Palestinian key at a Nakba Day demonstration in BerlinYoung girl with a key symbol, Nakba Day, 2010, Hebron. The sign says: Arabic: حتماً سنعود فلسطين, romanized: We will return to Palestine
The Palestinian key is the Palestinian symbol of their homes lost in the Nakba, when more than half of the population of Mandatory Palestine were either expelled or fled violence in the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight and subsequently denied the right to return. Almost 75 years later the key remains a potent symbol and reminder of physical and emotional loss and injustice.[1][2]
It is considered part of a hope for return and a claim to the lost properties.[3]
Description
The keys are large and old-fashioned in style.
Enlarged replicas are often found around Palestinian refugee camps, and used at pro-Palestinian demonstrations around the world as collective symbols.[3]
World's largest key
World's largest key (Guinness World Records), in the style of a Palestinian key representing the Nakba, in Katara, Doha, Qatar
Since 2016, a Palestinian restaurant in Doha, Qatar, holds the Guinness World Record for the world's largest key – 2.7 tonnes and 7.8 x 3 meters.[4][5]
^Meital, Y.; Rayman, P. (2017). Recognition as Key for Reconciliation: Israel, Palestine, and Beyond. Social, Economic and Political Studies of the Middle East and Asia. Brill. ISBN978-90-04-35580-4. Michal concedes the fact that Israelis do the same thing to the memory of the Nakba when saying "it was in 1948, enough talking about the past, let's talk about the future." When the Palestinians come with their keys [the Palestinian symbol of their lost homes], she says, "it's the same thing, it's a memory still burning in the hearts of families
^ abFeldman, llana. 2008. Refusing Invisibility: Documentation and Memorialization in Palestinian Refugee Claims, Journal of Refugee Studies 21 (4): 4, page 503: "Anyone familiar with Palestinian visibility practices will certainly be aware of the importance of certain central objects within this field. Many refugees still have the keys to their houses in Palestine. Keeping these keys, and showing them to visitors and researchers, is part of a hope for return and a claim to these properties. Given this widespread practice, these keys, with their distinctive old-fashioned look, have also become symbols of refugee commitment to Palestine. At demonstrations in support of Palestinians one can often find people carrying enlarged replicas of these keys in the process transforming individual objects into collective symbols."
^The Peninsula Newspaper (2016-05-16). "'Largest Key' dedicated to refugees around the world". The Peninsula Qatar. The gigantic key, dedicated to all the refugees around the world, was unveiled in a spectacular show at the Katara Amphitheatre last night featuring Palestinian Arab Idol winner Mohammed Assaf. "This key symbol for all the refugees in the world. We want to set a Guinness World Record to say that it is the right of these refugees to return back home. Actually this is linked particularly to Palestinian refugees."... Around 4,000 people filled the Katara Amphitheatre to witness the unveiling of the enormous key and enjoy the concert highlighted by the performance of the young Palestinian singer who is the first United Nations Relief and Works Agency regional youth ambassador for Palestine refugees.
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