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Pope Benedict met recently with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and pledged his support for Palestinian statehood, putting him at odds with the new Israeli Prime Minister. During his visit to Gaza the pope witnessed first hand the extensive damage done in January during Israel’s latest devastating war. The pope’s remarks follow on the heels of a statement by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who earlier this week called on Israel to “fundamentally change its policies” on settlements and prove its commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the White House on May 18, right before a visit by Eyptian president Hosni Mubarak, and finally a visit by Mahmoud Abbas. Reports abound in the Israeli press speculating that US President Barack Obama is on the verge of retreating from the relationship that the US has cultivated with Israel for so many decades. This weekend, Palestinians once more mark the Nakba, roughly translated as the “catastrophe,” the day commemorating the occupation of more than 3/4 of Palestinian territory by Israel in 1948. On the occasion of this 61st Nakba, the Campaign to End Israeli Apartheid-Southern California and the American Friends Service Committee have organized an event at UCLA on May 16th from 2 – 4 pm.

GUEST: Ziad Abu Rish, PhD student at the Department of History at UCLA, organizer with Students for Justice in Palestine

The Al Nakba Commemoration Event takes place this Saturday May 16th from 2-4 pm at the UCLA campus Young Hall CS50. For more information, visit www.ceia-sc.org, www.afsc.org.