By Ranjan Solomon
Despite having their home stolen and constantly facing dehumanization, the Sub Laban family remains unbreakable. This Palestinian family in Jerusalem set up an impromptu exhibition yesterday morning on top of the remains of their furniture, a powerful testament to the ongoing Nakba. We are in awe of their steadfastness and resilience.
The Ghaith-Sub Laban family constructed a living exhibition of the Nakba using pieces of furniture thrown to the street by the Israeli settlers who displaced them from their home in occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City two weeks ago. Despite the challenges they face, the family courageously displayed their history and the injustice they have endured. In a distressing turn of events, Rafat Sub Laban, the son of Nora and Mustafa Sub Laban and one Israeli solidarity activist were arrested by Israeli occupation forces during this time. It is heart-wrenching to witness the relentless oppression and injustice faced by this family.
The forced eviction of the Sub Laban family from their home in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, where 68-year-old Nora, the mother, was born, is a grave injustice not only against her and her husband Mustafa (72) but also part of a long-standing effort to ethnically cleanse the Old City and Jerusalem as a whole, reflecting the ongoing Nakba across the country.
During the 1948 war, a significant portion of the al-Quds (Jerusalem) area was subjected to ethnic cleansing, including neighbourhoods in West Jerusalem like Talbiya, Qatamon, and Baq’a. The Palestinian inhabitants, including the Ghaith family, Nora Sub Laban’s parents, were forcibly displaced from their homes, which were subsequently destroyed, expropriated by the Israeli regime, or given to Jewish immigrants.
Many of the Nakba refugees sought refuge in East Jerusalem, which came under Jordanian rule. However, in 1967, Israel occupied East Jerusalem, bringing these refugees under its rule. In a blatant violation of international law designed to protect civilians under occupation, Israel annexed East Jerusalem and has since been actively involved in Judaizing the city, essentially cleansing it of its Palestinian residents.
One example of this is the 1970 Legal and Administrative Matters Law, allowing properties owned by Jews before 1948 to be returned to them through the Custodian General, despite the fact that Jews forced out of their homes during the 1948 war had already been compensated by the state, some by repossessing Palestinian homes. Comparing this law to the 1950 Absentee Property Law, which transferred all properties of uprooted Palestinians to state ownership, highlights a clear example of an apartheid regime, applying different legal systems to individuals of different ethno-nationalities.
The ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from East Jerusalem has been pursued gradually and piecemeal since 1967, utilizing a creative array of bureaucratic pretexts. However, recent developments indicate acceleration in this policy, with a sharp rise in house demolitions this year, accompanied by an increase in construction for Jews only. The Sub Laban family is just the latest victims of this unjust policy. Throughout their prolonged struggle, the Sub Laban family has welcomed hundreds of activists, supporters, and reporters into their home and even the walls of the house have become a statement of belonging and steadfastness, adorned with political art. Hours after their forced eviction, Jewish settlers have already entered the house, draping it with the flags of the colonialist regime. An elected member of the Jerusalem city council posted a photo of himself inside the house with the words: “Nakba now”.
In the face of this crushing abuse and dehumanization, the Sub Laban family shows us a glimpse of a different future, supported by Israeli, Palestinian, and other activists. While another house has fallen victim to insatiable colonialist greed, it has also given us hope for a potential future of connection instead of separation, partnership and solidarity instead of supremacism and uprooting. It is time for more of us to join the struggle for this future, envisioning a return to justice and freedom for all.
27 July 2023