One of best times was visiting the city of Bisceglie to read my poems in the Festival of the Mediterranean Peoples. Being in the Italian south had given me a Mediterranean breath, full of passion and nostalgy. I also felt as if I was in Arabic city. I documented this visit in Al-Arabi magazine in one of my travels. I even watched Debka by Jordanian performers, and that was not surprising at all. Since 1999, the City of Bisceglie has been proudly twinned with Khan Younis, a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip — a place now known worldwide for being among the hardest hit by the brutality of the Israeli occupation.
That same year, as part of a shared mission of solidarity, a delegation from Bisceglie was received by President Yasser Arafat at the presidential palace in Gaza, followed by an official meeting with the Mayor of Gaza City. These encounters symbolized not only diplomatic recognition but a deep and longstanding connection — a bond of fraternity with the Palestinian people and their unwavering struggle to build a free and sovereign state.
As a testament to this historic relationship, a street in Khan Younis was named after our city, near the Mediterranean Theater, home of the renowned Festival of the Mediterranean Peoples. Back then, Bisceglie’s municipal administration – as Mr. Francesco Napoletano recently wrote – had the foresight to act on the values of peace, cultural dialogue, and solidarity — long before such stances became common rhetoric:
“We spoke of the Mediterranean as a sea of peace and welcome, when few dared to imagine it. We championed the building of cultural bridges with the Arab world, even as the political right mocked or obstructed such initiatives — the same forces that now scramble for recognition and favor among Arab nations. Our twinning efforts extended beyond Palestine, reaching Al-Fuheis in Jordan and Tartous in Syria, whose mayors stood with us here in Bisceglie. Sadly, those who followed in office have not always shared the same vision, nor the same sensitivity or courage. We took Bisceglie to the world — from Morocco to Iraq, from Jordan and the UAE to Kuwait — hosting ministers, ambassadors, and mayors, side by side with artists and intellectuals. Far more meaningful than the empty chatter of tourism now dominating the stage. One state, however, we never welcomed: the terrorist state of Israel.”
The brave Mayor, Francesco Napoletano , continued: “That is why I could not be absent from the demonstration for Palestine held last Saturday in Bisceglie, on Via Khan Younis — a street named for the same city that, on that very day, witnessed a massacre: nine children from a single Palestinian family exterminated by Israeli forces. I hold hope that the current Mayor of Bisceglie will find the courage and conviction to restore our city’s role as a beacon of peace and solidarity — a legacy once embodied by our most visionary leaders. In times as dark and demanding as ours, nothing less is required than a political class equal to the moral weight of the moment.”
I am proud of you, as a real leader, dear Francesco Napoletano. Remembring the moments we met more than two decades ago, and you are the living voice of truth and true man of culture. Than you Francesco Napoletano! Viva Bisceglie! Viva Khan Younis. Viva Italy! Viva Palestine!
