Today I’m reintroducing a resolution in Congress to recognize the Nakba. Nakba Day is held each May 15th to commemorate the forced permanent displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians—over 80% of the total population in the territory that would become Israel—from their homeland in 1948. Many of those families still hold the keys to their ancestral homes today, unable to return.
The Nakba, or “catastrophe” in Arabic, didn’t end in 1948—it continues to this day as Israeli forces commit genocide in Gaza, killing over 50,000 Palestinians since October 2023 and now calling for annexation of the Gaza Strip.
This immense trauma needs to be acknowledged. True peace must include the presence of justice.