Kristi Miller / Colorado Daily

Terrie Leysath holds her sign proudly as she marches down Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, CO on Thursday, May 15, 2008 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the dispossession of the Palestinian’s homeland by the founding of Israel.

Nakba -- a term meaning "disaster," "catastrophe," or "cataclysm" -- is the word used by Palestinians to symbolize the mass exodus of Palestinians from the newly-recognized independent state of Israel in 1948. Yesterday, an event sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center (RMPJC) brought citizens together to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the historic movement.

"People are commemorating this all over the world this year," said Carolyn Bninski, RMPJC Staffperson. "We felt that we wanted to highlight what actually happened in 1948 because a lot of people were told about the founding of Israel, but not talked about what happened to the Palestinians in order to do that."

A press release from the organization cited UN estimates of 711,000 Palestinian refugees outside Israel after the 1948 War and said that "the newly-created state of Israel destroyed 418 Palestinian villages."

Taking place on the concrete square of the Boulder Municipal Building on the southwest corner of Canyon and Broadway, yesterday's event hosted readings of eyewitness accounts of the Nakba exodus by Palestinian-Americans, oversized pictures, and a reading of the names of the 418 villages. Approximately 15 to 20 people attended the event.

"We want people to realize that there was a great deal of suffering for these Palestinians when this happened and that, under international law, those people have a right to return to their homeland," said Bninski.

Ironically, the UN -- the same organization who helped to create the Nakba by recognizing Israel as a state -- subsequently passed the "international law" cited by Bninski calling for Palestinians to return, according to RMPJC volunteer Ron Forthofer.

"The UN General Assembly passed a resolution in 1948 saying that the Palestinian refugees had a right of return," said Forthofer, referencing UN General Assembly resolution 198, which mentioned that much of the enforcement of UN policies -- or lack thereof -- lies in the hands of the United States.

"A lot of UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions have not been enforced, particularly when they deal with Israel, because the United States often doesn't support them or will veto them. If the United States does not support them, it makes it very hard for anything to actually occur," said Forthofer.

According to Bninski, the RMPJC event was not about calling for the destruction of Israel, but education through creating awareness and finding a just solution for the Palestinians.

"I don't view the independence of Israel as a disaster or cataclysm of any sort," said Adam Naftalin-Kelman, Boulder rabbi and director of Jewish campus organization Hillel at CU-Boulder. "In fact, I think what is important to remember about independence of Israel is that the United Nations voted to recognize Israel as a state, and it was only Israel's neighboring state that waged a war of independence, creating the difficult situation."

To that end, Naftalin-Kelman also recognized appreciation for any group of people's solemnizing of events that have shaped their history and culture, and expressed sympathy for the innocent victims created by the course of events.

"I fully recognize that there are innocent Palestinians at the time of independence that were taken advantage of by government powers, and my heart goes out to them," said Naftalin-Kelman. "They are the innocent bystanders that are affected by political states. It is important to recognize the loss of innocent residents on both sides -- on the Palestinian side and the Israeli side."

The RMPJC Nakba Day event concluded its commemoration with a solemn march from the Municipal Building through the Pearl Street Mall and back up Canyon. Forthofer and Bninski each described the event as more of a commemoration and call for a "just solution" than a traditional protest.

"What the Peace Center is doing on this issue is advocating equal human rights for both Palestinians and Jews as well as support for international law," said Forthofer. "A pretty large crime was committed by the UN giving away somebody else's land and the Israelis should now allow the Palestinians to return to their homes."

Naftalin-Kelman told the Colorado Daily shortly before the RMPJC event that such gatherings could be useful in the way of creating conversations about how to move forward, but, not knowing how it would play out, was unable to comment specifically as to whether yesterday's event would fit into that category.

"Only when we can look across the table and see someone other than what they symbolize, but see them as a person, will we be able to get beyond where we are at," he said. "To have an event just to have an event, I'm not always a fan of -- but to have an event to create education and awareness so we can move forward is worth happening." Contact Lance Vaillancourt about this story at (303) 443-6272, ext. 125, or at vaillancourt@coloradodaily.com.