A spoken-word poem for Jerusalem Day

Today Israel marks Jerusalem Day, what the state considers to be the “reunification” of the city following the war in 1967 and what the world considers to be the illegitimate annexation of East Jerusalem and its environs.

The “Greater Jerusalem” area we see today has 800,000 residents, 38% of which are Palestinian. The city suffers from high levels of segregation in all walks of life between religious and secular and between Palestinians and Israelis, a 78% poverty rate among Palestinians; and the separation wall cutting through its villages and landscapes.

While the government, mainstream media and many Israelis celebrate this day, others of us lament the city’s state. 

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmUb6eOvM4Q[/youtube]

Poem by Moriel Rothman, a Jerusalem activist