REMEMBERING 78TH ANNIVERSARY OF NAKBA

On 2026-05-14, Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12) delivered a floor speech titled "REMEMBERING 78TH ANNIVERSARY OF NAKBA" in the House.

REMEMBERING 78TH ANNIVERSARY OF NAKBA

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 82 (Thursday, May 14, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 82 (Thursday, May 14, 2026)] [House] [Page H3470] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] REMEMBERING 78TH ANNIVERSARY OF NAKBA (Ms. TLAIB asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) Ms. TLAIB. Mr. Speaker, May 15, 2026, marks the 78th anniversary of Nakba. The Nakba, which means catastrophe in Arabic, refers to the mass expulsion and violent ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people from their homes and homeland during the creation of the State of Israel. But we know the Nakba did not end in 1948. We all have witnessed it live. It continues to this day as the Israeli Government commits genocide in Gaza, forcibly displacing Palestinians and kicking them out of their homeland. As we mark the 78th anniversary of Nakba, we honor all those killed since the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people began and all those who have been forced from their homes and violently displaced from their land. The immense trauma, Mr. Speaker, including the loss of their loved ones and connections to their communities they grew up in, needs to be repaired. Seventy percent of the population of Gaza right now are refugees from 1948, and they are being displaced again. Over 400 neighborhoods in 1948 were destroyed and erased. True peace must be built on justice and the right of the return of the Palestinian people. ____________________