We remember

Attending the sixth Al-Awda Convention in support of the Palestinian right of return, Anayat Durrani finds resolute the Palestinian struggle for national rights

Over 1,000 Palestinians and their supporters convened at the Sixth International Al-Awda Convention marking the 60th year of the Nakba in Anaheim, California. The three-day convention opened 16 May and featured a distinguished panel of speakers, films and workshops focussed on upholding the Palestinian right of return.

"Our cause is the return to Palestine," said Zahi Damuni, a founder of Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition (PRRC) and main organiser of the convention. "All of Palestine," he added.

The highlight of the Al-Awda convention was the evening banquet featuring Bishop Atallah Hanna and Chief Justice Sheikh Taiseer Al-Tamimi. On a small card on the table before every banquet attendee was written the name of the hundreds of Palestinian towns or villages destroyed or occupied in 1948. The message read simply: "We remember ... "

Images of Palestinians holding the deeds to their lands and keys to their homes flashed on screens on both sides of the banquet.

"Palestine is and will be Arab until the Day of Judgement," said Sheikh Taiseer. "Occupations come and go but Palestine persevered and maintained its Arab-ness. Palestinian cities will remain forever Arab."

Sheikh Taiseer called the occupation "colonisation" that was built on the massacres of Deir Yassin and other villages in order to expel the original inhabitants of Palestine. Palestinians need not beg for the right of return, stressed Sheikh Taiseer, as the right of return is "our sacred right, as we can never give up Al-Aqsa Mosque, or the Holy Sepulchre."

Sheikh Taiseer called on "brothers in Hamas and Fatah to stop [fighting]" and to not allow the occupation "a golden opportunity" to sow divisions. He reminded all factions: "Palestine is the aim." Sheikh Taiseer promised to honour the martyrs and prisoner's legacy and liberate Palestine, ending, "We will, God willing, pray all together in Jerusalem."

Bishop Atallah echoed Sheikh Taiseer's words, underlining that Palestinians -- both Christian and Muslim -- are "one nation, one people". "Today we emphasise that the right of return is as holy as Jerusalem. It is inalienable, non- negotiable, and sacred," said Bishop Atallah. "The occupation failed at killing the resistance and the evidence is you," he added.

"Whoever has a key or documents, hold onto them because you're coming back. You are returning," he said.

The message of the Al-Awda convention is powerful. After 60 years of the Nakba, and with each new generation, Palestinians have not forgotten. Powerful support for the Palestinian right of return was evident throughout the three-day convention. Richard Becker, a founder of the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition expressed his "full solidarity" with the Palestinian people. Becker told the audience, "No empire built on oppression is stable", adding, "No empire lasts forever."

Becker called for "real justice for all the Palestinian people" and said that real justice means the right of return and called for the end to US intervention in the Middle East.

"We stand in solidarity, we stand in awe of you, we are inspired by you," said John Parker of the New York-based International Action Centre. "From the river to the sea, we will not stop until all of us are free."

The convention featured a number of prominent speakers including Ilan Pappe, a leading historian on the Middle East. Pappe called "Zionist ideology" the motivating force behind the Nakba, adding that now, unlike in 1948, "we know what Zionism is all about, we understand the strategy of Israel." He described the Nakba as ethnic cleansing.

Saree Makdisi, professor of English and comparative literature at the University of California, Los Angeles, spoke about achieving a democratic, secular, multicultural state that gives equal rights to all its citizens. "Zionism represents exclusionist claims and separations. We must keep repeating to people that Israel is not a secular state and does not treat its citizens equally," said Makdisi.

Veteran journalist Ramzy Baroud said remembering the Nakba is not good enough. He said Palestinians must address their points of weakness and political divisions, adding, "the suffering of our people is not a commodity to trade around". Palestinians need a strategy to achieve the right of return, explained Baroud. Palestinian unity is urgent, he stressed.

Salman Abu Sitta called the Nakba the "largest, longest operation of planned ethnic cleansing in history". He called it the 90th year of the longest war against a single people. Abu Sitta described Zionist objectives as threefold: conquering, eliminating and destroying Palestinian history. Abu Sitta said that today Palestinians number seven times more than they were in 1948. "In this open conflict, we haven't surrendered," he said. He called Gaza the biggest concentration camp in the world. "I call it the new Auschwitz," said Abu Sitta.

