Nakba 75: Reclamation and Resistance

The Palestinian Youth Movement’s Political Poster Project

Poster Art | Poster Project Statement | How to use the Posters | PYM Songs

This year marks 75 years since the Nakba, which saw over 500 Palestinian villages destroyed and depopulated, and up to 1 million Palestinians forcibly expelled from their homes. On May 15th, Palestinians around the world commemorate Nakba Day: whether across the lands of historic Palestine, in refugee camps, or across the diaspora; we acknowledge that the Nakba is ongoing and so too is Palestinian resistance. In fact, Palestinian resistance began well before the Nakba. Most notably, the 1936-39 Arab Revolts mark popular peasant rebellion against the British Mandate over Palestine and thus serve as a reminder of the role Western Imperialism has played, and continues to play, in the construction and maintenance of the Zionist entity. 

Today, 75 years after the Nakba, Palestinian resistance is stronger than ever. While January 2023 marked the West Bank’s deadliest month in a decade, this has been paralleled by heightened unified resistance across historic Palestine, as well as across Lebanon and Syria. This ‘Unity of All Fronts’ approach is the first time that our generation has witnessed the expansion of Palestinian unity and coalesced around such large-scale resistance efforts. This highlights not only the unification of Palestinian factions, but also the unification of the wider region against Zionist attempts to fragment and isolate us. It is within this context that these posters were developed.

The Palestinian Youth Movement’s theme for this year is ‘Nakba 75: Reclamation and Resistance’. This theme was selected in honor of our youth refusing to abandon the struggle for liberation, even when dispersed across the globe. Palestinian and Arab youth have played a historic role in the Palestinian liberation movement and we believe that youth continue to be the cradle of Palestinian liberation. As the PYM, we understand that popular resistance in Palestine is forging a new horizon, cultivating a renewed revolutionary optimism among our people across exile and in the homeland. We are truly in a unique political moment, we have seen the political crisis experienced in Zionist settler society, and in response, Palestinians have united and coalesced around increased resistance efforts across historic Palestine, building on the legacy of the Unity Uprisings. Since the Unity Intifada, protests are growing in the cities of Occupied ‘48, popular resistance efforts in the West Bank are growing, and over 250,000 Palestinian worshippers pray in Al-Aqsa mosque despite Zionist attack. The legacy of the Oslo Accords, which resulted in the geographic and political fragmentation of Palestinian communities, had resulted in the paralysis of the Palestinian capacity to resist against colonialism, but the unity uprisings represents a renewal of our resistance. As we commemorate 75 years of ongoing Nakba, we are also commemorating 75 years of ongoing popular resistance that will guarantee the total liberation of our homeland and our unconditional Right to Return. 

As the Zionist entity’s violence increases and imperial regimes continue to normalise relations, our demand remains nothing less than the total and complete liberation of Palestine: from the river to the sea. In the face of the continued capitulation of the Palestinian Authority, our youth refuse to compromise by reclaiming the Palestinian liberation movement as our own. As we reach the 75th year since the Nakba, we know more than ever that liberation is only on the horizon because of our ability to reclaim a movement that has routinely been attacked and threatened by the enemy.  

The political posters presented in this newspaper center each one of the Palestinian Youth Movement’s public demands for Nakba. As the PYM, we believe that Palestinian communities across exile must play an active role in advancing our struggle wherever we are. We must carry forward the collective history and culture of our national liberation project and become active agents in our struggle, not passive witnesses. We also believe the unconditional Right of Return for all Palestinians continues to be an essential core demand of our national liberation movement. The PYM also believes we have an obligation to reject apathy and capitulation to our cause and any normalization efforts that attempt to weaken national unity.  

This newspaper is our offering to the community, an opportunity to take up an active role of resistance in our larger liberation movement and spread the call out for unity, resistance, and a liberated Palestinian future. We encourage you to put these posters up in public, hold pop-up art shows, host an art build, mount them on poster boards and use them as signs when you attend one of the many Nakba 75 rallies and marches occurring all over the world. We want you to disrupt the visual flow of reality with these messages and use them to showcase that we are active agents in our struggle and that the fight for liberation remains steadfast in the diaspora.

