Abu Ben Tzahali (may our tribe release!)
Awoke one day from a deep nap of peace,
And saw, within the daylight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a desert in bloom,
An Editor writing in a book of gold:
Exceeding success made Ben Tzahali bold,
And to the Presence in the room he said,
“What writest thou?” The Vision raised its head,
And with a look so fit and grand
Answered, “The names who too much love the Land.”
And is mine one?” said Abu. “Nay, not so,”
Replied the Vision. Abu spoke more low,
But cheerily still; and said, “I pray thee, then,
Write my son who beats up grown men.”
The Vision wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whose love of Land were stressed,
And, lo! Ben Tzahali’s name led all the rest!
Dedicated to Ethan Bronner and Bill Keller of The New York Times.
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Update April 6, 2014: This poem is based on a poem by James Henry Leigh Hunt titled, “Abou Ben Adhem.” It is inspired by the revelation that the former Jerusalem Bureau Chief of The New York Times, Ethan Bronner, had a son in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF.) Mr. Bronner has been reassigned by The Times, but he still occasionally writes articles about Israel and Palestine for the paper.
Information about this controversy can be found here and here.
“Abu Ben Tzahali” loosely translates to “Father of Kid IDF.”
