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Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Eitan Bronstein : Why not return?

"... How many refugees will want to return and where will they live? How will they earn a living? What will happen to the historic village core? Will it be rebuilt or otherwise preserved? What about refugees who don’t choose to return? What will be the relations between the returnees and residents of nearby localities? What will be the nature of the state to which they return – a Jewish state, as it is today, solely for Jews? Will the returnees own their homes and be able to sell them in the free market? If so, is there a danger that the localities to which refugees return will become the focus of real estate speculation? What will happen to the fabric of existing communities in the refugee camps whose members come from various localities of origin? Will these communities be broken up even though most of their members never lived in the localities of origin and the only community in which they lived was that of the refugee camp? What effect will return have on the current “host” cities and societies (Damascus, Amman, etc.)? How will Jews and Arabs living in Israel today arrange to absorb the returning refugees?

The [Zochrot] mapping workshop developed the idea that the return of Palestinian refugees contains the hypothetical potential of opening up Israel’s Jews to the Arab world in whose midst they live. New relationships will thereby develop between Israel’s Jews and the geographical and human environment in which they live. The idea behind this exhibit may seem illusory and fantastic today. But if we dare imagine such a future, of Israelis and Palestinians living together, without fear, perhaps we’ll also see its life-giving potential rather than simply anticipating the next war." Eitan Bronstein

Why not return?

Zochrot ("Remembering") seeks to raise public awareness of the Palestinian Nakba, especially among Jews in Israel, who bear a special responsibility to remember and amend the legacy of 1948. The principal victims of the Nakba were the Palestinians, especially the refugees, who lost their entire world. But Jews in Israel also pay a price for their conquest of the land in 1948, living in constant fear and without hope.

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