Right of Return

Right of Return:

"Following the recognition of the State of Israel in 1948, Jewish militias quickly defeated the Arab armies that stood in their way as thousands of Palestinians fled their villages, or were forcibly removed by the advancing Israelis. In some villages, the inhabitants were rounded up and executed, and as word of these massacres spread, many more began to leave in panic. Others simply left, believing that they would return to their homes when the fighting was over. For Israelis, 1948 was a triumph in their quest for a safe haven from centuries of persecution, culminating in the Holocaust. But for the Palestinians they displaced, this event is known as 'al Nakba', or the Catastrophe."