There is an effort on the part of the Elting Library Board to censor free speech on library property. The First Amendment of our Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, as well as the right to assemble peacefully. The Constitution is the highest law in the land, far superseding library “policies.” The library is simply acting on the behalf of those who do not want the truth to be told. The truth about Israel’s genocide, war crimes, extermination, and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. New Paltz Women In Black expose the truth about the savage year long slaughter, starvation, and brutalization of innocent Palestinian women, children, babies, and men which is fully supported and funded by our government and our tax dollars. The nonsense about library policy is simply a smokescreen designed to prevent the expression of a truth that Zionists want to keep hidden. The library has referenced the need for “neutrality.” As Bishop Desmond Tutu a frequent critic of Israel’s apartheid stated, ““If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” When a male dog is castrated it is called “neutering.” “Neutral” and “neutering” have the same origins. With that in mind, I hope the library board can stop hiding behind neutrality and “grow a pair.”
Eli Kassirer
New Paltz, NY