I Threw My Stone

By: Fadi Zanayed (written during the first Intifadah)


I dreamt I was throwing a stone
I heard it whiz through the air
I saw it striking the helicopter
I ran toward it
I wedged a pipe in its tail
I saw the Israeli soldiers shooting
I watched the bullet hit the child
I carried the child to a place of worship
I heard the soldiers coming
I entered one door than another
I came upon a meeting room
I saw the Star of David
I boldly asked for help
I was shunned away
I became more determined
I felt my adrenaline kick in
I ran out to an exit and the sun
I clutched the boy tighter
I saw familiar faces
 I looked around
I saw their happiness
I shouted " This boy needs help!!
I saw no reaction
I observed the abundance
I destroyed the picnic table
I arose from my sleep
I wrote down this poem
I threw my stone

Camp David Sentiments

(This poem was written on December 4, 2011)

The scene was set in the summer of 1978

President Carter invited Middle East rivals

To Camp David for more than a debate

But Egypt and Israel were the only arrivals

I felt then as I do now

That the PLO missed an opportunity

I could not understand how

How Palestinians could than avoid scrutiny

To dramatize our plight and gain international recognition

PLO member organizations did acts

Like the Munich Olympics’ devastation

I call it as it is, these are the facts

Attending the summit I stated

Would legitimize our struggle

For this I was actually hated

I was in a political toggle

Yasir Arafat had no agenda to hatch

As Israel refused to participate with a PLO delegation

Israel will only accept PLO members if they were to attach

To attach to a Jordanian configuration

There was a call to accept UN Resolution 242

And to amend the PLO charter

In exchange for US recognition and credibility too

But Arafat’s reluctance took us backwards and farther

The outcome of Camp David was a tragedy

Begin offered autonomy after 5 years

Isolated Egypt as if it were a commodity

And thereby dividing Arab unity with shears

In 1980 I advocated for Israeli recognition

When I visited the University of Illinois campus

I was confronted with dejection

Called a traitor, ruffled and put in a fuss

Camp David was not ideal I must admit

But Palestinians did not participate

Its fate could have been refit

I wonder, as I sit here and meditate

Fadi Zanayed

December 4, 2011

8:04 am