Translating Herbert Pagani, "Pleading For My Land," for Gen Z
CREDIT: @woz_art CHECK THEM OUT!
This morning, I imagined reciting Herbert Pagani's brilliant poem at an Open Mic. Then I realized I had never posted his work to my blog before, which is shocking. I reference this poem all the time, either as an example of great Jewish oration or as a counterexample to the violence found in all “Palestinian poetry.”
The original poem, Plaidoyer pour ma terre, is in French. Watch Pagani recite it here: https://youtu.be/JQoO2ATpoQo?si=IYwLGNindeE9EpUL
I think my motivation this morning came from some LinkedIn posts praising Libya and Algeria for their “anti-Zionist, not antisemitic, passion for Palestine.” Both states expelled their Jews. Herbert Pagani was an artistic Jew (singer, songwriter) from Tripoli, Libya, back when Libya had a Jewish population. A long history of violence and expulsion of Jews is common amongst the Palestine Supporting states.
In 1975, the UN Resolution 3379 compared Zionism to racism. Virtually all the democratic states voted against this measure, while all the Arab states (which had long ago expelled their Jewish populations) supported it.
It took until 1991 for the UN to reject their racist statement. Most of the states with 99.99% Muslim populations never rejected this idea. You will still find this insanity as one face of the racist “Palestine Supporter” ideology.
In response to this bigoted UN statement, Chaim Herzog stated, "I can point with pride to the Arab ministers who have served in my government; to the Arab deputy speaker of my Parliament; to Arab officers and men… frequently commanding Jewish troops;… to the thousands of Arabs from all over the Middle East coming for medical treatment to Israel… to the fact that it is as natural for an Arab to serve in public office in Israel as it is incongruous to think of a Jew serving in any public office in an Arab country… That ... is Zionism.” and "For us, the Jewish people, this resolution based on hatred, falsehood, and arrogance, is devoid of any moral or legal value. For us, the Jewish people, this is no more than a piece of paper and we shall treat it as such."
Translations found on two other sites: EVJCC and LadyBlaga (matching).
Boy, could we use Herbert Pagani or a similar, brave voice today.
Image of Pagani airing his poem
Pleading For My Land
Last Night, I was in the subway when I heard two ladies say,
"Did you see these Jews with their stories at the U.N.? What jerks! "
It's true. We are jerks. For centuries we have been the world's jerks. It's in our nature, what can you do
Abraham with his single God, Moses with his 10 Commandments, Jesus with his second cheek always available for a second slap, then Freud, Marx, Einstein, all were intruders, revolutionaries, enemies of the Order.
Why?
Because no order, whatever the century, could satisfy them - since they were always excluded. To call everything in question, to see further, changing the world to change their destiny, such was the destiny of my Ancestors.
This is why the defenders of all established orders hate them.
The anti-Semite of the right blames the Jews for having executed the Bolshevik revolution.
It's true: there were many of them, in 1917.The anti-Semite of the left blames the Jews for owning Manhattan.
It's true: there are many Jewish capitalists.
The reason is simple: religion, culture, and the revolutionary ideal on the one hand, stocks and banks on the other, are the only transportable values, the only possible country for those that do not have a country.
And now that there is a country, Anti-Semitism reappears from its ashes…—Sorry! From OUR ashes - and it's called anti-Zionism! It used to be applied only to individuals; it is now applied to a country.
Israel is a ghetto - Jerusalem is Warsaw… The Nazis who besiege us speak Arabic!
And if their crescent is sometimes disguised in a sickle, that's simply for better trapping the liberal leftists of the world.
I, who am a Jew of the left, I don't care about a certain left that wants to free all men of the world at the expense of some of them - because I am precisely one of these!
I support class struggle, but I also support the right to be different. If the left wants to count me among its members, it cannot exclude my problem.
And my problem is that since the Roman deportations of the 1st century after Jesus-Christ, everywhere we went we were expelled, dishonored, banished, tracked, denounced, crushed, burned and converted by force!
Why?
Because our religion - i.e. our culture was dangerous. Some examples:
Judaism was the first to create the Shabbath, the day of God, i.e. the day of weekly mandatory rest. You imagine the joy of the Pharoes, always late in building the next pyramid.
Judaism prohibits slavery. You can imagine the sympathy of the Romans, the most significant wholesalers of free labor of the Antiquity.
It is said in the Bible: "The earth does not belong to man, but to God." From this sentence a law is created, the automatic handing-over of real-estate every 49 years. You imagine the effect of such a law on the Popes of the Middle Ages and the builders of empires during the Renaissance.
It was imperative that the people do not learn the truth.
They started by banishing the Bible, then were the libels: walls of defamation that became walls of stone that were called ghettos.
Then it was the Inquisition, the flames and later the yellow stars.
Auschwitz is only an industrial example of genocide, but there were thousands of hand-made genocides. It would take me three days only to name all the pogroms of Spain, Russia, Poland and North Africa.
By continuing to flee and to move, the Jew went everywhere. One extrapolates: he ends up being from nowhere.
We are among the people like the welfare child. I don't want to be adopted any more. I don't want for my life to depend on my owners' mood any more. I don't want to be a "citizen-renter" any more.
I have enough of knocking at History's doors and waiting until I'm told: "Enter". I enter and I yell! I am at home on earth and on earth I have my land: she was promised to me, she will be mine!
What is Zionism? It's reduced to a simple sentence: "Next year in Jerusalem."
No, it's not a slogan of the Club Med. It's written in the Bible, the book that has sold more copies and has been misunderstood more than any other book in the world.
And this prayer became a roar, a roar that is over 2000 years old, and the fathers of Columbus, Kafka, Proust, Chagall, Marx, Einstein, and even Mr. Kissinger, repeated this sentence, this roar, at least once a year, on Passover.
