In the last 30 years, Israel succeeded in completely separating Jews and other immigrant Israelis from Palestinians, to create a narrative that Palestinians hate them, dream of killing all Jews, are "human animals" and must be all neutralized.
Of course, this narrative about alleged Palestinian hate won't be that successful if Jewish Israelis could still have Palestinian people in their lives. It is only possible with complete separation, so Jews in Israel only imagine what Palestinians are like, without ever seeing them. Same thing happened on the internet, Palestinian websites are blocked.
Unfortunately, the reason why Zionists did not attempt a genocide of such scale before, is not because Israel is now "right wing" and Netanyahu is to blame. The reason why they did not do it before, is simple: because they saw that they are not yet omnipowerful and the Anglosphere might condemn them and withdraw support.
They gradually increased the monstrosity against Palestinians, until they made sure that they can do anything they want and nobody would be able to stop them.
The total erasure of Palestinian population and history was envisioned from the start, by Herzl (which sounds like a plan of what Zionists are doing today to Gaza and the West Bank):
"If we wish to found a State today, we shall not do it in the way which would have been the only possible one a thousand years ago. It is foolish to revert to old stages of civilization, as many Zionists would like to do. Supposing, for example, we were obliged to clear a country of wild beasts, we should not set about the task in the fashion of Europeans of the fifth century. We should not take spear and lance and go out singly in pursuit of bears; 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲, 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐦𝐛 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐬𝐭."
Brilliant poem which illustrates the truth that no matter how much Israel tries to eliminate the very concept of Palestine, it’s hard to eradicate ideas. Over many hundreds of years the British systematically suppressed Irish / Gaelic culture in an attempt to wipe us out as a distinct people. It shows us that, far from being exceptional or ‘chosen, the Israelis are just the latest iteration of the same thuggish savagery and thievery of all the other settler colonialists throughout history. Well said Avigail 👍💚🇵🇸
Here in settler-colonial North America, the famine (an Gorta Mór) that consigned millions of Irish people to death or exile is framed as a natural calamity caused by a blight that infected the potato plants. It was a British-engineered crime. Ireland had plenty of food, but the Brutish occupiers kept exporting needed food to England. Almost two centuries later, Ireland’s population still has not recovered. The Irish language is now endangered, even in the Gaeltachtaí. Yet when is Brutish colonialism called out for what you correctly call systematic suppression with a genocidal purpose?
The Hind Rajab Foundation is launching urgent legal actions to block Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned visit to Hungary. Netanyahu is currently wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. HRF will petition the ICC, call on the Hungarian Public Prosecutor to arrest him, and notify European airspace authorities to deny him passage. Legal teams across Europe are also preparing to activate universal jurisdiction if he travels beyond Hungary. HRF urges all European states to uphold international law and refuse safe haven to suspected war criminals.
Last month was the 84th anniversary of the birth of the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, who lived in exile because the settler-colonial Zionist entity illegally denied him entry to his country (while insisting on a racist «right of return» for anyone whom it arbitrarily regards as Jewish). The «village, remote, forgotten» was destroyed by the settler-colonial invaders when the poet was just a boy. He was imprisoned by the Zionist entity for writing this poem.
I understand that the works of Darwish are still banned from the schools in occupied Palestine. The Zionist régime never stops denying the humanity of the Palestinians.
I didn’t know but I would not be surprised. The Palestinian citizens of Israel live under constant surveillance. Everything Israel is doing is the same as all despicable settler-colonial regimes have always done. Israel learned well from the Brits and what they did in Ireland for hundreds of years, in Scotland and elsewhere. There are people who are still arguing that Israel is a free country to all its citizens. They have no idea what they’re talking about.
The curriculum in the Palestinian schools is controlled by the Zionist régime, which encourages children to snitch if their teachers say anything that might incite national fervour. Jewish kapos similarly did the dirty work of the Nazis for personal gain.
Not to mention what the Brits did in India and much of Africa, and what the neo-Brits occupying North America have done to the indigenous population and subsequently to the Black nation and other groups. You are quite right that what the Zionist entity does is not new or special at all: the only thing about it that is distinctive is the widespread international support that the Zionist project obscenely receives.
Avigail should be especially sensitive to the reference to «a country where everything / Lives in a whirlpool of anger»: she has written repeatedly of the horror that is Zionist society itself, a society rendered inhuman by fear and hatred. The «whirlpool of anger» is of the Zionists' own creation, and indeed they shall struggle mightily to escape it.
