by Gordon Gilbert
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"What terrorists do is target the innocent deliberately, and therefore my definition of terrorism is… the systematic and deliberate attack, murder, maiming and menacing of innocent civilians for political goals.... You can tell a lot about terrorists and what happens when they come to power. Those who fight for freedom and come to power do not impose terrorism. Those who do, who fight in terroristic means, end up being masters of terroristic states." —Benjamin Netanyahu to William F. Buckley on Firing Line, May 30, 1986. |
Ah, Bibi, habibi!
You are not the man I thought I'd be,
no, not the one I find I have become.
I always knew how absolutely
power does corrupt.
I see now how just knowing that
was not enough to keep me
on a path of righteousness,
or save me from myself,
my own worst enemy.
So much suffering for all,
and in the end,
so much worse for Israel,
even now, as I,
the man you used to be,
confront you!
But no, I must say "we."
I am the former you.
Can you not see
you once were me?
We are taking down with us
our own beloved Israel!
Ah, Bibi, habibi,
what have we become?
Gordon Gilbert is a resident of the West Village in NYC who got through the pandemic taking long walks along the Hudson River.