About the Ceremony

The Joint Nakba Remembrance Ceremony is a unique opportunity to commemorate the pain and tragedy of the Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic), when in 1948 more than 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes, became refugees, and had their villages and cities destroyed. In Israel, even mentioning the Nakba is completely taboo, however, Combatants for Peace believes that peace and reconciliation involve a sincere and honest reckoning with this history that didn’t end in 1948 but continues until this day.

Combatants for Peace understands that to end the occupation and find a solution to the conflict, we must listen with empathy to each other’s stories and acknowledge injustice to achieve true liberation. Combatants for Peace was born out of the personal experiences of its Israeli and Palestinian founders who were previously actively involved in violence against the other side. They share, “We do not seek to deny our violent past but rather work with it, process it, and turn it from a site of conflict into a basis for joint, constructive action. This is how we perceive the history of this land and of the two peoples who co-inhabit it. Our ceremonies are intended to carry the audience—Israelis, Palestinians, and internationals—to past traumas and their lingering legacies, then to the present, in order to build a just, peaceful, and equitable future.”

2025 Ceremony

In the aftermath of October 7th, a second Nakba has been unfolding in Gaza, with over 50,000 Palestinians killed. For Palestinians, the violence and mass displacement brings back memories of 1948 but indeed the Nakba never ended, it has continued for the past 76 years. This year, we will center the ceremony around the theme of “Holding onto home, holding onto hope.” More details regarding the 2025 ceremony will be announced soon. Join us for the Nakba Remembrance Ceremony, which will be held on May 15th, 2025, at 8:00pm Jerusalem | 6:00pm London | 1:00pm New York | 10:00am Los Angeles.