Never Again for Anyone

 

From Marcy--

The Washington Post lost the plot early in the week by writing about the hopes of Palestinians returning to the north, in Gaza.  In one video, a young man is beaming as he strides, "I can feel the breeze of the North" he says, profusely thanking god for returning him to his home. Further along a woman sits on her belongings, children clustered around her. Why is she waiting? She doesn't know. They've closed the checkpoint. No one knows why. Exhaustion and resignation etch her face, as she waits. Waits to return to her demolished home. Waits to find human remains of her loved ones.

These are human beings, that we've bombed and starved with our tax dollars. Human beings we've driven from homes and killed and terrorized with our tax dollars. And for once, one of the great "newspapers of record" dares us to see the human beings we have done this to, and know the truth. Their human lives are not worth less than the human lives of those who open and close the checkpoints. Their lives are the lives we are fighting for, in protesting Israel's ongoing apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.

There is a ceasefire in Gaza, and a ramping up of Israeli state terrorism and killings in the West Bank. Armed thugs (some settlers, some in uniform) seek to drive more human beings from their homes and livelihood. 

This week marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In memory of the Nazi Holocaust I'd like to propose the following: Never Again for anyone. Never Again the dehumanization, the ethnic cleansing, the starving, the bombing, the slaughter, the terrorizing of human beings whose only crime, it seems, is existing. A persistent, breathtaking accomplishment of existing, existing despite the best efforts of the nuclear armed military superpower we fund.

Join us!

Common antisemitic words

 Common antisemitic words and phrases to watch out for:

"NAKBA" Because it implies that Israel has been ethnically cleansing Palestinians forever. It's only been 75 years.

"HOLY LAND" Because it describes several religions in this region, when we know that only Jewish people are allowed.

"HOME DEMOLITIONS" Because everyone knows that only Israel is bulldozing houses in Israel/Palestine. There must be other countries doing a lot of bulldozing that are being routinely overlooked.

"APARTHEID" Because it suggests that Israel is a racist country. In fact, only Jimmy Carter and a few human rights organizations use this word. And they only use it because they are antisemites.

"WAR CRIMES" Because it brings to mind two million people starving and dying in Gaza. Its use at colleges will make some Jewish students sad and even upset.

"ISRAEL LOBBY" Because it implies that Israel bribes the US Congress. Congress takes boatloads of money from the oil lobby, the weapons makers, and the pharmaceuticals. Why is Israel being singled out?

"ONE STATE OR TWO STATE SOLUTIONS" Because Israel has been dead set against either solution for a very long time. Even asking this question is another sign of being an antisemite.

"FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE" Because the Israel Lobby says this is antisemitic. What gives people the right to put "Palestine" and "free" in the same sentence?

"GENOCIDE" Because everyone already knows that the IDF is slaughtering tens of thousands of Palestinians. Can't people get off Israel's back!

Fred Nagel

Trail Of Tears

Trail Of Tears

Bodily feelings sometimes go away, but always return with a bit more urgency. Like hunger, you can forget it for a while, but it invariably comes back stronger. That is what the children learn, as they are slowly starved to death by the US/Israel death machine.

I find that as I immerse myself in day to day events, this slaughter is always waiting to come back to me. Could the country I love be starving children to death by the thousands? By the tens of thousands? Their spindly arms and legs have that Buchenwald look. I can't bear the images that wait for me to close my eyes.

Once the children behind barbed wire fences appear to me, my mind starts a desperate search. Could my own country be murdering children like this? Could our own churches and synagogues be cheering on the extermination? Did we catch this endless warfare and charnel house slaughter from the Nazis?

Both political parties want this butchery. All the money we have is going into more bombs and planes. We can't get enough of it. We wave our flags, heedless of what our country is really doing. We sing "God Bless America," as if we had the right to ask our lord to celebrate the holocaust of this century.

Are we incapable of empathy? Is this life but a trail of tears, the name given to our very own ethnic cleansing and annihilation of the Cherokee Nation? Who on earth can protect the Palestinians from the barbarians?

Fred Nagel

Hope to see more of you in the streets in 2025

 

We are all grateful for this fragile ceasefire in Gaza and the  prisoner exchanges,  despite the fact that Israel is violating the ceasefire and continues to inflict violence against civilians  in Gaza and the West Bank,  Women In Black are braving the cold every Saturday to stand in solidarity with Palestine.  Unfortunately, the pro-Israeli, zionist counter demonstrators  across the street have become more aggressive and emboldened of late.  Our solidarity with Palestine and our truth telling about Israel’s war crimes and genocide really disturbs them.  Their arrogance and depraved support for genocide are truly disturbing,  but will in no way deter Women In Black from peacefully speaking the truth.  

