Strange Fruit in Palestine

Palestinians observe the aftermath of settler violence (B’Tselem, 6 December 2018)

Recently I listened to Billie Holiday’s rendition of the classic song ‘Strange Fruit’. Written in 1937 by Abel Meeropol, a member of the US Communist Party, it condemned the lynching of blacks in the US by white mobs. I adapted the three verses to highlight a modern set of outrages backed by the US government:

Palestine’s trees bear little fruit

Torn down branches and cut at the root

Land and lives stolen, by Israelis seized

No fruit hanging from the olive trees

Killed in the west, the east, north and south

Destruction, lies with a twisted mouth

Funds from America, sweet and fresh

And the soldiers shoot, maim and arrest

Here are walls, settlers run amok

A death camp in Gaza, human life is blocked

People will not bow, and they will not stop

Here are the racists’ bitter crops

Three verses cannot cover all the key points one needs to know about Israel, so it may be useful for readers if I note some articles on this blog:

Murdering Europeans, 2 October 2018

Jews, Zionism and Israel, 22 August 2018

The British Labour Party and Israel, 26 October 2017

Palestine, 'Israel' and Justice, 20 August 2014

Tony Norfield, 19 April 2019