In the court
with the jesters
there are gestures
for the guards
subdue the angry man
they say
they say
why is he so angry
All tongues cluck
We are discussing
archeology
Pretty slides
Campy, even
Ancient history
Moving, even
There is no politics involved here
Here there is no politics
Just the view
If his child was arrested
It must be because
he did wrong
If his house was destroyed
It must have been because
he didn’t have
proper paper permission
If his land was disappeared
It was only part of
Spring cleaning
Services for all
If his existence is being disappeared
It’s not intentional
There is nothing political about this
Nothing personal about this
Nothing at all
Ahem.
Guards?
—
[Today, the Jerusalem Municipality “heard” opposition to the Kedem Center planned to be built in the middle of Silwan, in association with Elad and the City of David. It was farcical, comical, tragic, enraging. The Palestinians who there were alternately furious and laughing at what amounted to an absurdist theatre of “justice.” The guards were called because they kept speaking up during the charming presentation of slides from around the world, showing other places in which tourist sites have been built atop ancient ruins, as if the issue at hand here was really the ancient ruins. Not ruining the lives of living people. The Authorities couldn’t understand why the discussion couldn’t be held more civilly. They talked about “values.” What about the values of Kavod HaAdam, of respect for human beings? I shouted out. One more time, a man sternly waggled his finger at me, and you’re out of here].
The Leftern Wall 