FRAGMENTS VOL. 1

PALESTINE.

“From early dusk the day was inscrutable…” - Mahmoud Darwish, “Bread”

“The ashes made the road black, like a mourning ribbon, and so the children were known as ‘the children of the black road.’” - Vasily Grossman, re: the Nazi extermination camp of Treblinka

“What is not eternal is nothing.” - Giovanni Pietro Pinamonti, Hell Opened to Christians to Caution Them from Entering into It (1693)

“Truth may walk through the world unarmed.” - Arabic proverb

For 15 months, we watched video of Israeli soldiers leveling Palestine, transforming an entire people’s homeland into an alien desert, devastated landscapes of gray sands and un-breathable air. The invading forces gleefully posted media of themselves posing with their choice spoils of war: women’s clothing and children’s toys.

Aside from raising and sending whatever money I could, I felt mostly helpless as I watched my country fund, arm, and, to the public, justify an ethnic cleansing. What Israel committed, with the help of the United States, was no less than genocide, a campaign of murder with the end goal of colonizing stolen land and eradicating the Palestinian people. But it failed.

“Palestinian health authorities say Israel’s ground and air campaign in Gaza killed more than 46,600 people, with just over half identified victims being women, children, or older people.” - Reuters, Jan. 15 2025

During the period of October 2023 to October 2024, President Joe Biden sent over $17.9 billion in military aid to Israel. (PBS)

According to HUD, the United States saw an 18% increase in the homeless population in 2024.

Thanks for reading Esteban Noel. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.