The Dialogue of Poetry: Palestinian and Israeli Poets Writing Through Conflict and Peace

The horror of war inextricably entwined with the craving of peace — this theme has driven the poetry of Israel since the inception of the state.
— Israeli poet Moshe Dor
The color of poetry is coal-black…
— Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish
As Palestinian and Israeli negotiators continue to engage in a long, difficult dialogue about the final status between Israel and a new Palestinian state, I would like to discuss a very different form of dialogue between the two peoples — the dialogue of poetry. Because behind all the signing of agreements and hand-shaking and posturing and red lines and green lines, there is the bottom line: the emotions and experiences of the people.
I believe that poetry, by its nature, is a form of dialogue, and that poems are attempts to communicate. And in the Palestinian-Israeli arena, the poet’s need to communicate across political and cultural boundaries is particularly intense. Yehuda Amichai has acknowledged: “I have no illusions. It’s quite difficult for poets to communicate with one another in a society that is politically torn apart the way ours is.” Nevertheless, because of the geographical, linguistic, and political barriers inhibiting communication between Palestinians and Israelis, many poets, including Amichai, have used poetry as a means to convey messages to “the other side,” or to explore their feelings about the conflict.