by Esther Cohen
Two sirens before 8 AM woke Ibtisam, a Palestinian,
and her Jewish neighbor Melila. They’ve lived
in the same Jerusalem building for decades.
In their pajamas, sleepless after the loud attack
the night before, they decided they’d clean
the building together, as something positive they
could do. And when they finished
removing spider webs and dust, they celebrated
the new cleanliness with mint tea
and homemade butter cookies.
Esther Cohen’s new book is All of Us.