Then, is Zionism equal to Racism? Don't make me laugh! Is "Soft France, dear country of my childhood" ( "Douce France, cher pays de mon enfance" ) a racist anthem? Zionism is the name of a struggle for freedom!
In the world, everybody has its Jews. The French have theirs: they are the Breton, Occitans, Corsicans, and the immigrant workers. The Italians have Sicilians; the Americans have their Blacks; the Spaniards their Basques.
We, we are EVERYBODY'S Jews.
To those that tell me: "And the Palestinians?", I answer: "I am a 2000 year-old Palestinian. I am the oldest oppressed man in the world."
I will negotiate with them, but I will not yield my place to them. There's enough space there for two people and two nations. The borders are to be determined together. But the existence of one country cannot in any case exclude the existence of the other. And the political options of a government never called into question the existence of a nation, whatever the nation.
Then why Israel?
When Israel is out of danger, I will choose among Jews and my Arab neighbors, those who are my brothers by ideas.
Today, I must be united with all of my people, even those whom I hate, in the name of this insurmountable enemy: RACISM.
Descartes was wrong: "I think, therefore I am" doesn't mean anything. We have been thinking for 5000 years, and we still don't exist!
I defend myself, therefore I am!
I realize that Palestine Supporters are not a literate bunch. They’ll bound to not read or watch Pagani, then scarecrow from a reel, “So violent resistance is justified?”
I decided to have Chat GPT translate this speech to Gen Z talk. The output was further edited (ex: “ride” —> “ride or die”). I doubt this well help, but who knows?
Ride and Die for My Land
Last night, chillin’ on the subway, overheard two chicks like,
“Yo, did you peep those Jews spitting facts at the U.N.? Straight-up clowns, for real!”
Aight, bet. We the clowns. Been the world’s clowns for centuries, fam. It’s just our vibe, what can you do? Abraham was all about dat monotheism life, Moses dropped those Ten Commandments like a hot mixtape, and Jesus? Homie was all about turning the other cheek. Then you got legends like Freud, Marx, Einstein—real trap shit, straight disruptors, rebels, shakin up thangs.
Why though?
‘Cause no era’s "order" ever felt us—always had us on the outside looking in.
Always questioning, staying woke, flipping the script—that’s the legacy of my fam.
And that’s why the gatekeepers of the status quo stay hating.
The right-wing haters blame us for sparking the Bolshevik Revolution. True talk: we were deep in that.
The lefties? They salty 'cause they think we own Manhattan. Yep, there's a bunch of Jewish capitalists out here.
Ain’t none of you poser ass, Palestine Supporter heard Jay Z? WE GOT CREDIT.
Here’s the lowdown: whether it’s religion, culture, revolutionary vibes on one side, or cheddar on the otha, these are the moves for folks coming up without a homeland. And now that we got Israel, haters are rebranding—now they calling it anti-Zionism. Used to diss individuals; now they coming for a whole country.
Israel’s a ghetto—Jerusalem’s the new Warsaw. The oppressors speaking A-rab this time.
And if you see that crescent moon flexing a sickle, that’s them trying to trap the woke mob.
Me? I’m a left-leaning Jew, but don't box me in with a left that's cool freeing everybody except us—'cause I'm right here! I’m down with class struggle, but I stan the right to be different too. If the left's really 'bout that life, they can’t sideline my struggle.
And peep this: since the Romans kicked us out way back when, every spot we landed, we got booted, shamed, hunted, snitched on, squashed, burned, converted by force. No cap.
Why? 'Cause our culture—our religion? Dangerous. Like, we invented the Sabbath—imagine Pharaoh's face when he heard about a mandatory day off. We said no to slavery—Romans weren’t feeling us. Bible says, "Earth belongs to the Big Man upstairs," leading to land resets every 49 years. Popes and empire builders? Shook.
Man, they tried everything to put us down: banned the Bible, spread fake news, built literal ghettos and mind ghettos. Rolled out the Inquisition, then came the flames, and later, those yellow stars. Auschwitz was just the industry-level mess, but there were thousands more, DIY-style. Listing out all the pogroms would take days.
Kept moving, kept surviving, but we’re done being the foster kid of history. Skrrrrtt.
Done knocking and waiting to be let in. I’m busting through saying, “This is my spot!” Earth’s my crib and I got my land promised—gonna make it mine.
What is Zionism? Break it down sucka: “Next year in Jerusalem.” Nah, that ain't no vacation slogan. It’s ancient text, a battle cry over 2000 years old. And every Passover, from Kafka, Proust, Chagall, Marx to Einstein, we've been spittin that.
Zionism equals racism? Miss me with that BS. Is “O! say can you see” a hate track too, ya biiiish? Y’all singing, “G-d save the Queen” and focusing on us? Really? Really? Zionism’s our fight for a spot.
In this world, everyone’s got an Other. French got their Corsicons, Italians got Sicilians, Americans got their POC, Spaniards got Basques and Irish got immigrants. We’re just everyone’s Other.
To those going, “But what about the Palestinians?” I’m like, “Bro, I’ve been the OG Palestinian for 4,000 years.” We can talk. But I ain’t steppin aside. There’s room for two, if they ever want to excel. One nation’s rise ain’t the fall of another. There ain’t no room to erase us cause you aint us.
Why stand up for Israel? When Israel’s safe, I’ll pick my kin, Jews or A-rabs, by their ideals. Right now, I gotta stand with all my people, even the ones I ain’t fond of, against our real enemy: RACIST ASS POSERS.
Descartes had it twisted: “I think, therefore I am.” That ain’t it. We’ve been thinkers for millennia, still fighting to truly exist. I’m a ride or die, therefore I am!
Mic drop.
