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Opinion | My Father Tried To Hide The Nakba - But It Found Me.

JL;DR SUMMARY Seraj Assi reflects on the enduring impact of the Nakba on Palestinian identity and history. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Israeli Palestinian ConflictNakbaSurvivalReconciliationCollective MemoryPalestinian IdentityPalestinian DiasporaHistorical JusticeStatehood Aspirations

Places mentioned

Jaffa, Tel Aviv District, Israel
"He was born into a family of peasants from a town near Jaffa, who owned a field just a few miles outside the city."
Jerusalem, Israel
"thanks to Israels ever-growing expansion into Palestinian land and the proliferation of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem."
Gaza, Palestinian Territories
"In Gaza, over 1.8 million Palestinians are squeezed into 146 square miles, besieged by both Israel and Egypt, with no end in sight, fearing the looming prospect of a new Israeli invasion."
Jordan
"Men like my father were restricted from seeing their fellow Palestinians and Arabs in neighboring countries like Jordan and Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, in the West Bank and Gaza, and even in other towns and villages inside Israel."
Egypt
"Men like my father were restricted from seeing their fellow Palestinians and Arabs in neighboring countries like Jordan and Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, in the West Bank and Gaza, and even in other towns and villages inside Israel."
Lebanon
"Men like my father were restricted from seeing their fellow Palestinians and Arabs in neighboring countries like Jordan and Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, in the West Bank and Gaza, and even in other towns and villages inside Israel."
Syria
"Men like my father were restricted from seeing their fellow Palestinians and Arabs in neighboring countries like Jordan and Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, in the West Bank and Gaza, and even in other towns and villages inside Israel."

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Retrieved 2026-05-14 05:31:07 UTC
Curated 2026-05-14 08:31:08 UTC