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12/15 Petition to Biden & U.S. Congress

“If I Must Die”
By Refaat Alareer

If I must die,
you must live
to tell my story
to sell my things
to buy a piece of cloth
and some strings,
(make it white with a long tail)
so that a child, somewhere in Gaza
while looking heaven in the eye
awaiting his dad who left in a blaze –
and bid no one farewell
not even to his flesh
not even to himself –
sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up
above
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love
If I must die
let it bring hope
let it be a tale.

On 12/6, around 6 PM local time in Gaza, Refaat Alareer was murdered in a surgical Israeli airstrike along with his brother, sister, and her three children. He was receiving death threats online and by anonymous phone calls by callers identifying themselves as Israeli military officers who told him they were coming for him. He moved to his sister’s apartment hoping it’d be safer for his family. Unfortunately, as we all know, those in Gaza more than anyone – there is nowhere safe.

Only the 2nd floor of the apartment building where Alareer and his family were located was destroyed. Approximately 45% of the bombardments from Israel to date have been unguided – those that are reveal Israel’s intentions.

Alareer was an accomplished academic. After earning his Ph.D. in English Literature in 2017, he taught literature and creative writing at the Islamic University of Gaza. He spent his final days thirsty and starving, worrying about how to explain to his children there was not enough food or water for them. Those close to him describe him as “generous, above all. Gracious, gentle, patient, funny.”

He elaborated on the juxtaposition of doom and community in some of his final messages before his death. Everyone knows they can die at any time – amidst that horror, the community clings to one another. Neighbors and strangers alike share their limited supplies with those in need. Alareer was concerned about making sure that he left enough food for others when he was able to buy supplies. He didn’t want to contribute to panic or hoarding by leaving shelves bare.

Calls for his murder began on 10/29 after he posted a reply to a tweet from Israeli journalist Dovid Efune who claimed Hamas had burned Israeli babies alive in ovens. This narrative has since been fully disproven by the likes of Israeli journalist Chaim Levinson. The insidious lies about “burned” or “beheaded” babies have spread like wildfire. Biden himself parroted these lies, and continues to even after the administration has made retractions.

When calling out this propaganda, was Alareer’s dark humor the best way to go about it? No, but no one should be put to death for a joke, especially one that correctly called out misinformation.

Alareer may be dead, but there are many still alive telling his story. There must be a ceasefire now. Stop the genocide. Stop funding and supplying Israel with weapons. How many more families must die before you are compelled to act?

SOURCES

Black Agenda Report “POEM: If I Must Die, Refaat Alareer, 2023“

The Guardian “‘If I must die, let it bring hope’: the power of poetry in the Palestinian struggle“

CNN “Prominent Gaza professor and writer killed in airstrike, weeks after telling CNN he and his family had ‘nowhere else to go’”

TIME “The Voice Notes Poet Refaat Alareer Sent Before His Death“

Wikipedia “Refaat Alareer“

EuroMed Monitor “Israeli Strike on Refaat al-Areer Apparently Deliberate“

CNN “Exclusive: Nearly half of the Israeli munitions dropped on Gaza are imprecise ‘dumb bombs,’ US intelligence assessment finds“

Tikun Olam “BREAKING: Israeli Security Cabinet Orders Execution of Palestinian Poet, Because of a Joke“

October 29th, 2023 Tweet from Dovid Efune @Efune

October 29th, 2023 Tweet from Refaat Alareer @itranslate123

October 30th, 2023 Tweet ישי כהן @ishaycoen

Al Jazeera “Watching the watchdogs: Babies and truth die together in Israel-Palestine“

Wikipedia “Misinformation in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war“

Haaretz “טבח חמאס גרר הפצת סיפורי זוועות שלא כולם קרו במציאות. האמת קשה מספיק“

Liberation “Attaque du Hamas : d’où vient l’affirmation selon laquelle un bébé israélien a été mis à mort dans un four ?“