Memory, Participation and Resistance in ‘Global Conversation’: Discussing the 60th Anniversary of Al-Nakba on BBC, Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiyya Arabic and English Language On-line Forums

Digital debates on commemorations of the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland as a result of the first Arab-Israeli war of 1947-9.

This article investigates Arabic and English language forums focussed on of a single, but polysemous event: the commemorations to mark sixty years since Al-Nakba (‘the Catastrophe’), the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland as a result of the first Arab-Israeli war of 1947-9, as a counterpoint to Israeli celebrations of independence on 15 May 2008. The article springs from a collaborative project[1] examining the history and present work of the BBC World Service, with a particular focus on how it fosters connections between globally dispersed communities of interest and origin.

[1] Explain 'Tuning In'