a litany of betrayal

       Poetry

 

       Poetry

not by accident 

he promised peace and brought war 

he spoke peace and enlarged the settlements 

he confiscated the others’ birthright 

he demolished their history 

he paralyzed their economy 

he uprooted their olive tree souls 

he divided their lands with our roads 

he continually harassed their civilians 

he caused our rage to infect their hearts 

he violated signed agreements 

he negotiated peace by dictating capitulation 

he was not satisfied with only most of their land 

he pretended a little annexation was not much control 

he tried to coerce their acceptance of isolated cantons 

he feigned agreement to divide the most precious city 

he denied their right to their most sacred site 

he boasted of not returning one inch of territory 

he pushed the button for the explosion 

he sent cold-blooded snipers to shoot their children 

he besieged their villages to force their surrender 

he bombed their homes and neighborhoods 

he sanctioned death squads to escalate the violence 

he offered no empathy with the other side 

he treated them as the enemy 

he humiliated their leader while negotiating with him 

he never uttered even one positive word about him 

he persuaded us to hate them and their leaders 

he caused his own people to despair of peace 

he showed complete indifference to our social issues 

he did next to nothing to remedy our social ills 

he treated our own them with contempt 

he did not appoint one of our own them as minister 

he was silent when we killed thirteen of our own them 

he did not send the commanding officer to hell 

he convinced us to elect a war criminal

a lyrical adaptation by vincent white 

of the lament by uri avnery about the betrayal 

of the israeli peace movement by ehud barak