May 15, 2026 is the 78th “anniversary” of NAKBA — translated it means “The Catastrophe”.

On that day, 750,00 Palestinians were expelled from their homes and their land, never to be allowed to return. Families lost everything that they could not load into a car to take with them — gardens, orchards, family burial grounds, homes, businesses, schools—mass displacement of people and destruction of hundreds of communities. I try to imagine being one of them. I can’t.

And now, May 15, 2026, we are witnessing not only displacement of a people, but the intentional starvation and murder of families and destruction of the infrastructure ( schools, universities, businesses, libraries, water, electric, sewage treatment) of an entire society.

Genocide continues, and most of the world turns away. There are an estimated 5.3 million displaced people in Palestine. Over 10% of the population killed or injured, and so much higher if there was any attempt to remove the rubble Gaza has been left in, according to Brown University Cost of War Project.

And now the violent displacement and terrorism in the West Bank legitimized by the Israeli government, and supported still by over $32 billion dollars of OUR money, and as ever, our bombs. No longer are we just speaking of starvation—now it is apocalyptic in Gaza.  Where it is said “life is becoming unlivable”.

Do not forget Palestine. Look up Nakba. Speak up, demand an end to U.S. support for Israel’s extremist right wing government. Demand every person running for office address the continuing NAKBA in Palestine.

Meredith Bruskin lives in Swanville