The Do’s and Don’ts of Palestine

GRITtv: Remi Kanazi: The Do's and Don't of Palestine

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.