Tour to 'Eilabun // Saturday, 30.10.2010 // For the first time, Zochrot participated in 'Eilabun's annual commemoration of the murder of 29 villagers and members of the al- Mawasi tribe. Israeli soldiers murdered them on Saturday, 30.10.1948

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For the first time, Zochrot participated in 'Eilabun’s annual commemoration of the murder of 29 villagers and members of the al- Mawasi tribe. Israeli soldiers murdered them on Saturday, 30.10.1948. The 'Eilabun villagers suffered through the massacre, the expulsion to Lebanon, the looting of the village and their eventual return, and these very traumatic events continue to affect them today.



The anger and pain were evident during the memorial procession and other events organized by the villagers. On the other hand, almost no one in Israel knows what happened here, or has heard about it. The ''Eilabun massacre is one of the worst incidents that occurred during the Palestinian Nakba, itself almost absent from Israeli consciousness. Zochrot wants to make information about the Palestinian Nakba, including the story of 'Eilabun, accessible to Israelis.

We brought Israelis to the commemoration. This was the first time in their lives they’d heard the story told by survivors. We also placed wreaths at the two village monuments, published and distributed to participants a booklet, “Remembering the Nakba in 'Eilabun,” in Arabic and Hebrew, and included the information on our internet site. Twenty-five Israelis joined some 200 residents of 'Eilabun in the sorrowful, emotional ceremony. At the first memorial, in the al- Mawasi cemetery, a woman standing by the monument asked the speaker to read aloud the inscribed names of those who had been murdered