Memory of the Nakba and its Effects on the Formation of the Palestinian Identity

Abstract

The Nakba, or loss of Palestine in 1948 to the Zionists, led to the expulsion of most of the Palestinian people from their homeland to neighboring countries and all around the world. This was a severe blow for the Palestinians, and it was expected that their identity would whither, and this may have been the case had it not been for the memories they kept from the pre-Nakba and Nakba periods. These memories became so important that up to the present they act as a pivot for Palestinian identity during the diaspora. This article argues that these memories still bind the Palestinian people together and give them a sense of common and national identity.