in memory of Marek Edelman (1921 -- 2009), the deputy commander of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in WWII and the only leader to survive the war as well as a lifelong anti-Zionist and supporter of the Palestinian cause, who was known for his heart-and-mind penetrating remark:
To be a JEW means always being with the oppressed and never the oppressors.
late light lightning
links Heaven and Gaza's ruins ...
with news on mute
my friend murmurs, what does it mean
to be a Jew to the oppressed
if one-ton bombs fall
on housing blocks, but no Israeli’s there
to hear them ...
in a mobbed pub I muse
does they make the sounds of death?
(FYI: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" is George Berkeley's philosophical thought experiment that raises questions regarding observation and perception. For more about writing sarcastic tanka, see To the Lighthouse: A Rhetorical Device, Sarcasm)
My Dear Friends:
UN Press Release, Nov. 14: UN Special Committee finds Israel’s warfare methods in Gaza consistent with genocide, including use of starvation as weapon of war
NEW YORK (14 November 2024) – Israel’s warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, with mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians there, the UN Special Committee to investigate Israeli practices* said in a new report released today.
“Since the beginning of the war, Israeli officials have publicly supported policies that strip Palestinians of the very necessities required to sustain life — food, water, and fuel,” the Committee said. “These statements along with the systematic and unlawful interference of humanitarian aid make clear Israel’s intent to instrumentalise life-saving supplies for political and military gains.”
Israel's oldest daily, Haaretz:
Haaretz, Nov.16: Human Rights Watch: Israel's Deliberate Displacement of Gazans Amounts to War Crimes: A new report by the rights organization charges Israel with war crimes and crimes against humanity over 'massive, deliberate forced displacement of Palestinian civilians'
According to the report, the Israel Defense Forces forced nearly 90 percent of Gaza's residents – approximately 1.9 million people – to evacuate their homes, often more than once. The authors assert that there is "no plausible imperative military reason to justify" the mass displacement of the civilian population.
Haaretz, Opinion, Nov. 17: The New Zionist Ideal: A Generation of Israelis Devoid of Shame Over the Gaza War
Haaretz, Nov. 17: Israeli Settler Leader Claims She Scouted Location for Settlements Inside Northern Gaza
And CNN News, Nov. 18: Pope Francis calls for investigation into Gaza genocide allegations
I would like to share with you some of my published poems for reflections on the Israel-Hamas War and the WAR CRIMES committed by Israel:
[decades-long
inhuman occupation compressed]
to one-day attacks
reponding with the red glow
of missiles in Gaza's night sky
this endless loop:
October 7, October 7 ....
[and yet
the decades before
and the day after...] bloodshedding
each bombed-out house:
an album with no photos
but with people
the living, wounded and dead
pressed between its pages
mule-drawn wagons
wind past one mound of rubble
after another ...
across the bottom of my screen
scrolls the text: from here to nowhere
anything new
under Gaza's smeared sun?
smoky rubble
beyond smoky rubble, and yet
again smoky rubble
(FYI: Ls 1&2 make a tragically sarcastic allusion to the following Bible verse:
Ecclesiastes 1:9
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.)
First Three-Line Visual Tanka
under slate-gray skies
|
a settler aims his gun | a boy throws his rock
|
tank track marks on the grass
It’s peaceful now
M-16 rifles are blooming, 2000-pound bombs singing, and Merkava tanks sweeping the streets.
Gaza is cleaner than ever, clean of blood-covered children. Yet, somewhere among the rubble the only moving thing is a boy’s eyes that look up to Heaven.
a mural
on the separation wall
of the West Bank:
in midair a girl grasps
a bunch of rainbow balloons
We Cannot Be Bystanders to Genocide.
Chen-ou
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