A year into the devastating genocide being carried out in Palestine, and a year after the publication of the chapbook Eretz: Jewish Poems for Palestine, Leo Rose Rodriguez re-visits and expands upon their work to bring forth …and this would be Moshiach: Jewish writings for Palestine.
Through poems, essays, and a sprinkling of midrash, Rodriguez weaves a path that stretches back to the origins of Zionism, through their own complex religious and political journey, into the present-day horrors of the Israeli occupation. They wrestle with their place in the ethnoreligious hierarchy of America, explore grief and activism as spiritual pathways, and offer a vision of the future defined by interfaith solidarity.
All proceeds from this title will be donated to Operation Olive Branch. Operation Olive Branch is a volunteer-led grassroots collective effort dedicated to connecting with and amplifying Palestinian voices.
Excerpt
“The State of Israel is founded on mythology, and a myth is an incredibly powerful thing. As a religious person, I know that the myths we tell about ourselves, about our communities, and about others, have the capacity to give life or to take it. It is because I love Judaism, because I am proud to be Jewish, that I refuse to let our story be one of violence, hatred, and subjugation. I hope with my words and my voice that I can help to peel away the destructive false narratives that have been told to us about Israel, about Jews, about Palestinians. I want to create instead a story of healing that can lead us to a better future.
I am an anti-Zionist Jew. We are not a myth. A Judaism free of Zionism, free of Israel, is not a myth. Jewish-Muslim solidarity and love is not a myth. A just peace, and a free Palestine, are not myths.”
from “Living Myths: A Historical Primer”