I am ISRAEL
I am ISRAEL
From: Aly Nasser <aly_nasser@yahoo.com><br>Subject: Classic Poem<p><br>This is a classic.<br>A short, succinct article that tells a lot, written by<br>a young Palestinian student in Washington State<br>University, for which the paper - under pressure, as<br>usual, from pro-Israeli activists - had to<br>apologize!!!<br>I am Israel<br>By Hashem Said<br>The Daily - Washington State University, Feb. 25, 2002<p><br>I am Israel - I came to a land without a people for a people without a <br>land. Those people who happened to be here,had no right to be here, and my <br>people showed them they had to leave or die, razing 480 Palestinian <br>villages to the ground, erasing their history.<p>I am Israel - some of my people committed massacres and later became Prime <br>Ministers to represent me. In 1948, Menachem Begin was in charge of the <br>unit that slaughtered the inhabitants of Deir Yassin, including 100 men, <br>women, and children. In 1953, Ariel Sharon led the slaughter of the <br>inhabitants of Qibya, and in 1982 arranged for our allies to butcher <br>around <br>2,000 in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla.<p>I am Israel - carved in 1948 out of 78% of the land of Palestine, <br>dispossessing its inhabitants and<br>replacing them with Jews from Europe and other parts of the world. While <br>the natives whose milies lived on this land for thousands of years are not <br>allowed to return, Jews from all over the world are welcome to instant <br>citizenship.<p>I am Israel - in 1967, I swallowed the remaining lands of Palestine - the <br>West Bank and Gaza - and<br>placed their inhabitants under an oppressive military rule, controlling <br>and <br>humiliating every aspect of<br>their daily lives. Eventually, they should get the message that they are <br>not welcome to stay, and join the millions of Palestinian refugees in the <br>shanty camps of Lebanon and Jordan.<p>I am Israel - I have the power to control American policy. My American <br>Israel Public Affairs Committee can make or break any politician of its <br>choosing, and as you see, they all compete to please me. All the forces of <br>the world are powerless against me, including the UN as I have the <br>American <br>veto to block any condemnation of my war crimes. As Sharon so eloquently <br>phrased it, "We control America".<p>I am Israel - I influence American mainstream media too, and you will <br>always find the news tailored to my favor. I have invested millions of <br>dollars into PR representation, and CNN, New York Times, and others have <br>been doing an excellent job of promoting my propaganda. Look at other <br>international news sources and you will see the difference.<br>I am Israel - and you Palestinians want to negotiate "peace!?" But you are <br>not as smart as me; I<br>will negotiate, but will only let you have your municipalities while I <br>control your borders, your water, your airspace, and anything else of <br>importance. While we "negotiate," I will swallow your hilltops and fill <br>them with settlements, populated by the most extremist of my extremists, <br>armed to the<br>teeth. These settlements will be connected with roads you cannot use, and <br>you will be imprisoned in your little Bantustans between them, surrounded <br>by checkpoints in every direction.<p>I am Israel - with the fourth strongest army in the world, possessing <br>nuclear weapons. How dare<br>your children confront my oppression with stones, don't you know my <br>soldiers won't hesitate to blow their heads off? In 17 months, I have <br>killed 900 of you and injured 17,000, mostly civilians, and have the <br>mandate to continue since the international community remains silent. <br>Ignore, as I do, the hundreds of Israeli soldiers who are now refusing to <br>carry out my control over your lands and people; their voices of <br>conscience <br>will not protect you.<p>I am Israel - and you want freedom? I have bullets, tanks, missiles, <br>Apaches, and F-16's, to<br>obliterate you. I have placed your towns under siege, confiscated your <br>lands, uprooted your trees, demolished your homes, and you still demand <br>freedom? Don't you get the message? You will never have peace or freedom, <br>because I am Israel.<br>