Remembering Suhmata

I came across an interesting website the other day, Zochrot. This is a Hebrew word that translates to "remembering". Zochrot is a group of Israelis who are part of the Israelis who are decolonizing themselves rather than continuing with the wretched racism of the state of Israel.

The process of remembering includes "to commemorate, witness, acknowledge and repair."

"Zochrot works to make the history of the Nakba accessible to the Israeli public so as to engage Jews and Palestinians in an open recounting of our painful common history."

Zochrot's work of remembering begins with the Nakba, bringing to light testimonies of Palestinians and the histories of the landscape and geography that have been cleansed by the state of Israel. Along with collecting testimonials, they hold seminars, publish literature, and write letters--including this letter written with al-Haq to the President of the University of Western Ontario to ask him to critically examine accepting an honoree award from the Jewish National Fund of Canada. Zochrot also has a learning center, an art gallery, has material available on the net, and do other important work.


Suhmata. Only the stone rubble of a Crusader castle remains.

One of the testimonies they have collected, is the testimony of Hazneh Sama'an (Umm Afif) from the ethnically cleansed village of Suhmata. Knowing the stories of the original Palestinians expelled during the violent creation of the state of Israel intervenes in the white-washed dominant history that is told. Umm Afif's testimony brings to life the people of her village, the village life, and their forced expulsion.

"I always dream that we have returned to Suhmata. There is no doubt we will return, if not us, our children or grandchildren. I wish we would return to our village, I wish we had died before the expulsion."