Our Vision
Help us to make our vision a reality
The Centre for Documentation on the Nakba (CDN)
Our immediate goal is to build a new centre in central London, which will be called the Centre for Documentation on the Nakba. This centre will gather together all the documentation currently available on the Nakba and the process of ethnic cleansing which accompanied and followed it, and be used for the wider activities of NMF.
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The Archive
There is now evidence that the government of Israel is undertaking what may be referred to as “Nakba denial”. This involves, on the one hand, the reclassification since 2016 of documents in the Israeli archives, such that access is no long given to a significant part of the documentary evidence on 1948 and its aftermath; and on the other hand destroying centres of documentation in areas controlled by Palestinians (as, for example, has been done with the deliberate destruction of Palestinian universities, research centres and libraries in Gaza).
The NMF Response is establishing a centre for documentation on the Nakba in London: the centre will gather together all the documentation currently available on the Nakba and the process of ethnic cleansing which accompanied and followed it. A building will be acquired for this purpose, with all of the documentation digitalised and made available to historians and other who wish to research the events concerned.
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Cultural Hub
As a charity, our overarching objective is to advance the arts by the promotion of the art of the Palestinian people and to advance the education of the public in the subject of the arts, culture, and heritage of the Palestinian people including all aspects of their language, history, and traditions.
Beyond collating documents relating to the Nakba and creating a digital archive, we envision the CDN to be a space for cultural producers. Cultural productions, such as films documenting the nature of the communities which existed prior to the Nakba (and were then destroyed) will be produced, such as the upcoming video which you can find on our homepage.
We view this as an important part of preserving Palestinian heritage, as new, artistic ways of reading the archives will be imperative in allowing the historical record to be disseminated to a much wider audience.
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Research Unit
Furthermore, the centre will encourage academic research and discussion, promoting knowledge on what happened in 1948 and after. Support will be given to ongoing research.
Having the archives digitised and available for researchers will play a crucial role in ensuring the heritage of Palestine is not lost. By supporting ongoing research, we can help to ensure that history can be told as it happened.
Beyond this, research plays a crucial role in informing activists and advocates of the Palestinian cause. Therefore, the Centre will liaise with activists who seek an informed basis for their activities, upon the basis of the ongoing research that we will support.
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