I Saw Her Alone,

I’m not a fire cracker, I'm a bomb. I don’t disappear when I explode, I blow up and kill everyone.

🖼️:Aron Wiesenfeld

We are accused of terrorism

We are accused of terrorism If we dare to write about the remains of a homeland That is scattered in pieces and in decay In decadence and disarray About a homeland that is searching for a place And about a nation that no longer has a face

About a homeland that has nothing left of its great ancient verse But that of wailing and eulogy

About a homeland that has nothing in its horizons Of freedoms of different types and ideology

About a homeland that forbids us from buying a newspaper Or listen to anything About a homeland where all birds are always not allowed to sing About a homeland that out of horror, its writers are using invisible ink

About a homeland that resembles poetry in our country Improvised, imported, loose and of no boundaries Of foreign tongue and soul Detached from Man and Land, ignoring their plight as a whole

About a homeland to the negotiating table moves Without a dignity or shoes

About a homeland That no more has steadfast men With only women therein

Bitterness is in our mouthsin our talkin our eyes Will draught also plague our souls as a legacy passed to us from ancient times?

Our nation has nobody left, even the less glorified No one to say "NO" in the face of those who gave up our homebread and butter Turning our colorful history into a circus

We have not a single honest poem That has not lost its virginity in a ruler's Harem

We grew accustomed to humiliation Then what is left of Man If he is comfortable with that?

I search the books of history For men of greatness to deliver us from darkness To save our women from fires' brutality

I search for men of yesterday But all I find is frightened cats Fearing for their souls From the authority of rats

Are we hit by national blindness Or are we suffering from color blindness

We are accused of terrorism If we refuse to perish Under Israeli tyranny That is hampering our unity Our history Our Bible and our Quran Our prophets' land If that is our sin and crime Then terrorism is fine

We are accused of terrorism If we refuse to be wiped out By barbarians, the Mongols or the Jews If we choose to stone the fragile security council Which was sacked by the king of caesuras

We are accused of terrorism If we refuse to negotiate the wolf And reach out for a whore

America is fighting the cultures of Man Because it lacks one And against the civilizations because it needs one It is a gigantic structure but without a wall

We are accused of terrorism If we refuse current times Where America  the arrogant the mighty the rich Became a sworn interpreter of Hebrew.

-Nizar Qabbani

Love is an adventure, either you return from it regretful, repentant, or enamoured.

How did you come back?

بيني وبينك

ليالٍ صيفية و لحن اهديته لك بالخفاء وديوانٌ من حروف غزلية وقهوة المساء

بيني وبينك شوارع لا تنتهي وطرق مليئة بالغرباء

بيني وبينك همس واطياف وقصص لا تحكى بالكلام

بيني و بينك نجوم الليل و مطر الشتاء و رياح الخريف و زهور الربيع

بيني و بينك اشتياق نيسان و احباء ديسمبر و سكارى يناير

بيني وبينك اسهم عشاق سامة

بيني وبينك لا شئ وكل شئ في آن واحد

The Samaritans and their conflict with the Jews

Who Are the Samaritans?

The Samaritans are a small religious minority living in the occupied Palestinian territories, specifically on Mount Gerizim in Nablus, and in the city of Holon in Israel. They consider themselves the true descendants of the Israelites who remained in the Holy Land when the Jews were exiled to Babylon in the 6th century BCE. They believe that they never deviated from the original faith, unlike the Jews who, according to their view, altered the religion after their return from the Babylonian exile.

Samaritan Religious Beliefs

The Samaritans only follow the Samaritan Torah, which differs from the Jewish Torah in several points, and they reject the Talmud, the main source of Jewish law after the Torah. For Samaritans, Mount Gerizim in Nablus is the holiest site, and they believe it is the true place of worship for God, not the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as the Jews believe. They view the Jews as having strayed from the true path when they chose Jerusalem as the center of their worship, leading to a deep religious divide between the two communities.

The Roots of the Hostility Between the Samaritans and Jews

The conflict between the Jews and Samaritans dates back thousands of years. Jews believe that the Samaritans are not pure Israelites but a mix of the remnants of the ancient Israelites and pagan peoples who settled in the area after the Assyrian conquest. In contrast, the Samaritans believe that they are the true Israelites, and the Jews have distorted the religion and introduced incorrect teachings. This hostility became so intense that the Jews in ancient times considered Samaritan food impure and rejected intermarriage and interaction with them.

The Conflict in Ancient Times

During the Persian period, the Jews tried to impose their control over the Samaritans and prevent them from building their temple on Mount Gerizim, leading to fierce conflicts between the two groups. During the reign of Alexander the Great, the Samaritans gained some privileges, but with the arrival of the Hasmoneans, the Jews persecuted them, and their temple on Mount Gerizim was destroyed.

The Samaritan Situation in the Roman and Islamic Periods

Under Roman rule, the Samaritans faced great persecution, especially after their failed revolts against the Roman Empire, which led to the killing and displacement of many of them. With the rise of Christianity, they became further marginalized, as the Christians did not consider them Jews, nor did they regard them as part of their faith. During the Islamic era, the Samaritans were granted some protection as "People of the Book," but they remained a minority community.

The Samaritans Today... Between Challenge and Survival

Today, the number of Samaritans is around 800 people, making them one of the smallest religious communities in the world. Some hold Israeli citizenship, while others live in the West Bank under Palestinian authority. Despite their small number, they continue to hold onto their traditions, language, and celebrate their unique holidays, such as the Samaritan Passover, according to their distinct calendar.

The Samaritans are a living testament to the religious and political history of the region, carrying an ancient legacy of conflict and isolation, yet striving to preserve their identity despite the political and religious transformations that have taken place in the Holy Land. Do you think the hostility between the Samaritans and Jews still persists today?

@Hayahbook

The texture of your hands is still stuck between my palms, how does one remove the traces of love from one's senses?

Art by Rea

Her şeyden bir istifa mektubu yazmak istiyorum,

başkalarına ve kendime karşı görevlerimi yerine getiremediğim için özür dilediğim bir mektup. Benim için buradaydı, gitti ve geri gelmedi denilsin diye.

Herkesin beni beklemesini istiyorum, ama geri dönmeyeceğim.

painting by - Aron Wiesenfeld

What is life?

Dostoevsky: It's Hell

Socrates: It's an infestation

Aristotle: It is the mind

Nietzsche: It is strength

Marx: It is the conviction

Schopenhauer: It's suffering

Einstein: It is knowledge

Stephen Hopkins: It is hope

Kafka: The Endings

And you, what is your definition of life?