J'accusePlaying on Zola's famous letter denouncing the anti-Semitism of the French government throughout the Dreyfus affair, Aharon Shabtai's title can be taken literally: it charges his government and his people with crimes against the humanity of their neighbors. Here we find snipers shooting children, spin-masters trying to whitewash blood baths, ammunition "distributed like bars of chocolate," and "technicians of slaughter" for whom morality is merely "a pain in the ass." With a splendid lyrical physicality that accentuates Shabtai's terse immediacy and matter-of-fact scorn, the poems cover a period of six yearsfrom the 1996 election of Netanyahu as prime minister through the curfews, lynchings, riots, sieges, and bombings of the second intifada. But at the heart of J'Accuse is the fate of the ethical Hebrew culture in which the poet was raised: Shabtai refuses to abandon his belief in the moral underpinnings of Israeli society or to be silent before the barbaric and brutal. He witnesses, he protests, he warns. Above all, he holds up a mirror to his nation. |
Contents
Times Are Bad | 3 |
The Moral It Seems Doesnt Come with a Smile | 10 |
Nostalgia | 16 |
War | 22 |
The New Jew | 30 |
The Victory of Beit Jalla | 36 |
Common terms and phrases
Aharon Shabtai Arabs Aviv Bank Basel Square becomes Beit Jalla beneath beside bird blood body born breasts camp child collection culture daily Death drive election eyes fate father field fire Gaza ghettos give Greek Ha'aretz hand head Health hear heart Hebrew Human hundred introduction Israel Israeli J'accuse Jerusalem Jewish Kibbutz killed King known knows land later leading lines live Look Love lyric March meet milk moral mother murdered Nassar neck northern NOTES Palestinian Passover peace Peepee Peter Cole poems poet poet's poetry political prime minister published reader Rights rise Shabtai shooting single slaves snipers soldiers story Street taken tanks tears Temple Thabet Translation tree turn uniform University village volume West write written