Opinion Editorials, April 2011

The Dos and Don'ts of Palestine

 a Written Poem & Video

By Remi Kanazi

Al-Jazeerah, CCUN, April 18, 2011

I was featured on GRIT TV with Laura Flanders tonight performing a poem entitled, The Dos and Don'ts of Palestine. The poem takes a sarcastic and comical look at the conventional discourse and double standards placed on Palestinians and Palestine activists.

Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WixizuOv2uY

The Dos and Don’ts of Palestine

a Written Poem & Video

By Remi Kanazi

don’t call it genocide

we don’t want to offend anyone

if we offend them

they’ll never listen to us

we have to be reasonable

1,400 is just a number

no names

no death

we want peace and negotiations

don’t mention Zionism

if you mention Zionism

they’ll call you anti-Semitic

and people will believe them

don’t cite Palestinian sources

no one will believe you

I won’t believe you

trust Israeli sources

don’t ever be angry

if you’re angry

they’ll call you angry

if they’re angry

everyone will call them

understandably emotional

we have to be pragmatic

pragmatism is not a euphemism

for concessions

although it may feel that way

don’t mention Allah or martyrs

it reminds them of Al Qaeda and 9/11

it’s not your job to fix their ignorance

don’t talk about refugees

boycott

or a one-state solution

if we want to win we have to compromise

the road to peace is just ahead

don’t make analogies that include

the Holocaust, Nazis, or the Warsaw Ghetto

only Israelis are allowed to do this

when discussing wars on

Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran

don’t mention Yaffa, Haifa, Safad

or where your family is from

but if you do

nod when random people say they love Israel

it doesn’t matter where you came from

you can’t go back

don’t

just don’t

and that will lead to doing

Remi Kanazi is a Palestinian-American poet, writer, and activist living in New York City. He is the editor of Poets For Palestine and the author of the newly released collection of poetry and CD, Poetic Injustice: Writings on Resistance and Palestine. The collection is available today on www.PoeticInjustice.net.

-- REMI KANAZI www.PoeticInjustice.net www.facebook.com/RemiPoet twitter: @remroum

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