Fill in the Square

Nakba Day, 2005


When we arrived at Kikar Rabin to commemorate Nakba Day the city square was empty.

 
We broke the silence with stakes and hammers. Pictured at left is Talia Fried who produced the event.

 
We designated the coordinate lines of the map of the land using white nylon ribbon, which we fixed to the lawn with jumbo-size nails. Longitude and lattitude signs were printed on orange paper and tied upright to metal stakes.

 


This is how it looked from above.


Our friend Abdalla Zaqut, who passed away two days before the event, was with us in spirit.


Individual cards with details on every village, including map coordinates, were supplied on a card table at the entrance to the event. There were also fliers, various maps, and reading materials about the Nakba for people to look at. 


Zochrot Director Eitan Bronstein read this text at the opening of the event. Instructions for participants were also printed out on fliers and displayed on posterboards at the entryway to the lawn.


We brought lighting, a microphone, speakers and a crate to stand on. Refugees told us about the villages from which they were expelled.




People chose their cards and decorated stones to place on them so that they wouldn't blow away.




Gradually all the villages were returned to the map.


Our kids took part, too.


By the end of the evening, the city square had been filled with the villages that were destroyed during the Nakba. Participants lifted their cards in a moment of silence and appreciation.

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Fill in the Square: Commemorating 57 Years Since the Palestinian Nakba
"The market square is empty," wrote Nomi Shemer in a song that expressed one of the enduring myths of Zionism – that the State of Israel was founded on a land without a people. But the land was not empty. Until 1948 close to a million Palestinians lived here in about 700 cities and villages. In the area that is now Tel Aviv there were six Palestinian villages, one of which, Summeil, is less than a kilometer from Tel Aviv city square [where we have gathered today].

During the Nakba most people who lived on this land became refugees and hundreds of villages were destroyed. The State of Israel was founded on their remains. Today, 57 years following the Nakba, we ask to place a stone – to remember, to protest, and to rebuild a more just society for all the residents and refugees of this land. In Tel Aviv city square we are returning the destroyed villages to the map of the land.

Instructions:

1. Choose a village card. On every card there are a number of details about the village, including its map coordinates.

2. Position the card on the map according to the coordinates that appear on the top left corner of the card. The three digits on the left designate longitude (East-West) and the three digits on the right designate latitude (North-South).

3. Lay a stone on the card to keep it in place once you position it. You can choose a painted stone from the pile, or decorate your own stone and/or sign your name on it.

4. You may also add a village by filling in a blank card available for this purpose.

Thank you for your participation!

Zochrot ["Remembering"]

"The market square is empty," wrote Nomi Shemer in a song that expressed one of the enduring myths of Zionism – that the State of Israel was founded on a land without a people. But the land was not empty. Until 1948 close to a million Palestinians lived here in about 700 cities and villages. In the area that is now Tel Aviv there were six Palestinian villages, one of which, Summeil, is less than a kilometer from Tel Aviv city square [where we have gathered today]. During the Nakba most people who lived on this land became refugees and hundreds of villages were destroyed. The State of Israel was founded on their remains. Today, 57 years following the Nakba, we ask to place a stone – to remember, to protest, and to rebuild a more just society for all the residents and refugees of this land. In Tel Aviv city square we are returning the destroyed villages to the map of the land. On every card there are a number of details about the village, including its map coordinates. according to the coordinates that appear on the top left corner of the card. The three digits on the left designate longitude (East-West) and the three digits on the right designate latitude (North-South). to keep it in place once you position it. You can choose a painted stone from the pile, or decorate your own stone and/or sign your name on it. by filling in a blank card available for this purpose. Thank you for your participation! Zochrot ["Remembering"]

 

"The market square is empty," wrote Nomi Shemer in a song that expressed one of the enduring myths of Zionism – that the State of Israel was founded on a land without a people. But the land was not empty. Until 1948 close to a million Palestinians lived here in about 700 cities and villages. In the area that is now Tel Aviv there were six Palestinian villages, one of which, Summeil, is less than a kilometer from Tel Aviv city square [where we have gathered today]. During the Nakba most people who lived on this land became refugees and hundreds of villages were destroyed. The State of Israel was founded on their remains. Today, 57 years following the Nakba, we ask to place a stone – to remember, to protest, and to rebuild a more just society for all the residents and refugees of this land. In Tel Aviv city square we are returning the destroyed villages to the map of the land. On every card there are a number of details about the village, including its map coordinates. according to the coordinates that appear on the top left corner of the card. The three digits on the left designate longitude (East-West) and the three digits on the right designate latitude (North-South). to keep it in place once you position it. You can choose a painted stone from the pile, or decorate your own stone and/or sign your name on it. by filling in a blank card available for this purpose. Thank you for your participation! Zochrot ["Remembering"]

 

"The market square is empty," wrote Nomi Shemer in a song that expressed one of the enduring myths of Zionism – that the State of Israel was founded on a land without a people. But the land was not empty. Until 1948 close to a million Palestinians lived here in about 700 cities and villages. In the area that is now Tel Aviv there were six Palestinian villages, one of which, Summeil, is less than a kilometer from Tel Aviv city square [where we have gathered today]. During the Nakba most people who lived on this land became refugees and hundreds of villages were destroyed. The State of Israel was founded on their remains. Today, 57 years following the Nakba, we ask to place a stone – to remember, to protest, and to rebuild a more just society for all the residents and refugees of this land. In Tel Aviv city square we are returning the destroyed villages to the map of the land. On every card there are a number of details about the village, including its map coordinates. according to the coordinates that appear on the top left corner of the card. The three digits on the left designate longitude (East-West) and the three digits on the right designate latitude (North-South). to keep it in place once you position it. You can choose a painted stone from the pile, or decorate your own stone and/or sign your name on it. by filling in a blank card available for this purpose. Thank you for your participation! Zochrot ["Remembering"]