Threading the Needle - Israel, Gaza, The Embassy too

With trepidation... Threading the needle, the mind wants to hear Threading the needle is difficult to bear. These say they’re protesting to get out of the cesspool These say they’re defending their homes, lives and schools These say the Nakba destroyed their way of life These say Independence protected them from the murderer’s knife These say their leaders are murderous, treacherous tools These say their leaders are terrorist, murderous fools These say the protests are peaceful, hopeful and good These say if only, such gatherings would These say of bullets, not proportional, not fair These say explosives, are here and are there These say of the Embassy move, ill fated, a war crime These say the Embassy move, a blessing, its time These say the dead will be remembered as martyrs These say the dead are make peace a non-starter These say that Israel is our historic Jewish homeland These say Palestine’s ours, you must understand These say there’s one evil and only one truth These say you’re crazy, stop drinking vermouth These say their leaders just want it all to erupt These say their leaders are evil, corrupt These say bystanders are the worst kind of Jew These say you’re naive, and self-hating too These say Palestinians are no partner for peace These say stop pursuing a favorable press release These say truth’s eternal but flexible too These say you stopped looking, ‘cause your reality’s askew These say the deaths are breaking my heart These say, heartbreak? How about disgust and anger to start These say your tactics are cynical and evil These say your tactics are crazy, that’s clinical Threading the needle between these opposite sides Is a catch-22, a task that derides The fervor and certitude, the facts and emotions That inflame hatred and passion across all the oceans Who dares to speak up, when each side’s zealots act out No one wants to hear the two truths this is about Two peoples still struggle for the same piece of land It’s complex. It’s nuanced. A lighter touch it demands If you give up your zealots and I’ll decry mine And together we’ll talk, and it won’t be benign We will argue with passion, seeking a sane middle ground And the silent majority just might come around Let’s do it for These ones and those ones who hate the hatred and death Who want security and freedom, and take a clean healthy breath And even These ones and those ones who fight us tooth and nail Because peace, they all agree, should readily fail I love you, dear Israel, with my heart, mind and soul Let’s work this together, with ample self-control We see you Palestinians, we honor your pain Let’s both step back, work this out, no more death once again Yes, I’m in AIPAC, and ARZA, and T’ruah too I’m in Israel so often, more than many of you My love for this country is firm as a tree So let’s not throw labels or slogans at you or at me Instead, Let’s rise above all this bloodshed and seek a new way Else both peoples and this conflict will keep killing day by day.