There are in the national march of every people certain important historical milestones that cannot be ignored. They indicate the direction from which they came, the distance they covered, and the course they must follow. In India, the 1919 massacre at Jallianwala Bagh had set the tone for later independence from Britain. In South Africa, the 1960 Sharpeville massacre equally influenced the course of the anti-apartheid struggle. The massacre of 254 Palestinian men, women and children at Deir Yassin on 9 April 1948 continues to play a similar pivotal role in the Palestinian struggle against Zionist colonial rule. Its 53rd anniversary takes on a special meaning and significance as it coincides with the seventh month of the Aqsa uprising.

For all its barbarity and horror, the massacre at Deir Yassin was not an isolated act of madness committed by a ‘dissident’ group of Zionist fanatics. Code-named “Operation Unity” by its planners, the attack as its name suggests was an integral part of an orchestrated campaign during which the invaders carried out 34 other massacres and obliterated 531 Palestinian villages in 1948.

Situated on the outskirts of West Jerusalem, Deir Yassin has since been given another name: Kfar Sha’ul—in the same manner as Zimbabwe was called Rhodesia. The memory of the village did not, however, die in 1948. Its origins, growth and achievements were never forgotten. The country’s pre-eminent historian, Walid Khalidi, recalls the village was named after a certain venerable Shaykh Yassin (not the founder of the Islamic Resistance Movement-Hamas). It contained a mosque also named after him, his tomb, and a large courtyard where wedding receptions and other social events were held.

Ever since that fateful Friday in April 1948, the (Israeli) establishment has tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to remove the bloodstained evidence of their crime.

Infamy and debate
This anniversary of the Deir Yassin massacre comes as a massive source of embarrassment to the custodians of freedom, democracy and human rights in the West as well as the East. It makes a mockery of their collective failure to prevent (Israel’s) transformation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip into a virtual concentration camp. It pours scorn on the hypocrisy of those who bizarrely call upon the Palestinian victims of occupation to exercise self-restraint while their women and children are being killed in their homes daily, as they were 53 years ago at Deir Yassin.

Between the massacre of 1948 and this year’s anniversary one distinguishing element has emerged: that there is no wild panic or hysterical flight today, even though (Israeli) inhumanity and cruelty has multiplied immeasurably. Faced with far more lethal weapons than the inhabitants of Deir Yassin, Palestinians in the occupied territories have learnt from experience that their future lies not in the hands of ‘powers’ that have neither the political will nor moral courage to uphold international law and justice but in their own determination to be free and independent.

Shaping the future
For all its worth, none of the such symbolic gestures would assuage the sense of betrayal that is now ingrained in the Palestinian national psyche. What occurred at Deir Yassin is not just a symbol of savagery and man’s inhumanity to his fellow being. It was in so many ways the inauguration of an institution and way of life now manifest in military occupation, siege and wanton killing. What is important in the circumstances, therefore, is that this occasion must not be used to indulge in self-pity or lamentation.

To the same degree that Deir Yassin remains a symbol of Zionist inhumanity it must also be upheld as a sign of Palestinian strength and determination. Deir Yassin was neither the first nor the last in a chain of massacres carried out against the Palestinian people. They have as a result suffered incalculable losses. Their march to national independence and development was set back. Yet they have not been defeated. Confronted by an adversary that is supported and backed by the world’s most powerful nations, they have still survived. Hence the greatest lesson that must be underscored on the 53rd anniversary of the massacre is that no amount of terrorism and/or barbarity can deter or break the will of a people who thirst for freedom.

In reality there is nothing to suggest that Zionist (Israel) has learnt from the past. There has been no fundamental change in its policies toward the Palestinians since 1948. Five decades after they were assisted by the international community to establish a State in Palestine, (Israel) is still ruled by a revolving junta of generals and immigrants, such as Rechavam Zeevi who advocates the expulsion of the Palestinians not just from The Zionist co-called entity, the West Bank and Gaza Strip but even from the Kingdom of Jordan as well. Jordan, he claims, is the historic home of three Jewish tribes: Gad, Reuven and Menashe.

Accordingly, if there can be any claim to a change in (Israeli) policy it is the fact that it has become more brutal in its attacks upon the children–the future–of Palestine. Those who understand the role of education as a means of liberation will understand perfectly well why Palestinian universities and schools are shelled, closed or converted into barracks for the occupying army. Here again the colonizer has ignored the lessons from recent history. How many students were killed in Soweto and other South African townships for resisting apartheid? How many were arrested and imprisoned only for attending funerals and expressing grief? (Israel’s) pursuit of the same policies will certainly produce the same results in occupied Palestine.

In its aftermath, Deir Yassin did not merely leave a trail of blood and destruction across the landscape of Palestine. It further left in its wake millions of shattered lives and a refugee problem that remains unresolved to this day. No commemoration of the massacre can therefore be completed with only a remembrance of the martyrs. It must also look toward the future of the millions who currently live under the yoke of occupation or in the wilderness of exile. For this reason there can hardly be a better theme for the occasion than: looking beyond the massacre—toward a future of reconstruction and nation building in a free, united and independent Palestine From the River to the Sea.