In the face of setbacks and unanswered questions, we march forward, because we know that this  struggle will lead us to liberation. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
WRITERS AGAINST THE WAR ON GAZA

To the steadfast,

As we mark 77 years of Nakba, we remind the world that the Nakba is not the start of Palestinian history. Palestinians and Arabs across the region have resisted imperialism for over 100 years. From the Great Arab Revolution of 1936 to the war of the camps in Lebanon, to the tearing down of the border wall in 2023, the Palestinian people stubbornly insist on life and on remaining rooted in their land. 

It is through this stubbornness that the path to liberation is born. Paved by the blood of our martyrs and guided by the light of our prisoners, this path is neither straight nor easy, but we follow it nevertheless. In the face of setbacks and unanswered questions, we march forward, because we know that this struggle will lead us to liberation.

Today, our struggle is at a crossroads. The Zionist state and its Western backers are waging a war of extermination against our people, from Gaza, to the West Bank, to the broader Arab region and the far diaspora. The scale of human loss in Gaza and the attack on our movement in the diaspora are realities that produce hopelessness and despair. 

But if there was ever a moment to confront hopelessness and replace it with conviction, that moment is now. 

This new issue of The New York War Crimes, which you can find at protests and in cities across America, launches today—the 77th anniversary of the Nakba. Produced in partnership between the Palestinian Youth Movement and Writers Against the War on Gaza, it includes texts that articulate the antagonistic contradiction between Palestinian liberation and Zionism, between imperialism and Arab sovereignty, demonstrating unequivocally that the two can never co-exist. This moment’s horrors reflect Zionism’s barbarity. They also reflect our will to resist, to remain, and to return. For as long as Zionism attempts to eradicate us, we know we have not been defeated.

Across eight pages are stories of displacement, imprisonment, and martyrdom, which testify to the promise of resistance and return. Through archival research, translated works, and new writing, the Nakba ‘77 issue is a vindication of our people’s resolve, of their unshakable refusal to compromise and capitulate.

[Download the full issue here]

Few Palestinian survivors of May 1948 are alive today. Yet the scale and distance of 77 years should not dissuade us. In the words of Nakba survivor Ahmed Qasim Ubayd, whose story is featured in this issue: “Everyone we’re talking about is dead now; we’re here talking about memories. It’s so that the generation that comes after us understands the value of the homeland.”

Let the memory of them renew our commitment to the struggle and the homeland. Let their sacrifices serve as that steadfast flame, lit by the first generation and passed on by each subsequent one, guiding us forward on the road to liberation and return.

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Read a new translation of Basel al-Araj’s essay on the Nakba

The Nakba ’77 edition of the New York War Crimes features the first English translation of the Palestinian revolutionary intellectual and martyr Basel al-Araj’s essay “Al-dhakirah al-jarīhah lil-nakbah” (“The Wounded Memory of the Nakba”). The text was prepared as part of the effort to translate and publish the works of al-Araj collected in the 2018 book of essays Wajadtu ajwibati, or I Have Found My Answers. The project will be published in 2026 as a free electronic book as well as a print book by the recently established publishing house Safarjal Press.

Al-Araj argues against more than one kind of revisionism. He writes,

“The first generation of refugees carried a heterogeneous memory of the homeland and village, combining both misery and bliss. However, the following generations supplanted narratives of misery and poverty with the narrative of supposed joy in the lost nation, drawing an image of Palestine that was not entirely accurate.”

Read the full essay on the New York War Crimes website.

Reread Mariam Barghouti’s 2023 essay on the Nakba

“The Zionist drive to expel and eliminate the Palestinian people continues to this day. That is why Palestinian resistance to Zionism will remain.”

Read the full essay in Mondoweiss.

March with the Palestinian Youth Movement

More info on protests here.

Go to the movies with the New York chapter

The prison demands violence, enacts violence, and conceals violence. The final evening in our “Cinema for Liberation” series features two films that track prisoner struggles from Palestine to the U.S., through rehearsal and reportage: Ghost Hunting (2017) and Attica (1974). Between the two films, there will be a panel discussion co-hosted by Release Aging People in Prison and featuring Orisanmi Burton. Tickets here.

Join Us at the 2025 People’s Conference for Palestine in Detroit

For the second year in a row, WAWOG is a convening organization for the People’s Conference for Palestine, taking place between August 29 and 31 in Detroit, Michigan. Thousands of organizers, students, artists, and community members from across Turtle Island will gather for a historic weekend of study and struggle, solidarity and strategy.

Palestine is the center, and Gaza is the compass—this is the guiding principle of the conference. Join us in charting the next phase of the movement for Palestinian liberation. Register now. 

🎟 Register Now: peoplesconferenceforpalestine.org
🤝 Are you part of an organization? Endorse the conference
💸 Can’t make it? Donate to support the conference

📣 Help us spread the word:

  • Twitter

  • Instagram - Main Post

  • Instagram - Call for Endorsers

🇵🇸 See you in Detroit.

We leave you with the words of journalist Hassan Eslayeh, who the occupation murdered this week: 

It would not be difficult for the occupation to assassinate me again, especially with the increasing incitement I hear and see against me. They may target me inside the hospital, in this room of mine. What can I do?

I am not fighting. I am working, and I bear responsibility for my profession. If the Israeli army kills me, the photos I took and the stories I told the world will live on. My name, my cause, and my voice will live on — and the occupation will die.

Until liberation,

W.A.W.O.G.

Twitter: @wawog_now

Instagram: @wawog_now
Telegram: t.me/PopularUniversity

For press inquiries: press@wawog.com

For general inquiries: wawog@wawog.com

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1) The backpage of the Nakba edition of the New York War Crimes. 2) A mural depicting Basel al-Araj. 3) PYM protests in the U.S. and Canada. 4) A poster for the 2025 People’s Conference for Palestine.

Statue of Liberty, New York, NY, 10004, United States

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