love of the land
The ancient twisted olive trees, the quiet bubbling springs, and the hills replete with flowers, in brief; the entirety of the Holy Land adorns the consciousness of the Palestinians. It imbues their bodily comportment, influences their tastes, nurtures their children, and contributes to their ideas… and produces their martyrs. For the Palestinian, there is no estrangement from the land, and a Palestinian need not do anything more than breathe to be a part of this legacy. History is behind them. The zionist can only envy the deep spiritual bond the Palestinians have with the Holy Land. It is something which they can never possess, but which they desperately seek to emulate. When the zionist looks at the Holy Land, they witness nothing other than the emptiness of their own ambitions. To them the Holy Land is a projection, and so they cannot encounter her life-giving beauty. Everywhere they look they see a mirage. Failing to recognize themselves in her features, they madly set abo