Josiah Mari C. Tiburcio I am Israel. I never miss a chance to seize a chance.
In 1947, the United Nations offered partition. I accepted—because I knew I would take more later. I prepared my militias. I cleansed over 400 Palestinian villages, driving 750,000 people into exile. I called it independence. Others called it Nakba—catastrophe.
I am Israel. I have never chosen peace. Only expansion.
In 1967, I launched a preemptive war. In six days, I seized East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan Heights, Sinai. Not from Palestine, but from neighboring states. I promised "land for peace." Instead, I built settlements. I colonized. I fragmented the land so no viable Palestinian state could emerge.
I am Israel. I could have chosen justice. Many times. But I always said no.
At Oslo, I shook hands but never honored my promises. I expanded settlements even during negotiations. I built walls, not bridges. I fragmented Palestinian life with checkpoints, closures, and permits. I claimed security, but I wanted domination.
I am Israel. I glorify force. I raise my youth to believe in Jewish supremacy over the land.
My textbooks erase the Nakba. My politicians call Palestinians "two-legged beasts." My soldiers post videos humiliating Palestinians. I fund settler extremists who burn olive trees and mosques. I demolish homes as collective punishment. I detain children without charge.
I am Israel. I elected warlords.
Not by accident. In 2022, I voted in extremists who openly call for annexation and ethnic cleansing. My ministers dream of a land free of Arabs. My airstrikes on Gaza kill hundreds of civilians. Every ceasefire is a chance to regroup and bomb again.
I am Israel. I speak of victimhood, but never of responsibility.
I invoke the Holocaust to justify everything. I call myself the "only democracy in the Middle East," while keeping millions under military occupation. I accept billions in U.S. aid, but deny Palestinians basic rights. I build modern cities on stolen land, while Palestinians live in ruins.
I am Israel. I demand recognition I never give to others.
I demand Palestinians recognize me as a "Jewish state," while denying their right of return, their history, their identity. I call them terrorists when they resist, but I was born through terror—Irgun, Stern Gang, Deir Yassin.
I am Israel. I hold the keys to tanks and drones—but never to peace.
I reject international law. I ignore UN resolutions. I crush nonviolent resistance. I arrest Palestinian lawmakers. I ban Palestinian flags. I outlaw human rights organizations that expose my abuses.
I am Israel. And I cry for security—but worship those who conquer.
I build monuments to generals. I name streets after assassins. I celebrate the Six-Day War. I film my youth dancing in Hebron while settlers chant "Death to Arabs." Then I appear before the world, asking why Palestinians hate me.
I am Israel. And until I choose law over force, equality over supremacy, and justice over oppression—I will never be secure.
