za3tar, the organizer of the event, blogged about being Palestinian, sharing a story of his family and concluding:

For us Palestinians, only two things remained true during the past 60 years; First, life for ordinary people only gets worst every year. Second, from the minute you are born in Palestine, you are immediately a suspect, and you are continuously treated so for as long as you live. No one in the world can condone mass punishment of civilians, but punishing suspects is not a big deal.

We must be suspects, otherwise what explains 60 years of Israel’s direct violation of numerous UN resolutions without any consequences. We must be suspects, otherwise what explains our denial of basic human rights. For me and my family, the only crime that we are suspect of, is simply existing!

These stories are not unusual for Palestinians. As a matter of fact, i come from a blissed family, my parents were able provide us with food and shelter, and none of my relatives was killed. Unfortunately however, the stories of average Palestinians are much grimmer still.

Rebellious Arab Girl, a Canadian resident, also blogged about being Palestinian:

What do I represent?
I represent my self, a Palestenian with hot blood through my veins and a voice to speak about my existence. I am Palestenian. I will always be one. I was born as one, and will die as one.

It has been 60 years since my home was taken away, isn’t that too much?

I may be one person. I am not a celebrity or someone who is famous and well known. However, I have the right to speak out when I say, “we had enough!”

Vivirlatino blogged about the Palestinian population in Chile:

Last month about 40 Palestinian families, refugees from Iraq, were welcomed into Chile.

“We hope that suffering will be a thing of the past, and Chile the source of your new happiness,” Deputy Interior Minister Felipe Harboe said as he welcomed the 16 adults and 23 children who had spent months stranded at a desert camp on the Iraqi-Syrian border.

The rest of about 117 refugees from this specific camp arrived in the Santiago neighborhoods of La Calera y San Felipe this week. They were welcomed with flags, dancing, and music.

While these homes in Chile, which come with the support of the Chilean government and all of it's resources (including a monthly stipend and counseling services), do not replace or erase the need of Palestinians to have a home in their homeland, the right to return, historically it makes sense. So many people left Chile after the 1973 U.S. backed military coup. So many lives lost and disappeared through state sanctioned violence. The links are there. The connection is there.

And Far Away blogged about the changing face of both Palestine and Israel, sharing fascinating photographs:

It’s been 60 years since the Palestinian Nakbeh. That means around four generations of Palestinians.

Of course, in these past 60 years, life for Palestinians for those still living in Palestine and the ones living in exodus have changed drastically. Thanks to ethnic cleansing, injustice, barricading, lack-of-educational means, poverty, bad health care, constant pressure, among other racist and unjustifiable actions, life has changed.

Life for “Israelis” has also changed.

The wheels have turned…

Bruised Earth wondered about the false hope being given to Palestinians…

So on this day of of the Nakba, the catastrophe, all this site can ask and ‘hope’ to encourage is the ongoing search for the truth. Hope more people can wade through the politics and media that filter what we all need to know; what we all must confront. Everyone must find that for themselves.

…and encouraged readers to seek the truth from outside sources:

Read other Web sites - beyond Fox, CNN, BBC, and Reuters. Forget about the 30 minute news updates - and instead piece together 30 minutes of real news from other sources every day.

Read the facts. Find more facts. Find more truth.

Syrian blogger Maysaloon discussed the Nakba:

