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The Anger, the Longing, the Hope

Uri Avnery writing on Gush Shalom, reflects on the just deceased Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish - and pays the man a moving tribute - and no less importantly, on the general state of play between the Israelis and Palestinians:

"One of the wisest pronouncements I have heard in my life was that of an Egyptian general, a few days after Anwar Sadat's historic visit to Jerusalem.

We were the first Israelis to come to Cairo, and one of the things we were very curious about was: how did you manage to surprise us at the beginning of the October 1973 war?

The general answered: "Instead of reading the intelligence reports, you should have read our poets."

I reflected on these words last Wednesday, at the funeral of Mahmoud Darwish.

During the funeral ceremony in Ramallah he was referred to again and again as "the Palestinian National Poet".

But he was much more than that. He was the embodiment of the Palestinian destiny. His personal fate coincided with the fate of his people."

Continue to reading, here.

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