Ridge Palestinian march slams Israel’s existence

One people’s celebration is another people’s catastrophe.

This Sunday, May 14, Brooklyn Palestinians will march through Bay Ridge
for the first time to commemorate what Israeli Jews call “Yom Ha’atzmaut”
(Independence Day) and Palestinians call “Al-Nakba” (the Cataclysm).

“Al Nakba is one of the most important days in the Palestinian calendar,
because it marks the displacement of our people,” said Ahmad Diab,
co-chairman of Al-Awda, the group organizing the rally.

“It’s the date when Palestinians were forced out of their homes.”

Bay Ridge, which has seen a rise in its Palestinian and Arab population
over the past two decades, has historically had an uneasy relationship
with new Muslim immigrants. But officially, the neighborhood is welcoming
the rally.

“Different groups have the right to gather and express, as long as
it’s peaceful and respectful,” said Josephine Beckmann, district
manager of Community Board 10. “Certainly, this community is respectful
of other cultures.”

Diab promises a peaceful gathering and hopes that Suday’s march will
help raise political awareness among Palestinians in Bay Ridge.

“I really hope that it will be the start of an annual commemoration,”
said Diab.

Not everyone shares that hope.

“It’s one slap after another,” said Molly Resnick, founder
and president of Mothers against Teaching Children to Kill and Hate. “I
don’t care how right you think you are and how much injustice is
being done to you. I wouldn’t give them the time of day, until they
stop … teaching children to blow themselves up and kill innocent
bystanders.”

March organizers expect about 250 participants to step off at noon from
Fifth Avenue between 67th and 68th streets, walk up towards the 80s, and
then loop back to Leif Ericson Park.

Marchers will wave Palestinian flags and some will carry keys that, they
say, fit doors on former Palestinian homes in the State of Israel.