Al-Nakba

An incredible story about the history of Palestine, I found the series difficult to watch but an absolutely necessary documentary for people who are interested in understanding the origins of the Israeli-Palestine conflict.

The documentary begins in 1948 and if focused on a series of events which resulted in the exodus of over 700,000 Palestinians due to the conflict with Israel. In contrast, the 1948 war which was a victory for Israel is considered to be a key moment in the birth of their state.

Al-Nakba tells the story from the side of Palestinians and is candid in its depiction of the destruction of Palestinian society, loss of life, and homeland.

This documentary is an excellent opportunity to study the secular Arab-Palestinian narrative regarding the conflict in Palestine. Its other asset is in presenting, for the most part, solid facts that are either widely agreed upon or, at the very least, have some serious historical research behind them. The main problem with this documentary is the way the facts are chosen. The authors present only the parts that serve their narrative, but completely ignore or greatly downplay historical events, which might put it in doubt. They present both Palestinian and Israeli researchers, but the Israeli side is represented only by the most extreme critics of Zionism. No doubt, Shlaim and Pappe are reputed historians, but their conclusions are often criticized by many Israeli and Western specialists. And even they would probably consider the whole series as highly biased.

A couple of examples: In this documentary massacres and killings are committed exclusively by one side. Palestinian and Arab leaders, though clueless, make no evil plans vis-a-vis their Jewish neighbours. This is an exclusive prerogative of their opponents. The Jews use Arab hospitality to gather homicidal intelligence on their Arab neighbors. The Arabs would not, obviously, stoop so low. One is left wondering why the Arab revolt against the British started in response to the Jews coming to pray at the Western wall. They lament that everyone helped the Jews and nobody helped Arabs (who had at that time more than 10 independent nations, with the population outnumbering Palestine's Jews more than 100 to one). After that they go on telling about the Arab legion and its 40 British officers. There are many more omissions, but this is not a site about Israel and Palestine.

In short, this a good documentary for people who have some prior knowledge about the issue. It can serve as the antidote to the Zionist-biased account, but by itself it looks more like propaganda then an honest analysis.

The history of Palestine, and how it came to disappear is an astonishing story that is not available anywhere else in the media.

This is a four part documentary series that will give you information that you are unlikely to have even seen or heard. If you think you know all about how Israel came to be, you're wrong.

If you care about truth, and wonder how the world got to this point, I can't recommend this series more highly. It is a challenging set of programs, but if you value the truth, the effort is well worth it.

It is not widely available. It was produced by Al Jazeera. I received the set as a premium after making a contribution to Pacifica Broadcasting, more specifically KPFA, in Berkeley.

You will never think about Israel or Palestine the same way again.