In many ways, how we choose to commemorate May the 15th says a lot about us in the Arab world. Those of us who remember it as something from the past and, to put it biblically, with much “wailing and gnashing of teeth”, miss the point. The Nakba did not happen and end in 1948, it has continued to this present day. You can see the Nakba in Gaza, in the refugee camps and, dare I say it, it has expanded to Iraq. However, from the Nakba we also saw the birth of resistance. From the heroism and selflessness of al Husseini and the resistance in 1948, to the battle of Karameh in ‘68, Beirut in ‘82, Iraq today and the South of Lebanon in 2006. The struggle against occupation continues, as it does against those who collaborate. May 15th reminds us of the tragedy which befell a people, our people but also strengthens our resolve to resist and to push on. Am I the last person to talk about resistance from the comfort of my home, in a country which was Israel's midwife? Perhaps, but just as a first person is necessary in a set, so is the last, and it is belonging to the set and playing your role in anyway possible which is what counts. The only thing, the easiest thing, for us to do is to forget, to count ourselves defeated or irrelevant. Each of us has a moral duty to resist zionism, empire and neo-colonialism in all aspects of our lives and it will be a poor excuse to say, one day, that you were only being realistic. The enemies of Palestine know that every person they kill or bomb they drop only creates more determination to fight them, that their time is running out. Sixty years on, the dream of ending Israel is that little bit closer. Sixty years on, the struggle continues.

Finally, My Home Away From Home, who lives in Canada, shared her desire to go to Palestine, the country of her ancestors:

Palestine…it is my home that I have never set foot in, it is the land I love without boundaries.

My heart cries for Palestine, I want to touch its soil even once in my life. My heart and soul are always with Palestine, it is a part of my prayer ritual. I pray that one day we get our freedom we get our right to return. I pray for the gruesome murders and unfairness to stop, for children to start living like they are supposed to without fear, for mothers to be able to sleep the night without worrying that tomorrow or the day after she may lose some or all of her children. I pray for families to live together all in one place without a brother, a son an uncle in the isreali prisons for life. I pray that children can go to school or out to play and come back home safely. I pray that wives and husbands are not widowed too soon, and children are not orphaned when they are still young. I pray for people to live in peace and harmony and for all of us Palestinians born all over the world to reunite and meet in our homeland, a land who’s love was born in our heart…

Lord Nabeel [Ar], who lives in Jordan, writes about how Palestinians in diaspora dream of the day they return to their homes - and how the dream is kept alive, one generation after the other. He says:

كفانا صبرا
ومع ذلك فالنصر قريب
والحق كالشمس مضيء
حق العودة كالشمس يضيء ويرق بعيون وقلوب
وعقول كل الأجيال الفلسطينية
حق ملكية المفتاح ينتقل من جيل لجيل
أجمل ما سمعت وشاهدت
( جد يقول لحفيده : - سيدي هذا مفتاح الدار اللي في بلدنا
وهو أمانه بعنقك إذا ما رجعت أنت أمانه تسلمه لأبنك
وما تنسوا يا سيدي الدار والبلد وفلسطين )
وأنا أقول وأستحلفكم بالله أن تقولوا لكل أبنائكم أن لا ينسوا
ابدا بيوتنا وأراضينا
وحقهم بالعوده لها مهما حصل وصار
حق العوده مطلب حق وأساسي لكل فلسطينيي الشتات
ستون عاما واليهود يحتفلون بإستقلال دولتهم
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
أي دوله
ومين كان محتلها
وكيف إستقلوا
أنا ما بحب الحكي الكثير
وزهقت ومليت من السياسه والتنظير
مليييييييييييييييييييت
قرفت بجد قرفت
قال إستقلال دولتهم
؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟
هههههههههههههههه
وإحنا شو نقول
؟؟؟
ستون عاما على نكبتنا
؟؟؟
ستون سنة على هجرتنا
ستون حولا على تعاستنا
ستون عاما على تشردنا
الله كلمات ذات معان جزله ومنمقه جدا
الله الله الله
حلوة كثير مش هيك ؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟
ومفتاح البيت ينتقل من يد ليد ومن جيل لجيل
ويا الله كم من جيل سيستلمه بعد هذا الجيل
يا ريت ما ينسى الجيل القادم شو يعني فلسطين ؟
يا ريت ما ينسى شو حق العوده بيعني له ولسيده وأبوه
؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟
خلص كفايه
بجد مليت من الحكي واللت والعجن
عن جد بيكفي حكي
سلام

We have had enough of waiting,
And despite this, victory is close,
And truth is as bright as the sun,
The right to return shines through the eyes, hearts
And minds of all generations of Palestinians,
The right of ownership of the key, is passed down one generation to the next.

