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Palestinians refer to the events surrounding the establishment of the State of Israel as the Nakba, or catastrophe. Nakba Day is commemorated on May 15, the day of the start of the 1948 War of Independence. Some Palestinian politicians, writers and commentators use Nakba Day to insinuate that the very existence of Israel is a catastrophe and to question the legitimacy of Israel as the Jewish national homeland. This day is also marked by many Israeli Arabs, reflecting the difficulty of their being fully integrated into Israeli society.