Hundreds of people gathered Saturday night in Ackerman Grand
Ballroom to celebrate Palestinian culture and heritage.
The third annual Palestinian Culture Night featured speakers,
music performances, dances, an art exhibit and displays of
traditional Palestinian outfits. With violins, drums and
tambourines playing traditional music some members of the audience
even came forward at one point and danced in a circle while holding
hands.
The event also included readings of children’s writings
from refugee camps and a Palestinian fashion show.
The event marked the middle of a three-day convention hosted by
Al-Awda ““ the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition. It was
an effort to develop a campaign to protect Palestinian rights,
especially the rights of refugees to return to their former towns
and villages, said co-founder of Al-Awda, Zahi Damuni.
“This is a whole community that has come together for one
core issue ““ the Palestinian right to return,” he
said.
Damuni emphasized that the night’s event, in addition to
being a celebration of the Palestinian culture, was also an effort
to develop initiatives related to Palestinian refugee rights.
“We came together tonight not just to feel good but to
create programs of action focused on our right to return,” he
said.
The coalition states that the Palestinian Arab people,
regardless of their religious affiliation, are indigenous to the
territories that encompass present-day Israel, the West Bank and
Gaza Strip, and are thus entitled to live anywhere in the
region.
The West Bank and Gaza Strip are currently occupied by Israeli
troops and subject to the Israeli-Palestinian interim agreement
with permanent status set to be determined through further
negotiation.
The current recognized borders of Israel constitute the majority
of the territories Palestinians claim as their own. The remainder
is divided between land occupied by Israel since 1967 and the
autonomous regions under the control of the Palestinian
authority.
Organizations such as Al-Awda promote the desire of many
Palestinians to return to their homeland and be granted full
restitution and authority over the area, according to the
organization’s web site.
However other groups disagree with the objectives of Al-Awda and
its efforts to promote the Palestinian right to return
movement.
“There is no right to return to Israel because a
population exchange took place and almost all of the Palestinians
left of their own free will almost 57 years ago,” said Leeron
Morad, a spokesman of Bruins for Israel.
“(Palestinians) will not get any support because there is
no right to return,” Morad said. “This conference goes
against Palestinians and against Israelis. It’s hateful
towards Israel and it’s not good for the
Palestinians.”
Many Palestinians hold a different opinion.
“Our land belongs to us, and we belong to our land,”
Damuni said. “It’s not only our right to return,
it’s our responsibility. We are one people indivisible to
each other and indivisible to our land.”
Attending the convention and the culture show is
“empowering,” said Rida Hamida, a fourth-year history
student and an organizer of the event. “It builds social
awareness about the right to return,” Hamida added.