One of the most beautiful things I have heard and seen is a grandfather telling his grandson: Sir, this key is for our house in our country. It is a trust. If you are not able to go back, give it to your son. Sir, I don't want you ever to forget our home, our country and Palestine.

And I ask you to promise to tell all your children never to forget our homes and our land, and their right to return, whatever happens. The right to return is an integral right to all Palestinians in diaspora.

The Jews are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the independence of their country!!!!!!
What country?
And who was occupying it?
And how did they become liberated?

I would like to say a lot but I am fed up of talking, of politics and of theories. Seriously fed up.
They say the independence of their country??????
Hehehe

And what do we say?
Sixty years for our catastrophe (Nakba)?
Sixty years of us being forced to leave our home?
Sixty years of our misery?
Sixty years of us not finding a home?

Words with a lot of meanings? Aren't they nice?
And the key to that house being passed on from hand to hand, from one generation to the other, and God only knows how many generations it will still be passed on to.

I hope the next generation don't forget what Palestine means. I hope they don't forget what the right to return means to themselves and their fathers.

I am now seriously fed up of talking. Enough of talk.

Peace.

Still in Jordan, The Black Iris shares with us the following apology to Palestine on the 60th anniversary of Al Nakba, saying:

It’s been 60 years
And I am sorry for your loss
I am sorry for your continued loss
I am sorry for the sorrow
I am sorry for the grief
I am sorry for the bloodshed
I am sorry for the apathy
I am sorry for the indifference
I am sorry for the sympathy
I am sorry for the empathy
I am sorry for the funerals
I am sorry for the casualties
I am sorry for the politics
I am sorry for the history
I am sorry for the ongoing history
I am sorry for the injustice
I am sorry for the ongoing injustice
I am sorry for the past
I am sorry for the present
I am sorry for the future
I am sorry for the massacres
I am sorry for the darkness
I am sorry for the seconds
I am sorry for the minutes
I am sorry for the hours
I am sorry for the days
I am sorry for the weeks
I am sorry for the months
I am sorry for the years
I am sorry for the time we remained silent
I am sorry for the time we will continue to remain silent
I am sorry for not speaking enough
I am sorry for not saying enough
I am sorry for not caring enough
I am sorry for not writing enough
I am sorry for not acting enough
I am sorry for not saying sorry enough
I am sorry for the heart ache
I am sorry for the tragedies
I am sorry for this legacy
I am sorry for this exodus
I am sorry for this catastrophe
I am sorry for this calamity
I am sorry for this apology
And all other apologies
That seem to never
ever
end

Egyptian blogger Zagazig [Ar] has a different take on the issue and writes:

