Nakba Day

Nakba Day
SignificanceNakba
Date15 May
Next time15 May 2025 (2025-05-15)
FrequencyAnnual
Related toYom Ha'atzmaut

Nakba Day (Arabic: ذكرى النكبة, romanizedDhikra an-Nakba, lit.'Memory of the Catastrophe') is the day of commemoration for the Nakba, also known as the Palestinian Catastrophe, which comprised the destruction of Palestinian society and homeland in 1948, and the permanent displacement of a majority of the Palestinian people. It is generally commemorated on 15 May, the Gregorian calendar date of the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948. For Palestinians, it is an annual day of commemoration of the displacement that preceded and followed Israel's establishment.[1]

The day was officially inaugurated by Yasser Arafat in 1998, though the date had been unofficially used for protests since as early as 1949.

  1. ^ David W. Lesch; Benjamin Frankel (2004). History in Dispute: The Middle East since 1945 (Illustrated ed.). St. James Press. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-55862-472-6. The Palestinian recalled their "Nakba Day", "catastrophe" – the displacement that accompanied the creation of the State of Israel – in 1948.