“Something must be done, really(but not tonight because I have a met gala tonight)”
(https://www.heyalma.com/israel-guide/what-are-the-proposed-solutions-to-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict/)
The poem “We shoot children too, don’t we?” is a poem written by Dan Almagor. For some background knowledge, Dan Almagor was born and raised in Israel. In his early life, he wrote patriotic and military songs for the nation of Israel, this lead him to be surrounded by a culture of Zionism whose goal was to create a Israeli state in all of Palestine. Due to this, he began to slowly despise Israeli culture along with that the government began to commit atrocities against the people of Palestine during the war. Due to this, he began writing Anti Israeli government poems in his older years because he wanted to condemn his own nation for the acts they were committing. The most famous of these poems is “We shoot children too, don’t we
(https://music.metason.net/artistinfo?name=Dan%20Almagor)
When you first read this poem, you think that this poem is solely on the topic of Israel vs Palestine and the crimes of Israel. However, this poem is actually meant to reflect on human nature and what we do to protect things that are precious to us. Almagor also shows how people are blind to the actions they commit when they are disagreeing with someone, such as when the soldiers abuse the old man they don’t care about the individual but just the fact that he is Palestinian. Almagor also uses Anaphora which is the repetition of the starting words to create contrast between the actions that people do and to create a unique flow which makes reading the poem like reading a speech. This poem, also shows that some people aren’t willing to enact change because they are busy with their personal desires such as being ready for met Galas, Almagor implies he does this because people will not change the problem unless they themselves have faced it.
(https://mwi.usma.edu/timeless-lessons-october-1973-arab-israeli-war/)
With this Poem Almagor hopes to reflect that all individuals will commit any action if it means to protect the things that are precious to them or if it helps them achieve personal desires. It also shows that humans will not change a problem because they aren’t facing it themselves because they have no personal connection to that problem. For example, many people in the world would not donate to proper water facilities for 3rd world countries because they don’t face it themselves but they would be willing to provide covid relief because it is a problem they face on a daily basis.
(ClutchPoints. 2022. Joel Embiid Holds An ‘Unfair Advantage’ Over The Rest Of The League, Per Daryl Morey. [online] Available at: <https://clutchpoints.com/sixers-news-the-unfair-advantage-joel-embiid-brings-per-daryl-morey/> [Accessed 6 June 2022].)
