# The Nakba The Palestinian concept of the Nakba is used here in recognition of the reality that the return en masse of Jews to Israel/Palestine in the 20th century was in many ways a catastrophe for Palestinians. While many people and peoples bear responsibility for the Nakba, we as Jews must squarely face the ways in which Jewish identity and religion, particularly in the form of nationalism, were (and are) weaponized against Palestinians. The term Nakba, however, is not used here to describe Jewish immigration itself (known as *aliyah*), not in the 19th and 20th centuries, nor at any other time. We are a people of this land, and we live in it now. In fact, the project of the *mitnabot* is part of the living relationship between the Jewish people and Israel/Palestine. The locations of the *mitnabot* shrines are all within the Green Line, the territory in which both Jews and Palestinians share citizenship. This area, the western Judean hills, is a historically plausible place for them to be. Samaria, or the Shomron, would perhaps be the most historically suitable. However, I haven't looked for *mitnabot* shrines anywhere in the occupied West Bank because of Israel's Apartheid regime there. I do hope that one day the regime will cease and I will search for traces of the *mitnabot* in Shilo, Hebron and other holy places. Equality and security for all people in the Land, both Palestinians and Israeli Jews, and for all other human beings, is part of the [[The Huma'n Covenant|The Huma'n Covenant]]. The idea that we as Jews have a right to life and security in the Land is not the same as the argument that we have a "right" to dominate and oppress other people. In fact, conflating the two positions is absurd. It seems to me that both the Right and Left engage in that conflation - of our right to exist in the Land with the non-existent "right" to oppress Palestinians - for conflicting if complementary motivations. The former to justify dehumanizing the Palestinians, the later to justify dehumanizing the Jews. Regarding those who would deny either Palestinians or Israelis equality and security in the Land, see [[Genocidal Supremacism]]. Here is more information on the Nakba: <iframe src="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakba" width="100%" height="600"></iframe>