Many of the grassroots efforts to increase SWANA (South West Asian & North African) Jewish visibility have been co-opted by the Israeli state. In 2014, the Israeli government chose November 30th as a day for Jews “displaced from Arab nations and Iran.” Why this date? To distract from the remembrance of the Nakba. Palestinians recognize November 29 as the day the Nakba began, the date in 1947 when Jewish militias began forcing over 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and land.  In choosing the 30th of November, the Israeli government is attempting to create a false historical narrative that perpetuates its Zionist propaganda. It is both an act of anti-Palestinian racism and a weaponization of SWANA/Mizrahi Jewish identities, simultaneously dividing Arab Jews from their Arab heritage and forcing their identities to become part of the violent erasure of Palestinians. SWANA Jewish histories go far beyond Zionism's limited narrative. The long history of Jewish life in the Arab and Muslim world attests to the power of Arab interfaith solidarities, and the threat that those solidarities pose to Zionism and colonialism. Part of JVP’s BIJOCSM Network, JVP-SWANA invites Arab, Sephardi, Mizrahi, and SWANA Jews and friends to join us in our yearlong cultural events and political education learning about our entwined histories and struggles to challenge Zionism. Join our next session on December 21st at 10:30am PST/1:30pm EST - link in bio. Register here: https://www.mobilize.us/jvp/event/861267/