A Bridge Of Peace
 {English version of "My Palestinian Sister"}

'They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and 
none shall make them afraid" (Micah, 4. 4)

My Palestinian sister,
Daughter of Abraham, like me,
Let us build a sturdy bridge
From your olive world to mine,
From my orange world to yours,
Above the boiling pain
Of acid rain prejudice -
And hold human hands high
Full of free stars
Of twinkling peace

My Palestinian sister, daughter of Abraham,
I do not want to be your oppressor
You do not want to be my oppressor,
Or your jailer
Or my jailer,
We do not want to make each other afraid
Under our vines
And under our fig trees
Blossoming on a silvered horizon
Above the bruising and the bleeding
Of poisoned gases and scuds.

So, my Palestinian sister,
Let us build a bridge of
Jasmine understanding
Where each shall sit with her baby
Under her vine and under her fig tree -
And none shall make them afraid
AND NONE SHALL MAKE THEM AFRAID.

                       Ada Aharoni

Ada Aharoni is an Israeli poet, writer and professor. Ada was born in Cairo, lives in Haifa, and is  President of IFLAC: PAVE PEACE, the International Forum for Literature and Culture of Peace. She writes in Hebrew and English, and her works have been translated into Arabic.