Al-Nakba (The Catastrophe)

Season 12008

For Palestinians, 1948 marks the “Nakba” or “catastrophe”, when hundreds of thousands were forced out of their homes. For Israelis, the same year marks the creation of their own state. This four-part series attempts to present an understanding of the events of the past that are still shaping the present.

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4 Episodes

E01 Episode 1

Napoleon Bonaparte, seeking to establish a French presence in Ottoman-controlled Palestine, laid siege to the walled city of Acre in 1799. He advertised Palestine as a homeland to the Jews under French protection, calling on them to 'rise up' against their 'oppressors.' While his assault failed, Napoleon's project for a Jewish homeland in the region under a colonial protectorate would go on to be revived by the British 40 years later.

May 8, 2008

E02 Episode 2

A national strike by Palestinians to protest mass Jewish immigration was met with violence by British authorities. Despite the British killing over 190 Palestinians and wounding more than 800 between April and October 1936, it was pressure from Arab heads of state that convinced Palestinian leaders to end the strike and join an inquiry headed by Lord Peel. In 1937 the Peel Commission recommended partition of Palestine: one-third for a Jewish state and two-thirds for an Arab state to be merged with Transjordan. A corridor from Jerusalem to Jaffa would remain under British mandate. The Commission also recommended relocating Palestinians where necessary.

May 15, 2008

E03 Episode 3

In late 1947 the United Nations devised a new plan for the partition of Palestine. Resolution 181 divided Palestine into an Arab and a Jewish state, with Jerusalem as an internationalised city. The Jewish state was granted 56 percent of the land; the city of Jaffa was included as an enclave of the Arab state; and the land known today as the Gaza Strip was split from its surrounding agricultural regions. Many Palestinians viewed the proposed Arab state as impractical. When the draft resolution was presented for voting, Arab newspapers 'named and shamed' the countries that voted for it, and Arab protesters took to the streets. Following the resolution's passage, Britain announced it would end its mandate in Palestine.

May 22, 2008

E04 Episode 4

In early 1948, Jewish paramilitary forces began to seize more land in Palestine. By the end of July, more than 400,000 Palestinians had been forced to flee their homes, and their plight as refugees had just begun.

May 29, 2008

Al-Nakba (The Catastrophe)

E01 Episode 1

E02 Episode 2

E03 Episode 3

E04 Episode 4

The Runaway

Nila Nila Odi Vaa

Gegen den Wind

Bless You

Body of Evidence

You're My Sky

Captain Z-Ro

海昏侯

Elite Short Stories: Nadia Guzmán

American Latino TV

Między nami bocianami

Granting You a Dreamlike Life

Goodbye Ghosts!

Dimensional

Sagan om Björn Borg

Gui Mi Jia Dao

Love At Night

Peter Pan

Brave Detectives

E01 Episode 1

E02 Episode 2

E03 Episode 3

E04 Episode 4