The public is invited to a timely showing of a documentary, 1948: Creation & Catastrophe. The event will take place on Tuesday, May 16 at 7 p.m. at the Comox United Church, 250 Beach Drive in Comox.

Through riveting and moving personal recollections of both Palestinians and Israelis, 1948: Creation & Catastrophe reveals the shocking events of the most pivotal year in the most controversial conflict in the world. It tells the story of the establishment of Israel as seen through the eyes of the people who lived it. It is simply not possible to make sense of what is happening in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict today without an understanding of 1948. This documentary was the last chance for many of its Israeli and Palestinian characters to narrate their first-hand accounts of the creation of a state and the expulsion of a nation.

This showing will bring a greater understanding of the historical underpinnings of the longstanding Middle East conflict, highlighting the establishment of Israel as a state for the Jewish people, and the consequential destruction of Palestinian society and homeland and the permanent dispossession of a majority of the Palestinians living in historic Palestine.

The Nakba (Arabic for 鈥渃atastrophe鈥�), as it is now coined, subsumed the events of the late 1940s, as well as the subsequent and ongoing persecution, displacement, and military occupation of the Palestinians.

In 2023, it is 75 years since the initial acts of dispossession and violence faced by the Palestinian people. Today, Palestinians in Israel live as second-class citizens, those in East Jerusalem and the West Bank live a daily nightmare of occupation, colonization and apartheid, and the Palestinians in Gaza live under a devastating blockade and occupation in what is called 鈥渢he world鈥檚 largest open air prison.鈥�

Under the banner of Nakba 75 Action, public education and outreach activities are being held across North America. The UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Nakba at UN Headquarters in New York on May 15.

This local presentation is co-sponsored by Mid-Islanders for Justice & Peace/Comox Valley, World Community Development Education Society, and the Social Justice Committee of the Comox United Church. Palestinian olive oil, za鈥檃tar spice blend and Palestinian Medjoul Dates will be available for purchase. Admission is by donation. For more information, call 250-331-9391.