On 9 – 11 June, 2005, Zochrot took part in the Activism Festival held in the city of Lod — al-Lydd until 1948. Throughout the festival Zochrot operated a tent where visitors could learn about Zochrot and its activities. The tent included a mobile library on the Nakba, maps, a photo collage of Zochrot activities, and booklets on al-Lydd and other villages and cities that Zochrot has toured. Booklets on al-Lydd and Ramle were handed out to the public for free throughout the festival. People showed great interest and very few were hostile.

The major event of the festival was a workshop series that included over a hundred sessions hosted by different organizations, Zochrot among them. We conducted introductory and continuing workshops on the Nakba, as well as a panel discussion in which Zochrot activists – Raneen Geries, Iris Bar, Tamar Avraham, Josephine Makaitun and Youval Tamari – talked with other activists about the relationship between the Nakba and social-political activism in other areas. Some of the connections that were made included: opposition to home demolitions, feminism, activism in the GLBT community, opposition to the wall, the memory of the Holocaust, checkpoint observation, and others. About 30 people attended the panel, including residents of the city of Lod.

We also screened the film "Zochrot: The Female Form of Remembering" by Liat Sabin, and held a General Assembly for the organization.

Zochrot had planned to tour and post signs of the city so as to introduce the public to the brutal history of the Nakba of al-Lydd. Unfortunately, the event was postponed due to police threats to intercept the tour. The police claimed that the tour would disturb the quiet and orderly nature of the festival. We distributed marked maps for people to take the tour individually or in pairs, and we promise to conduct the tour soon as a group.

Activism Festival 2005 (2)

Activism Festival 2005 (1)