al majdal is named after one of the Palestinian cities in the south of Palestine, home to some 11,000 Palestinian women, men, youth, and children, which was brought to a sudden end by the forceful superimpose of the Israeli city of Ashkelon. Unlike many other towns and villages in Palestine, not all of the people of Majdal Jad, as it was known, had vacated their town during the war of 1948. More than 1,500 residents remained steadfast until 1950, when they were finally evicted by a combination of Israeli military force and bureaucratic measures reminiscent of the current Israeli policy of ethnic cleansing applied against the Palestinian inhabitants in the eastern areas of occupied Jerusalem, in particular, and against Palestinians remaining in the area of historic Palestine. Thus, Palestinians of Majdal Jad were turned into refugees, most of them finding shelter in the nearby Gaza Strip. Like other Palestinian refugees, they have not disappeared. They have remained close to their homes and lands. Of old age now, they, their children and grandchildren have built new hopes and dreams based on the international recognition of their right of return, and struggled for the day when they would live a free citizens in al-Majdal/Ashkelon.



In this issue of al-majdal we continue to examine Israel's current policies of ethnic cleansing, recognizing that these policies are rooted historically in the Zionist idea of "transfer" as a means to clear Palestine of its Palestinian Arab inhabitants in order to establish a pure Jewish state. In light of these policies and current international demands that refugees from Kosova be permitted to return to their homes, the hypocrisy of the international community in refusing to support the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands is all too evident. All this underlines, 1) the need to create a new consensus which challenges Israel's current state system based on the idea of a pure Jewish state, and, 2) the need to advocate for a new Middle East, based on principles of international law and UN Resolutions rather narrow, exclusive religious or ethnic parameters. Updates on the Campaign for the Defense of Palestinian Refugee Rights highlights continuing work in these areas.

Future issues of al-majdal will continue to explore these issues and report on progress on both the campaign for refugee rights and the campaign for Palestinian rights in Jerusalem. In future issues we would also like to feature oral histories of Palestinian refugees from Majdal Jad, covering the life before 1948, the war and refugee life after 1948. BADIL invites oral history contributions.