We invite you to join us in action, for it is only through principled collective will that we can reclaim the struggle and march forward towards victory. 

Until Return and Liberation,

The Palestinian Youth Movement

This section contains instruction on the various ways you can use the Nakba 75 posters, including wheat pasting, pop-up art shows, and art builds.

Send us your best photo/s of how you use the poster art (include city/group): pymagitprop@gmail.com

DM us photos and tag us in your instagram posts: @palestinianyouthmovement

Wheat-pasting

Pasting-up or wheat pasting art and messages as part of liberation movements has a long history all over the world, including in Palestine where political posters carrying messages of liberation, the names of our martyrs, and our political demands were and still are pasted on walls all over our cities, villages, and in the camps. Wheat pasting is still used worldwide in street art today. This is your opportunity to participate in this long legacy of resistance arts. 

SUPPLIES: 

• Posters

• Wheat paste of choice in a bucket (Recipes)

• Brushes 

• Rags for cleaning hands 

Carrying Art: There are simple ways to carry and protect images from getting damaged, and prevent paste getting on them. You can make a cardboard folder/holder and/or carry in a bag.

Paste Bucket: Your bucket should be big enough for your brush or roller to fit into and hold enough paste, though you can also bring additional paste in other containers.  

One or two gallon buckets can fit into a cloth or plastic shopping bag with handles, for easy carrying.

Brushes: larger brushes hold more paste and cover a bigger area. 

• 4 inch chip/paint brush

• Deck Stain Brush: come in 5 inch-9 inch sizes 

Paint roller: you can use a paint roller. This can be used with a handle, which makes it faster to cover an area and you can more easily reach high areas. A thick–½ or ¾ inch paint roller cover will hold more paste. 

HOW TO PASTE A POSTER

1. Apply paste to a surface. Using your preferred tool (such as a paintbrush or your gloved hands), apply a liberal coat of paste to a wall. It will adhere strongly to wood, stone, and most other surfaces.

2. Remove any lumps from the paste to prevent bubbles and lumps from tearing the poster.

3. Stick the poster or art onto the pasted surface. Do this slowly, rolling it up from one side to prevent wrinkles from forming.

• For very large posters or high surfaces, a push broom may be useful.

• Use hand to push out any bubbles as you adhere the poster 

4. Apply additional paste over the poster. Make sure the poster is saturated and use your hand or brush to Push out any bubbles. A glossy, sticky layer over the whole poster will dry into a strong adherent.

• If you used whole wheat flour, the paste may have brown flecks or tinge. Apply such paste lightly to avoid obscuring the poster.

• If you don't have enough time or paste to cover the entire poster, prioritize the corners or furthest edges.

Pop Up Art Show

This poster art can also be used as a pop up art show–to be displayed in indoor or outdoor public spaces or buildings. There is a set of downloadable art show signs that you can print out (8.5x11) and use for the show. 

Art Build: Making Signs

Host an art build to make signs for actions and rallies. Play our PYM resistance songs while making signs (found below) 

MOUNT POSTERS: You can mount posters on cut-to-size poster board/cardboard/thin plywood/etc. using paste, spray adhesive, rubber cement, glue stick, or masking tape around the edges. 

FROM DOWNLOADS: Download designs, print out, and mount on rigid backing cut to size. Larger options: print out on 11x17 paper, or print out ½ of image on 11x17 and cut/glue together. Or print on a large format color printer, but it can be expensive.

WATERPROOF OPTIONS: If you want to make a waterproof paste that won’t come off in rain or when exposed to water you can use waterproof wood glue w water–or to coat and waterproof art for pop-up shows or mounted posters that you want to be rainproof. 

Play the Palestinian Youth Movement’s Resistance Songs at your art builds, while putting up the posters, and at your pop-up art shows! Descriptions of the two songs are below. You can also access the songs on Soundcloud here.

For more information about our Resistance Songs project, visit this page.