Nakba

American  

[nok-buh, nak-bah] / ˈnɒk bə, ˈnæk bɑ /

noun

1. the mass expulsion and dispossession of Palestinians from the partitioned state of Palestine by Jewish militia and Israeli military forces between 1947 and 1949.

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Etymology

Origin of Nakba

First recorded in 1960–65; from Arabic: literally, “catastrophe, disaster”

Example Sentences

Though I enjoyed an enviable private school education, I didn’t hear the word Nakba until adulthood.

From Salon

A majority of the population of the modern-day Gaza Strip descended from refugees of the Nakba.

From Salon

The event, known as the Nakba, vividly lives on in Palestinian collective memory, and camp residents like Irhil fear the history of displacement -- which many also thought would be temporary in 1948 -- will repeat itself.

From Barron's

Indeed, when I invited scholars to verify and assess the files, we concluded that the Bseiso family archive is the largest known collection of original documents from a single Palestinian family, detailing legal land ownership before the 1948 Nakba.

From Los Angeles Times

May 15 marks the 77th anniversary of the Nakba.

From Los Angeles Times