You are, of course, right Scott. Israeli society is soul-destroying to its own people and the anger, mistrust, pathological fear and anxiety are self-inflicted. Israel cannot come back from this. As Israel’s biggest friend, the US, implodes into a new civil war, it will no longer have a blank cheque to rely on. As Israel’s economy tanks, and as the religious fanatics increase their control, Israel too will implode. Israeli society is too fractured to hold together, even as the majority are united in their settler-colonial aspirations. A change is coming, and it will happen sooner than you think (I believe). We will see a state that includes everyone who wants to live there run by Palestinians in what used to be Israel, in my lifetime.
Ilan Pappé has been warning us that when settler-colonial systems collapse it is preceded by the worst excesses of violence. I believe we are already seeing this. Gaza is the beginning, but there is more to come. I only hope that when the dust settles, people will make better choices than they have so far. 🙏🏼
Changes on that scale happen suddenly, and I agree that the Zionist entity is headed for collapse. It is making a desperate attempt to save itself through violence even beyond the usual level. The US, another settler-colonial society, is also falling apart.
Yanks are notoriously ignorant of history, and so are many of their lackeys. Time and time again, lackeys of US imperialism have found themselves betrayed and treated as enemies: examples include Hussein, Noriega, bin Laden, and now that now that ninnyhammer Zelensky. The Zionist entity, too, will fall out of favour.
The world needs to see that humanity persists, that there is another way, and that despite everything, we will not stop fighting for a future built on dignity, justice, and peace for all. We can't do this alone and your support is crucial.
Amid the ongoing devastation in Gaza, we are here to say: the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Memorial Ceremony will take place this year. We will not bow to those who seek to silence us.
Every contribution goes directly toward production, logistics, and, most importantly, ensuring the safety and security of all participants and guests.
The ceremony is live streamed on 29th April 2025 at 8:30pm Jerusalem time. You can register online:
In the last 30 years, Israel succeeded in completely separating Jews and other immigrant Israelis from Palestinians, to create a narrative that Palestinians hate them, dream of killing all Jews, are "human animals" and must be all neutralized.
Of course, this narrative about alleged Palestinian hate won't be that successful if Jewish Israelis could still have Palestinian people in their lives. It is only possible with complete separation, so Jews in Israel only imagine what Palestinians are like, without ever seeing them. Same thing happened on the internet, Palestinian websites are blocked.
Unfortunately, the reason why Zionists did not attempt a genocide of such scale before, is not because Israel is now "right wing" and Netanyahu is to blame. The reason why they did not do it before, is simple: because they saw that they are not yet omnipowerful and the Anglosphere might condemn them and withdraw support.
They gradually increased the monstrosity against Palestinians, until they made sure that they can do anything they want and nobody would be able to stop them.
The total erasure of Palestinian population and history was envisioned from the start, by Herzl (which sounds like a plan of what Zionists are doing today to Gaza and the West Bank):
"If we wish to found a State today, we shall not do it in the way which would have been the only possible one a thousand years ago. It is foolish to revert to old stages of civilization, as many Zionists would like to do. Supposing, for example, we were obliged to clear a country of wild beasts, we should not set about the task in the fashion of Europeans of the fifth century. We should not take spear and lance and go out singly in pursuit of bears; 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲, 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐦𝐛 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐬𝐭."
(Melinite is a high explosive like dynamite)
https://israeled.org/resources/documents/herzl-the-jewish-question/
There you go. The plan and the narrative to frame it were always there. Thank you Lena!
Brilliant poem which illustrates the truth that no matter how much Israel tries to eliminate the very concept of Palestine, it’s hard to eradicate ideas. Over many hundreds of years the British systematically suppressed Irish / Gaelic culture in an attempt to wipe us out as a distinct people. It shows us that, far from being exceptional or ‘chosen, the Israelis are just the latest iteration of the same thuggish savagery and thievery of all the other settler colonialists throughout history. Well said Avigail 👍💚🇵🇸
Here in settler-colonial North America, the famine (an Gorta Mór) that consigned millions of Irish people to death or exile is framed as a natural calamity caused by a blight that infected the potato plants. It was a British-engineered crime. Ireland had plenty of food, but the Brutish occupiers kept exporting needed food to England. Almost two centuries later, Ireland’s population still has not recovered. The Irish language is now endangered, even in the Gaeltachtaí. Yet when is Brutish colonialism called out for what you correctly call systematic suppression with a genocidal purpose?
Thanks Brendan!! 💚🇮🇪🇵🇸
"...committed by the very society in which I was born and raised..."
As an American I can relate.
So beautiful! Touching and also prophetic, sorry to say so. Thank you for reproducing this poem, I’ve read it many years ago.
I have been writing poems of, for, and about Palestine, and Lebanon, for decades. Thank you for sharing this hearfelt poem by Al-Qasim.
