refugees, with over 600 Palestinian villages ransacked. The Nakba is commemorated on the 15th of May – the day after the British Mandate for Palestine was replaced with the state of Israel.
The Australians for Palestine’s event will begin with a presentation by Dr Adel Yousif about the living conditions of Palestinians living in the state of Israel, Gaza and the occupied West Bank of Palestine. Yousif is a second generation Palestinian refugee whose family was forced to flee to Iran following the Nakba, with Yousif the first in his extended family to have a nationality/passport after attaining Australian citizenship in 1995. Today he is married and works as an academic at the University of Tasmania. According to Yousif, “Colonisation, apartheid, justice and human rights will be discussed so that the people of Hobart will better understand the Palestinian narrative of the issues.”
Following Yousif’s presentation, members of the public are then invited to ask questions to a panel which includes human rights lawyer Greg Barnes SC, the federal member for Clark Andrew Wilkie MP, and student activist Randa Al-Hasan.
‘Colonising Palestine: A Palestinian Perspective’ starts at 5:30 on Thursday the 12th of May. Tickets are available here. Those unable to make the event in person are encouraged to attend online.
A donation bowl will be present at the event for the Australian charity ‘Olive Kids’, which supports disadvantaged Palestinian children.
Image by Rosa Hastie.
