Friday, December 30, 2011

Testimony of a Palmach fighter who expelled Palestinians during the Nakba: "We came to inherit the land ... The land was not empty when we inherited it".

Dear friends,
The Israeli group Zochrot has posted a video testimony from Amnon Neumann, a man who fought with the Palmach during the Nakba of 1948. “Zochrot", which means "Remembering" in Hebrew and seeks to raise public awareness of the Palestinian Nakba, especially among Jews in Israel, who bear a special responsibility to remember and amend the legacy of 1948.”

The video was filmed on 17 June, 2010 in Tel Aviv, with an audience of about 20 people. The event was initiated and organised by Amir Hallel. The testimony was video-recorded by Lia Tarachansky. Miri Barak prepared the transcription. Eitan Bronstein edited, summarized, and added footnotes. Translated to English by Asaf Kedar. Video editing by Zohar Kfir

In the video Neumann discusses the ethnic cleansing and massacres carried out by Zionist terror forces against the unarmed civilian Palestinian population in 1948.  Nuemann was a member of the Palmach, which was the "elite" of the Haganah (the fore runner to today's Israeli Occupation Forces - the IDF).  

Neumann explains that the reason for the Nakba was "Zionist ideology".  He explains: "This is very clear. We came to inherit the land. Who do you inherit it from? If the land is empty you inherit from no-one. The land was not empty when we inherited it".

Warning:  this video may be distressing to some, especially Palestinian refugees as the video describes in detail the forced expulsion and the killings of Palestinian civilians.

in solidarity,
Kim

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