اليوم هو يوم التدوين عن فلسطين ….واليوم هو أيضا يوم التدوين عن النكبه …النكبه التي يصر الجميع - ولا أدري السبب – علي تسميتها النكبة وليست الهزيمة …ربما !!
.فلسطين التي كانت منذ سته عقود فقط ملكنا ! – ولو إسما – فلسطين التي كان الحجاج منذ سته عقود فقط لابد وحتما أن يمروا عليها وهم ذاهبون وهم عائدون من الحج …فلسطين التي كانت منذ عقود بسيطة تابعه لمصر – ولو إداريا - ، فلسطين هي الأرض التي يغني لها كل العرب من ستون عاما ” عائدون ….عائدووووووووون ” ولكن ياللحسرة فلم يعد أحد !!
….فلسطين هي أيضا الأرض التي يصر الجميع أننا بعد ستون عاما ” للعوده أقرب ” …علي الرغم أنهم لا يملكون – علي الأقل – أمخاخا تؤهلهم لهذه العوده !!
أما الكيان – إسرائيل – الذي يهنيء اليوم قائدنا ورئيس شعبنا المغوار الكيان الصهيوني بمناسبه إحتلالهم لأرضنا المقدسة ،،
الكيان الذي يصر جميع العرب – ماعدا الرؤساء بالطبع – أن مصيرها إلي الزوال !!
مصيرها إلي الزوال وهي تنفق 6.5 % من دخلها القومي علي البحث العلمي بينما ننفق نحن 0.2 % من دخلنا القومي علي الإنتاج ….فعلا إلي الزوال !!!
مصر التي تنفق المليارات علي التسليح – ليس للحرب أيها الأذكياء – بل لصد هجوم الشعب – القله المندسه – عبر مليوني جندي أمن مركزي !!
إسرئايل دولة – فعلا وأؤكد – مصيرها إلي الزوال بينما الحسين بن طلال يبكي شهداء اليهود في الهولوكوست !!
إسرائيل – دولة مصيرها إلي الزوال – بينما تقضي عائله أمير قطر ” الويك إند ” علي شاطيء تل الربيع ” تل أبيب ” في قصرها الخاص هناك وأرسل طائرة خاصه لإعادتهم بعد أن هدد حسن نصر الله بقصف تل أبيب …
إسرائيل دولة مصيرها إلي الزوال بينما التجنيد هناك إلزاميا للنساء والرجال ،، ومن يتخرج من التجنيد يكون جنديا إحتياطيا طوال عمره …ليس التجنيد هناك بأن ” يتشمسوا قليلا ” بل بالتدريب علي السلاح بأنواعه !!
نعم إسرائيل دولة مصيرها إلي الزوال ،، وهم يمتلكون القدرة علي البكاء علي الهولوكست حتي الآن وممارسة حق تطبيق قانون معاداة الساميه القادر علي الإطاحه بأعلي رئيس دولة من منصبه ولهم القدرة أيضا علي المطالبه بتعويضات بملايين الدولارات – من مصر – لمساعدتها الإرهابيين في غزة ….بينما نحن لا نجرؤ ، أو لم نفكر بالأساس في المطالبه بتعويضات لشهدائنا في 67 أو شهداء الحدود ، سواء كانو جنودا أو مواطنين تم قنصهم بالعمد من أبراج الحراسه !! بينما رؤساؤنا الأفاضل يمارسون ضبط النفس بكل قوة وحكمة !
نعم إسرائيل دولة مصيرها إلي الزوال وهي تمتلك من الأسلحه النووية وتعلنها بأن لديها أسلحه نووية ، ونحن العرب نرفض بكل شهامة وسماحه خلق وأدب أن نمتلك سلاحا نوويا ، لأننا – نحن العرب – مسالمون !! ولأن إسرائيل هي دولة صديقه !!
ونعم إسرائيل دولة مصيرها إلي الزوال وهم يحاصرون مليونا ونصف المليون في غزة ويقتلونهم – عفوا يذبحونهم – ولا من أحد يحرك ساكنا …ولا من أحد يسمع صرخات الباكيين …

Today is the day to blog about Palestine. It is also the day to blog about the Nakba. I don't understand why everyone insists on calling it the Nakba and not the day of defeat! Perhaps …

Palestine was six decades ago ours! Palestine was the place pilgrims to Mecca used to stop by six decades ago on their way to and from Hajj. Palestine, which was just a few decades ago administratively under Egypt's rule. Palestine is the land all Arabs have been singing to “We will return .. We will return..” for 60 years. The misery is that no one has ever returned!!

Palestine is the land which everyone insists on saying - after 60 years - that we are getting closer to returning to it - even they don't even have the mentality to enable them for this return!! But all Arabs (except their leaders) still insist that the entity - Israel - which the leader of our people congratulates on the occasion of their occupation of our land, will cease to exist!

