Between the River and the Sea

The land between the river and the sea

Was Canaan in the Iron Age times.

The Israelites developed from within,

A large, monolatrist sect, faction, group.

At first, they worshipped solely Jahweh’s realm,

The minor god of storms and war.

But, later merged this concept with god El,

The chief of all the Canaan gods.

From this derives the name Is-ra-el-ites,

And Ga-bri-el, and on it goes.

Yahwism was just part of Canaan’s lore,

Until the exile period.

In Babylon, Judaism was born,

A monotheist faith emerged.

There was no Covenant ’tween God and Man,

Of land for men with foreskins cut.

Genetic research shows that all Levant,

Including diasporic groups,

They share substantial Canaanite DNA,

They’re all just cousins in that land.

Semitic is a class of languages,

So, Arabic and Hebrew both.

Semitic peoples speak Semitic tongues,

They’re all Semites, not just the Jews.

A busy square in downtown Tel Aviv.

A Hamas fighter lurking there.

Like Gaza, blast the precinct off the map?

T’was Hamas used a human shield.

Our history is full of evil deeds,

Zionists were Hamas in their day!

O, would that all could live again as one,

And share the Canaan land in peace.

Blank verse, in rhyming couplets of iambic pentameters and tetrameters.

This poem was read to the September 2025 meeting of the Friendly Street Poets, Adelaide.

(September 2025)

The poem was awarded a commendation.

(October 2025)