On the 29th of October 1956 the government of Israel imposed a curfew starting from 5 PM on Arab villages which were under military rule. On that evening, 49 inhabitants of Kufr Kassem, on their way home from work, were shot dead by Israeli soldiers.

On Saturday, 20th of October, on the occasion of the 45th Memorial of the Kufr Kassem Massacre, Ta’ayush gathered in Kufr Kassem to watch a documentary film, which tells the story of the massacre, to hear live testimonies by some of the survivors and afterwards to hold an open discussion about the massacre implications on the people of Kufr Kassem.

Ta’ayush was established exactly a year before in a meeting between a delegation from Tel-Aviv and people from Kufr Kassem on the occasion of the 44th memorial of the massacre, and in the midst of the confusion and shock which prevailed in the wake of the October 2000 events.

This was a good opportunity to express our solidarity with our friends from Kufr Kassem who played an extremely important role in our activities and our contacts with the Occupied Territories during the past year.

On Sunday 28th of October, the evening before the official Memorial Day, Ta’ayush held a procession with candles and torches starting from the Municipality Square down to the monument for the massacre victims.