Poetry in Response to the “Disengagement Plan”: Identity, Poetics and Politics

Authors

Tamar Wolf-Monzon, Bar-Ilan University, IsraelFollow

Abstract

This article will examine the corpus of poems written in the years 2004-2005, in response to the Israeli government’s Disengagement plan that unilaterally evacuated all Israeli communities from Gush Katif in the southern Gaza Strip. These poems are explored as a political speech act, whose purpose is to bring about an extra-linguistic outcome: to impact upon the feelings and thoughts of the addressees, as well as to influence them in relation to issues of identity and social affiliation. Indeed, these poems are part of a long and complex tradition of Hebrew political poetry, characterized not only by a response to political events but also by poets’ attempts to inspire change and shape attitudes—particularly regarding political issues that have moral implications. In this context of this tradition of political poetry, it could be assumed that the poetry written in response to the Disengagement plan would seek to participate in the extensive public protest and to bring about political change. I will argue, however, that this poetry was not political poetry, which sought to bring about an actual pragmatic change, but rather a type of political poetry that sought instead to confront and to process the implications of the anticipated political reality on an Israeli citizen’s identity and consciousness.

Recommended Citation

Wolf-Monzon, Tamar. "Poetry in Response to the “Disengagement Plan”: Identity, Poetics and Politics." CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 22.1 (2020): <https://doi.org/10.7771/1481-4374.3699>

This text has been double-blind peer reviewed by 2+1 experts in the field.