Right to Commemorate al-Nakba

Petition submitted by Adalah in 5/03 on behalf of the Association for the Defense of the Rights for the Internally Displaced Persons in Israel against the Haifa Police. The Association sought a permit in 3/03 to demonstrate on Israel's Independence Day, which is also the day that al-Nakba is commemorated. For the Palestinian people, al-Nakba marks the "catastrophe" of 1948 - the losses of life, property, and the national home. Al-Nakba is part of Palestinian history, culture, and identity, and, for Palestinians, maintaining a memory of al-Nakba is essential to upholding one's dignity. The police refused to grant the organizers a permit, rejecting the proposed route of the demonstration and prohibiting the raising of the Palestinian flag by the protestors. Adalah, on behalf of the organizers, challenged the restrictions imposed on the demonstration by the police. Initially, the Court scheduled a hearing for the day after the proposed march. Adalah then filed a motion for an injunction against this decision and the next day, the date of the planned march, the Court rejected the petition. The Court stated that: "Without needing to go into the petitioners' arguments, the Court rejects the petition because the issues addressed do not justify convening a Court hearing on Independence Day."

(H.C. 4130/03, Association for the Defense of the Rights for the Internally Displaced Persons in Israel, et al. v. Haifa Police, et al.)