In an updated version of the tail wagging the dog, if the U.S. does wind up getting dragged into World War Three by the Israeli government, the book, Gaza Writes Back: Short Stories from Young Writers in Gaza, Palestine, edited by Refaat Alareer, will be referred to for those looking for answers as to the how and why.
As to how: old man Biden allowed the youngster Netanyahu to run circles around him. Months ago, President Biden could have said, “No more bombs, no more bullets, no more Armed Personnel Carriers, no more Apache helicopters, no more F-16 jets until you get rid of Bibi Netanyahu.” Even the Israelis don’t want him. Instead, all Biden could do was mumble, “We have an ironclad agreement.” Maybe if he had done something to stop the slaughter, he wouldn’t have garnered so many “uncommitted” votes.
REVISITING DEADLY ORDEAL
Gaza Writes Back is a collection of short stories by young Palestinians in the wake of Operation Cast Lead, perpetrated by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from Dec. 27, 2008, through Jan. 18, 2009. It was published on the fifth anniversary of that atrocity.
According to Wikipedia approximately 1,400 Palestinians died and 13 Israelis. The harrowing stories of these people, many of whom were graduates of the Islamic University of Gaza, put into perspective the current genocide mounted by the IDF and enabled by the U.S. government, in which nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been slaughtered.
From the introduction:
“Operation Cast Lead was deeply traumatic for all of us who were in Gaza at the time. This is the first book of its kind…Gaza Writes Back comes to resist Israel’s attempts to murder these emerging voices, to squander the suffering of the martyrs, to bleach the blood, to dam the tears, and to smother the screams. This book shows the world that despite Israel’s continuous attempts to kill steadfastness in us, Palestinians keep going on, never surrendering to pain or death, and always seeing and seeking liberty and hope in the darkest of hours. Palestine is a martyr away, a tear away, a missile away, or a whimper away. Palestine is a story away.”
The majority of the stories were written by women. Many can be read in the context of contesting the Israeli government’s narrative and myths of ownership of Palestine. Death and dying permeate the stories, written by a generation that spent a considerable part of life looking death in the eye.
TO ‘LEAD A BETTER LIFE’
The desire to explore and describe the experiences of life—including, in this case, that of death, so that others may lead a better life is the very act of sumud, or steadfastness, which has long characterized Palestinian life. Many of the stories are heartbreaking. As a U.S. citizen, it is difficult, maybe even impossible to imagine the level of pain, fear, terror, suffering, loneliness, and abandonment that is being inflicted on the Gazans every day.
From “Scars” by Aya Rabah: “I could not explain why I saw death in my son’s eyes at that moment. The clouds came and attacked the moon later. No moon was seen in the heavens anymore…The first time Salam truly smiled was when he was dying.”
Netanyahu’s genocide is a gift to the Iranian rulers, but it could also be a catalyst for a new Arab Spring. The Palestinians are being slaughtered today, but what goes around, comes around. Biden is stumbling, Trump is a warmonger—this was how World War One started.
–Little Brother of Fighting Spirit