The Hind Rajab Foundation is launching urgent legal actions to block Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned visit to Hungary. Netanyahu is currently wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. HRF will petition the ICC, call on the Hungarian Public Prosecutor to arrest him, and notify European airspace authorities to deny him passage. Legal teams across Europe are also preparing to activate universal jurisdiction if he travels beyond Hungary. HRF urges all European states to uphold international law and refuse safe haven to suspected war criminals.
Please join me in making a contribution.
https://buy.stripe.com/cN228hbY5g7jaM84gg
Last month was the 84th anniversary of the birth of the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, who lived in exile because the settler-colonial Zionist entity illegally denied him entry to his country (while insisting on a racist «right of return» for anyone whom it arbitrarily regards as Jewish). The «village, remote, forgotten» was destroyed by the settler-colonial invaders when the poet was just a boy. He was imprisoned by the Zionist entity for writing this poem.
IDENTITY CARD
Tr. Denys Johnson-Davies
Put it on record.
I am an Arab
And the number of my card is fifty thousand
I have eight children
And the ninth is due after summer.
What's there to be angry about?
Put it on record.
I am an Arab
Working with comrades of toil in a quarry.
I have eight children
For them I wrest the loaf of bread,
The clothes and exercise books
From the rocks
And beg for no alms at your door,
Lower not myself at your doorstep.
What's there to be angry about?
Put it on record.
I am an Arab.
I am a name without a title,
Patient in a country where everything
Lives in a whirlpool of anger.
My roots
Took hold before the birth of time
Before the burgeoning of the ages,
Before cypress and olive trees,
Before the proliferation of weeds.
My father is from the family of the plough
Not from highborn nobles.
And my grandfather was a peasant
Without line or genealogy.
My house is a watchman's hut
Made of sticks and reeds.
Does my status satisfy you?
I am a name without a surname.
Put it on record.
I am an Arab.
Colour of hair: jet black.
Colour of eyes: brown.
My distinguishing features:
On my head the `iqal cords over a keffiyeh
Scratching him who touches it.
My address:
I'm from a village, remote, forgotten,
Its streets without name
And all its men in the fields and quarry.
What's there to be angry about?
Put it on record.
I am an Arab.
You stole my forefathers' vineyards
And land I used to till,
I and all my children,
And you left us and all my grandchildren
Nothing but these rocks.
Will your government be taking them too
As is being said?
So!
Put it on record at the top of page one:
I don't hate people,
I trespass on no one's property.
And yet, if I were to become hungry
I shall eat the flesh of my usurper.
Beware, beware of my hunger
And of my anger!
بطاقة هوية
سجِّل! أنا عربي
ورقمُ بطاقتي خمسونَ ألفْ
وأطفالي ثمانيةٌ
وتاسعهُم.. سيأتي بعدَ صيفْ!
فهلْ تغضبْ؟
سجِّلْ!
أنا عربي
وأعملُ مع رفاقِ الكدحِ في محجرْ
وأطفالي ثمانيةٌ
أسلُّ لهمْ رغيفَ الخبزِ،
والأثوابَ والدفترْ
من الصخرِ
ولا أتوسَّلُ الصدقاتِ من بابِكْ
ولا أصغرْ
أمامَ بلاطِ أعتابكْ
فهل تغضب؟
سجل
أنا عربي
أنا اسم بلا لقبِ
صبورٌ في بلادٍ كلُّ ما فيها
يعيشُ بفورةِ الغضبِ
جذوري...
قبلَ ميلادِ الزمانِ رستْ
وقبلَ تفتّحِ الحقبِ
وقبلَ السّروِ والزيتونِ
.. وقبلَ ترعرعِ العشبِ
أبي.. من أسرةِ المحراثِ
لا من سادةٍ نجبِ
وجدّي كانَ فلاحاً
بلا حسبٍ.. ولا نسبِ!
يعلّمني شموخَ الشمسِ قبلَ قراءةِ الكتبِ
وبيتي كوخُ ناطورٍ
منَ الأعوادِ والقصبِ
فهل ترضيكَ منزلتي؟
أنا اسم بلا لقبِ
سجل
أنا عربي
ولونُ الشعرِ.. فحميٌّ
ولونُ العينِ.. بنيٌّ
وميزاتي:
على رأسي عقالٌ فوقَ كوفيّه
وكفّي صلبةٌ كالصخرِ
تخمشُ من يلامسَها
وعنواني:
أنا من قريةٍ عزلاءَ منسيّهْ
شوارعُها بلا أسماء
وكلُّ رجالها في الحقلِ والمحجرْ
فهل تغضبْ؟
سجِّل
أنا عربي
سلبتَ كرومَ أجدادي
وأرضاً كنتُ أفلحُها
أنا وجميعُ أولادي
ولم تتركْ لنا.. ولكلِّ أحفادي
سوى هذي الصخورِ..
