we are not numbers

emerging writers from Palestine tell their stories and advocate for their human rights

On behalf of Israel

I apologize to international lawyers and activists.... / I apologize to God..../ I apologize to the truth....
Basman Derawi
  • Gaza Strip
  • Diaspora
Baby in incubator with guns pointing at it.
Image: Fuad Alymani.

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to international lawyers and activists.
I know how painful it is to feel
like your career is worthless
and that what you fight for is just a myth.

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to the United Nations,
which announces resolutions
it can’t enforce,
like the right to resist occupation,
making it look like a beast with erectile dysfunction.

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to human rights organizations.
It’s embarrassing, I know,
when all your efforts are in vain.

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to terrorist groups.
Nobody can wrestle its hand down.
It’s been terrorizing people
for more than 75 years now.
It’s the oldest expert; you’re just babies.

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to every vegetarian.
I understand it’s your worst nightmare
to see the blood and ripped flesh of animals,
especially ‘human animals.’

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to God.
Now you’re not only angry,
brandishing guns in both hands,
but also a genocide denier
and killer of children.

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to those who
lived on its land
when it was created.
Both peoples had God, history and a holy book.
But the Israelis were civilized;
you were not.
And the one who conquered the land won.

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to Palestinians.
Reports confirm Golda was drunk
when she said she was Palestinian before 1948,
and there was no such thing as Palestine.

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to Palestinian medics.
You’re the angels of mercy.
But it doesn’t protect any type of angels.

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to every American.
Working two jobs must be hard.
and it’s consuming your tax money
for its own bloody gain.

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to every European.
It walks all over your governments
and finds it humorous.

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to antiquity.
It takes pleasure in ruining you.
Get used to it.

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to the truth.
It betrays you repeatedly.
To Israel, the truth is a story
that it shapes at will.

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to civilization.
It always says it walks in your shoes.
But it really just wants to conquer more land.

On behalf of Israel, I apologize to history.
It abuses you so much.
It pretends that it’s the only one
who has a legacy on this land
and that’s reason enough to colonize.

On behalf of Israel,
I apologize to the ozone layer.
We know we are widening your holes.
But it’s no bigger than the empty void
that is our collective conscience.

Woman in sunglasses in front of fountain.
Mentor: Pam Bailey

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