…the mortal sin of the martyr must be pride, the vanity, the hubris to believe not only that your death could mean more than your living, but that your death could mean more than death itself-which, because it is inevitable, means nothing” ― Kaveh Akbar, Martyr! *The Palestinians are not going anywhere - -they have nowhere to go. The Israeli Jews also aren't going anywhere - they have nowhere to go. But we cannot become one happy family, because we are not. So, we have to divide the house into two smaller apartments and learn how to say, "good morning" in the hall every day. Eventually, perhaps we will pop in on each other for a cup of coffee. But we need this semi-detached house, a two-family unit. Source: www.spiegel.de
———————————————- ENEMIES
I
Go home.
Love your life more than your death. Do not trust your what you believe. History is complicit in lies. Your story, their story: both are true, both are false. Your people have been betrayed. Your blood will not save them. Tend your garden, grow new fruit. Visit your grandmother. Cheer for your team. Fast for Ramadan, feast at Eid. Do not die for what is impossible. This world is all we have. Do not kill in the name of. Do not be a martyr; you have a child to raise.
II
You, too. Go home.
Offer your enemies an olive branch: our people, your people. If they refuse do what you must but spare their children. Plant more trees in the desert. Bring flowers on Shabbat. Play with your sons and daughters. Hike in the hills, swim in the sea, sit on your balcony, remembering why you are here. Treasure your pleasures in a time of chaos. Your leaders have failed you. Fix what is broken. Break with the past. Hanging on is hard. Letting go is harder.
III Clichés of war and peace clutter the landscape. Too much time has passed. All are weary, all are pained. All are hostages to hate.
Land for peace? Peace for land? Everything is possible. Nothing is promised.
