The Fall of the City

The transformation of Jerusalem into a Roman city under Emperor Hadrian. Around 130 CE, Hadrian rebuilt and renamed the city as Aelia Capitolina, in honor of his family name (Aelius) and the Capitoline triad of Roman gods. This act was deeply provocative to the Jewish population, especially as Hadrian reportedly banned circumcision and planned a pagan temple on the Temple Mount.

These changes helped ignite the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–136 CE), a fierce Jewish uprising that was ultimately crushed. Afterward, Jews were banned from entering Jerusalem, and the city remained a Roman colony for centuries.

No lessons learned from what happened to them, as the government of Israel now plans to raze and rebuild Gaza city, with an intent to transform Gaza City into a Jewish settler city.

This parallel story forms the theme of this poem.

The Fall of the City

The rebels needed to be taken out
Lose their stronghold, city place
No room for nuance or doubt
Only brutality, a savage face

Evacuate the city, and do it now
They left, or faced a brutal death
Soldiers now will show them how
Survivors perish, taking last breath

Destroy the city, stone by stone
A colony to plant, a city reborn
On the rubble and crushed bone
They settled, none left to mourn

Gaza City under Israel, Jerusalem under Rome
Here the annihilation of a people’s home