فهل ستأخذُها
حكومتكمْ.. كما قيلا؟
إذن
سجِّل.. برأسِ الصفحةِ الأولى
Incredible poem by an incredible man. I am a big fan of Darwish. Thank you for sharing this poem.
I understand that the works of Darwish are still banned from the schools in occupied Palestine. The Zionist régime never stops denying the humanity of the Palestinians.
I didn’t know but I would not be surprised. The Palestinian citizens of Israel live under constant surveillance. Everything Israel is doing is the same as all despicable settler-colonial regimes have always done. Israel learned well from the Brits and what they did in Ireland for hundreds of years, in Scotland and elsewhere. There are people who are still arguing that Israel is a free country to all its citizens. They have no idea what they’re talking about.
The curriculum in the Palestinian schools is controlled by the Zionist régime, which encourages children to snitch if their teachers say anything that might incite national fervour. Jewish kapos similarly did the dirty work of the Nazis for personal gain.
That’s exactly right. Most people have no idea what life is like for the Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Life is even worse for the Palestinians who are not citizens of the Zionist entity.
Ilan Pappé has quite correctly referred to the «democracy» of the Zionist entity as a _Herrenvolk_ democracy—a democracy of a master race.
Not to mention what the Brits did in India and much of Africa, and what the neo-Brits occupying North America have done to the indigenous population and subsequently to the Black nation and other groups. You are quite right that what the Zionist entity does is not new or special at all: the only thing about it that is distinctive is the widespread international support that the Zionist project obscenely receives.
Avigail should be especially sensitive to the reference to «a country where everything / Lives in a whirlpool of anger»: she has written repeatedly of the horror that is Zionist society itself, a society rendered inhuman by fear and hatred. The «whirlpool of anger» is of the Zionists' own creation, and indeed they shall struggle mightily to escape it.
You are, of course, right Scott. Israeli society is soul-destroying to its own people and the anger, mistrust, pathological fear and anxiety are self-inflicted. Israel cannot come back from this. As Israel’s biggest friend, the US, implodes into a new civil war, it will no longer have a blank cheque to rely on. As Israel’s economy tanks, and as the religious fanatics increase their control, Israel too will implode. Israeli society is too fractured to hold together, even as the majority are united in their settler-colonial aspirations. A change is coming, and it will happen sooner than you think (I believe). We will see a state that includes everyone who wants to live there run by Palestinians in what used to be Israel, in my lifetime.
Ilan Pappé has been warning us that when settler-colonial systems collapse it is preceded by the worst excesses of violence. I believe we are already seeing this. Gaza is the beginning, but there is more to come. I only hope that when the dust settles, people will make better choices than they have so far. 🙏🏼
Changes on that scale happen suddenly, and I agree that the Zionist entity is headed for collapse. It is making a desperate attempt to save itself through violence even beyond the usual level. The US, another settler-colonial society, is also falling apart.
Yanks are notoriously ignorant of history, and so are many of their lackeys. Time and time again, lackeys of US imperialism have found themselves betrayed and treated as enemies: examples include Hussein, Noriega, bin Laden, and now that now that ninnyhammer Zelensky. The Zionist entity, too, will fall out of favour.
From Combatants for Peace:
The world needs to see that humanity persists, that there is another way, and that despite everything, we will not stop fighting for a future built on dignity, justice, and peace for all. We can't do this alone and your support is crucial.
Amid the ongoing devastation in Gaza, we are here to say: the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Memorial Ceremony will take place this year. We will not bow to those who seek to silence us.
Every contribution goes directly toward production, logistics, and, most importantly, ensuring the safety and security of all participants and guests.
The ceremony is live streamed on 29th April 2025 at 8:30pm Jerusalem time. You can register online:
https://form.jotform.com/250713298885065
You can support them here:
https://www.drove.com/campaign/67e136ebc7b99f39b8ccd657?emci=524b798a-ce0f-f011-90cd-0022482a9fb7&emdi=c73421bf-da0f-f011-90cd-0022482a9fb7&ceid=13999075
Petition for the immediate release of Mahmoud Khalil.
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/demand-the-immediate-release-of-columbia-student-pro-palestine-advocate-mahmoud-khalil-from-dhs-detention
Thank you
🙏🏼
Thank you for posting this poem.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7314378511081754624-k3-J?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAADJhiUBSbWdqJUKT2O1LD_GQM89rQF-Op4