Abu Sitta called Oslo the biggest political hoax in Palestinian history and called on Palestinians to lobby for a new Palestinian National Council. "It is the only guarantee to get the Palestinian right of return."

Asad Abu Khalil, professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus, and author of The Angry Arab blog, spoke about new dangers in the Arab world, including how Zionism has won allies among nearly all Arab regimes. "After 60 years, we should be aware how Zionism has its tentacles throughout Arab media and government," said Abu Khalil. He said the battle against Zionism could only succeed if launched against Arab regimes in their alliance with the US.

Despite the successes of Zionism, Abu Khalil added, there are signs of its failures. "The 2006 war on Lebanon revealed a path of struggle against Israel that can be mounted if joined by Arabs -- not regimes -- of different countries."

Al-Awda is the largest network of grassroots activists and students dedicated to defending and realising Palestinian human rights.

Bishop Atallah Hanna

ENTERING the convention hall of the Sixth International Al-Awda Convention in Anaheim, California, Bishop Atallah Hanna is a striking figure. His presence draws a roar of applause with crowds eager to greet and be photographed with him. Bishop Atallah is widely considered a champion of the Palestinian cause and unifier of Muslim and Christian Palestinians.

"When we talk about Palestine, the right of return, Al-Quds [Jerusalem], we are not religious," said Bishop Atallah. "We are one nation, one people."

Bishop Atallah said that what makes Jerusalem a unique city is its religious diversity. Muslims go to mosques and Christians go to churches, he said, praying for one God and "asking Him to relieve their oppression and to give them freedom."

Bishop Atallah travelled to the US from Palestine to attend the Al-Awda convention along with Chief Justice Sheikh Taiseer Al-Tamimi. Both religious leaders came to address the importance of the right of return and to emphasise strong unity among Palestinian Christians and Muslims.

"My presence with Sheikh Taiseer is a focus on our unity," said Bishop Atallah. "Our religions can never divide us. We are proud of both Christians and Muslims."

Archbishop Theodosius "Atallah" Hanna was born in 1965 in the village of Rami in the Galiliee. He is Archbishop of Sevastia of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and member of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre. He is the designated spokesperson for the Greek Orthodox Church for all of occupied Palestine.

Bishop Atallah attended school in his birthplace and then went on to study at Patriarchate Seminary in Jerusalem. He earned his masters and doctoral degrees in religious studies at the University of Thessaloniki in Greece and was ordained as a deacon and priest in 1991 in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. He is the second Palestinian to hold the position of Archbishop in the history of the diocese.

Bishop Atallah has taught Arab civilisation and lectured on the history of the church, and has also taught religious studies at Orthodox schools in Jerusalem and Ramleh. He established the Orthodox youth movement and serves as a spiritual father for youth. Much of his work centres on inter-Christian and Christian- Muslim activities.

On the subject of "Christian Zionists", Bishop Atallah rejects the concept saying, "There is no connection between Christianity that is a religion and Zionism that is a racist political movement." He adds: "Our God is the God of peace and love who cannot accept the uprooting of His people. The justifications they [Zionists] use are satanic and have nothing to do with God."

Bishop Atallah frequently travels to speak at international conferences, and to colleges and human rights organisations on Palestinian rights and the role of the Christian-Arab community. He is a member of the Arab National Congress and has received countless awards for his efforts to unite Arabs and for his activism on behalf of the Palestinian cause.

"We have one enemy, the Israeli occupation that displaced our people in 1948 and occupied Jerusalem in 1967," said Bishop Atallah. He calls for a one state solution for everyone, saying open elections should decide who rules, with all Palestinian refugees granted the right of return. Atallah calls for destroyed Palestinian villages to be revived and returned to their original inhabitants.

On 22 August 2002, Atallah was arrested by Israeli police and interrogated. He was prevented from travelling for several years, regaining his freedom only in 2006. Before his 2002 arrest, Bishop Atallah was interrogated on numerous occasions for his political views and activities.

In the 60th year of the Nakba, Bishop Atallah said Palestinians should use the occasion to call for unity, adding, "Palestine is one and Jerusalem is its capital."