This Week's Message 

Two dead boys

Two boys were killed

Within less than 12 hours.

Ahmed Shahada,

Sixteen years old,

Was killed by the bullets

Of Israeli soldiers who

Invaded Nablus.

Aryeh Schupak,

Fifteen years old,

Was killed by a bomb,

Planted by a Palestinian,

In West Jerusalem.

Knesset Member Ofer Kasif

Said on the Knesset floor

That both boys are victims of

The ongoing occupation

Which claims the lives

Of Israelis and Palestinians alike.

But MK Kasif remains

An isolated voice.

The current Knesset abounds

With extreme nationalists and racists,

Some of whom are slated

For senior ministerial positions

In the new cabinet.

In their eyes,

Only Arye Shechupek

Was a victim,

And they call upon God

To avenge his blood.

Ahmed Shahada is

In their eyes a "terrorist"

Who deserved to die

And the soldiers who shot him

Should be commended.

When this is

The dominant mindset

In the Knesset and the government,

The cycle of bloodshed

Is bound to spin

Faster and faster, and claim

Ever more victims.