It will cease to exist when it spends 6.5 per cent of its gross national income on scientific research while we spend 0.2% of our income on production. It will certainly cease to exist!!
Egypt spends billions on armament, not for war you smart people but to fend off an attack from the public!! Israel is a country, which I insist, will no longer exist, while King Hussain bin Talal cries on the Jewish martyrs during the holocaust!! Israel, a country will won't be there, while the family of the Amir of Qatar spends the weekend on a beach in Tel Aviv, in its private palace there, and who had to be evacuated by private helicopters, after Hassan Nasrullah threatened to bomb Tel Aviv. Israel is on its way to oblivion, while military service is mandatory for men and women and whoever drifts from training is made a reserve soldier for the rest of his life. Military service there is not for tanning purposes is on training how to use different types of weaponry!!

Yes, Israel will cease to exist, and they have the ability to cry over the holocaust until now and are able to impose the anti-Semitic law, which is able to bring the downfall of any leader. They also have the ability to demand millions of dollars in compensations - from Egypt - for its help for the Gazan terrorists, while we don't have the courage, and have never thought, of asking for compensation for our martyrs from the war of 1967 nor for the martyrs of the borders, whether soldiers or civilians, who have been purposely targeted by snipers from the guard posts. All this is happening while our leaders are exercising self-control, with all strength and wisdom!!

Of course Israel will cease to exist, while it owns nuclear weapons and announces to the world that it has nuclear weapons, while we Arabs politely refuse to own nuclear weapons, because we Arabs, are pacifists!! And because Israel is a friendly country!!

Yes, Israel will soon cease to exist while it surrounds a million and half people in Gaza, which it is killing - excuse me, slaughtering - without anyone doing anything about it nor hearing the cries of those who sob..

Hisham of Al Miraat/The Moroccan Mirror laments the Palestinian situation but sees hope:

Sixty years after the Nakba the picture in Palestine is depressing, to say the least. But over the last decade or so, we've witnessed a dynamic of renaissance and awakening amongst the justice and peace camp, and the breaking down of some important taboos which served so far, helping Israel get away with its crimes against not only the Palestinian people but also against justice and History.

Many signs of hope are appearing. The shield of omerta and intellectual terrorism is cracking. More and more people are speaking out, and the cosy protection offered by the Israel lobby is fading away little by little.

He later adds:

The general thrust these days is: “Oh, come on, it's all in the past, nobody's interested any more, it didn't work, everyone knows what the Americans and Israelis are like, but stop being naive, this is the world, there's nothing to be done about it and anyway **** it, who cares?” But let me put it this way-the dead are still looking at us, waiting for us to make justice.

You better keep hope and smile for Palestine!

The interior of a synagogue in Sefrou, Morocco

Abdelilah Boukili of Regular Comments Based on Issues Raised by BBC World Haveyoursay just wants Israel to behave fairly:

The Middle East needs the birth of a really peaceful policy for everyone to live in peace. While Israel is counting the years since it was born, others are counting the deaths it has inflicted on the Palestinians, making the two sides look like Tom and Jerry. They can’t feel at ease without playing cat and mouse, just for the fun of it or by being serious about it.

One thing is sure. Israel is now a fact. It’s a fait accompli whether its enemies like it or not. But still it has to show more resilience towards the Palestinians as it is now in a strong position. Capitalizing on their weaknesses to go ahead with its intransigent policies will just perpetuate the current conflict.

So let’s hope that in its next birthday, Israel will have grown into a state with internationally recognised borders and the Palestinians have their free state instead of continuing to feel as Israel’s collective prisoners.

In related news, A Moro in America comments on a tourism initiative between Morocco, Israel, and Spain:

A new joint tourist project by Israel, Morocco and Spain will trace the footsteps of the Rambam (Maimonedes), the 12th-century Torah scholar and philosopher.

Tzemach invited Moroccan Tourism Minister Muhammad Bushid on Monday to visit Israel to discuss cooperation and to examine the initiative to launch a regional tour based on the Rambam.

The initiative was first presented to the Moroccan Tourism Ministry during the Euromed, a convention of the tourism ministries of Europe and Mediterranean countries that was held in Paris in March. The ministries have expressed their willingness to assist in the project.

Creative Commons-licensed photo by Omer Simkha