Poem in PA-funded youth magazine glorifies “rivers of blood” and Martyrs as means to “crush” the “occupiers”
Poem by Syrian poet Bayan Al-Safadi entitled “Saladin returns”:
“Saladin (i.e., Muslim leader and Sultan of Egypt and Syria who defeated the Christian crusaders and conquered Jerusalem in 1187) returns
To crush the night of the occupiers
To Palestine
These rivers of our blood
The arrows of the attackers fill them
This is the progress of the victorious
O my children
O my grandchildren
Do not forget the Martyrs (Shahids) of my land”
Zayzafuna is a PLO magazine for children partially funded by the PA. The magazine, which includes material written by both the magazine’s staff and child readers, represents the values of the educators and serves as a window into the minds of the Palestinian children submitting material to the magazine. Zayzafuna's website states that the magazine's advisory board is comprised of PA officials and educators, including Jihad Zakarneh, PA Deputy Minister of Education, and Abd Al-Hakim Abu Jamous, Head of the Media Department at the PA Ministry of Education. Since September 2015, Zayzafuna included a note on its second page thanking the PA Ministry of Finance for its financial support of the magazine (true as of the time of this writing, May 2016). In May 2011, the Deputy Chairman of the Zayzafuna organization Abd Al-Karim Ziyada explained on PA TV that the PA gives "a monthly payment of 10,000 shekels ($2,700) to cover the magazine's [costs]." [Official PA TV, May 9 and 13, 2011]
“Saladin (i.e., Muslim leader and Sultan of Egypt and Syria who defeated the Christian crusaders and conquered Jerusalem in 1187) returns
To crush the night of the occupiers
To Palestine
These rivers of our blood
The arrows of the attackers fill them
This is the progress of the victorious
O my children
O my grandchildren
Do not forget the Martyrs (Shahids) of my land”
Zayzafuna is a PLO magazine for children partially funded by the PA. The magazine, which includes material written by both the magazine’s staff and child readers, represents the values of the educators and serves as a window into the minds of the Palestinian children submitting material to the magazine. Zayzafuna's website states that the magazine's advisory board is comprised of PA officials and educators, including Jihad Zakarneh, PA Deputy Minister of Education, and Abd Al-Hakim Abu Jamous, Head of the Media Department at the PA Ministry of Education. Since September 2015, Zayzafuna included a note on its second page thanking the PA Ministry of Finance for its financial support of the magazine (true as of the time of this writing, May 2016). In May 2011, the Deputy Chairman of the Zayzafuna organization Abd Al-Karim Ziyada explained on PA TV that the PA gives "a monthly payment of 10,000 shekels ($2,700) to cover the magazine's [costs]." [Official PA TV, May 9 and 13, 2011]