Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, LIV: "mass graves"
hosting Passover
the festival of freedom ...
a neighbor's TV
blasts news of the mass graves
found at Gaza's hospital
FYI: The First night of Passover 2024 is on April 22nd, which is the most important day during the 8-day Passover celebration.
NBC News, April 22: Dozens of bodies exhumed from mass graves at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. The hospital was raided by Israeli forces before their recent withdrawal from the area.
And Haaretz, April 21: The Israel-Gaza War Will Make This Passover Seder Different From All the Others
the the Four Children will be an Israeli, a Palestinian, a Peacemaker, and One who has no words left within them:
The Israeli, what does he say? In this generation, we must all see ourselves as hostages in Gaza, doing all we can to bring them home. Achshav!
The Palestinian, what does she say? The destruction, dispossession, starvation and death must end. Ceasefire Now. Halas!
The Peacemakers, what do they say?
We both love this land and neither is leaving. We're in this together. Between the river and the sea two peoples must be free.
The final child has no words; they sit silently in tears with two bowls of marror before them, tasting the bitterness of all, dreaming the dreams of the holy and the broken.
And maybe they will all say together at the end:
"This year we are slaves
This year we are hostages
This year we are hungry
Next year in Jerusalem
Next year in Freedom
Next year in Peace"
-- Ittay Flescher is a peace educator, podcaster and the Jerusalem correspondent for The Jewish Independent.
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, LV: "seder meal"
the seder meal
these three empty chairs silent
for six and half months
FYI: Haaretz, April 22: Israel's 10 Self-inflicted Plagues Since October 7
The Plague of Abandoning the Hostages
Yes, Hamas is to blame for kidnapping and holding them, but Israel is to blame for abandoning its people. Hamas is going nowhere and, meanwhile, the hostages are dying in captivity.
The seder, a festive holiday meal, actually means "order." It is called this because the meal is done in a certain order which takes us [the Israelites] from slavery to freedom. The Haggadah - which means "the telling" – is the book used at the Passover seder. The Haggadah explains the foods on the seder plate, recounts the highlights of the Exodus, and includes songs, prayers, questions, and vignettes.
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, LVI: "empty seder table"
protesters erupt in chants
and some cry for the release
of all hostages
outside the PM's home
a seder table set ablaze
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, LVII: "Passover"
headlines bleed
into this sunlit suburb
on Passover
chants of Free Hostages
mingle with Free Palestine
FYI: Passover, the Jewish Festival of Freedom, begins on April 22, 2024, marking the Israelites' "Exodus from Egypt," the first step toward redemption. The theme of freedom dominates this 7-or 8-day festival.