 

With the worldwide crackdown and intimidation of   pro-Palestinian journalists, students, and academics it it more important than ever that we stand strong in the face of this backlash.  Ali Abunimah is a journalist who founded the electronicintifada.net  (one of the best sources of real information) has been arrested  by Swiss authorities prior to giving a lecture.  To sign a petition to release him use this link: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1XDwHoJ27T/?mibextid=wwXIfr -  Below are  pictures of the MLK Day rally in the  New Paltz Peace Park.  There were about 200 people in attendance and we chanted and marched through downtown New Paltz.  Much to the consternation of the police because the march spilled into the street.  Hope you are all well and staying warm.  And hope to see more of you in the streets in 2025.  

Peace always,

 

Eli

Stand with us for Gaza

 

Stand with us for Gaza on Saturday, Jan. 18, 12:30-1:30 at Elting Library on Main Street! Demand a real, immediate, and permanent CEASEFIRE and an ARMS EMBARGO AGAINST ISRAEL!

From Carrie--

As we get ready to send out this weekly reminder, news of a ceasefire deal is everywhere. The pressure has long been on for a ceasefire, with worldwide witness to the devastation and death, and many protests, including those of our own group. The ceasefire deal was on the table months ago, yet the Netanyahu government was unwilling to stop.

It is only now that this is happening, and we are guardedly relieved and glad.  However, we know that this is not likely to be truly over. Israel can and probably will continue its relentless bombing campaign, at least until Sunday, even if the ceasefire is approved by the Knesset. and we also saw how little the terms of the ceasefire with Lebanon meant to the Israelis, who continue bombing Lebanon on the flimsiest excuses. 

So, while we all hope fervently that this chapter of Palestinian suffering will come to a close, we know that the future is uncertain. Those in Israel whose goal was to extinguish Palestinian civilization in Gaza, were able accomplish a lot of wide-spread destruction. Will it be possible to rebuild? Will it be possible to get supplies of food, water, medicines, hospitals, blankets, to the scattered refugees? How long before they can get stable housing? What about the shattered infrastructure? We will learn more in the next few days.

This war has been an unnatural disaster—the creation of disaster conditions by humans to humans—genocidal killing and destruction by the Israeli government done to the Palestinian people, their homes and infrastructure, hospitals, schools, shelters, in Gaza. 

It would be unthinkable and unimaginable, except that has been real and happening in real time, fueled by money and weaponry from the USA. A landscape now of rubble and desolation, deaths of so many, over 45,000, including so many women and children. Places that were supposed to be safe, where people fleeing sought refuge, had bombs dropped on them. Aid, food, supplies, blocked, hospitals bombed, people exposed to the elements, lacking food, water, medical help, nowhere safe to stay.  

Will the ceasefire bring peace? Justice? Palestinian rights? To start with, it will be a very welcome respite from daily death and destruction. 

We stand vigil on the corner to draw attention to these issues and to draw some solace from our common breaking hearts over what has been happening. 

We call on people to not turn away, to keep a spotlight on these issues, to join us, to remember that humans can love their neighbors and not oppress and murder them. We stand for justice and a world where people come first.

Join our growing numbers, Saturdays from 12:30-1:30 in front of the Elting Memorial Library in New Paltz. We have signs, or bring you own. 

From Naomi--

**Netanyahu has cynically used the Israeli hostages to whip up hysteria against the Gazans, and the U.S. political leaders and mainstream media have gone along with him, deliberately not mentioning the more than 9,000 Palestinian hostages in Israeli prisons, including many children. Now the Jerusalem Post, a right-wing Israeli paper, directly quotes Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, boasting how he has blocked a "hostage-ceasefire deal" again and again. "In the past year, through our political power, we succeeded in preventing this deal from moving forward time and time again," he said.

**The N.Y. Times rejected a paid ad from the American Friends Service Committee for calling Israel's actions "genocide." The AFSC's General Secretary called the refusal "an outrageous attempt to sidestep the truth." The Quakers pulled all planned advertising as a result.
**The American Historical Society voted 428-88 to condemn "scholasticide" in Gaza, arguing that the obliteration of most of Gaza's schools, universities, archives, and libraries amounted to an attempt to erase Palestinian history and culture.

**The American Historical Society voted 428-88 to condemn "scholasticide" in Gaza, arguing that the obliteration of most of Gaza's schools, universities, archives, and libraries amounted to an attempt to erase Palestinian history and culture.

Peace Plan Requires Shared Power

 

A gigantic menorah

Dear Ms. Middleton,
The Library and the  Board of Directors have repeatedly stressed  concerns about how signs and symbols on library property are “perceived” by the public.  The library does not want  to be perceived as supporting a particular cause but instead wants to remain neutral.  There is currently a gigantic menorah prominently displayed on library property.  Some members of the public might (and, in fact, do)  “perceive” this giant menorah as support for the State of Israel.  

 

As you probably know,  Israel   has been charged by the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice with war crimes.  Does the library really want to risk being perceived as supporting a genocidal state like Israel?  Chanukah has long since passed and this blatant religious symbol needs to come down immediately.  Thank you for taking my thoughts into consideration.

Peace,
Eli Kassirer

Dear Ms. Middleton:

The Elting Memorial library has allowed an Ultra-Orthodox, proselytizing, Zionist group (Chabad) to erect a very large menorah on library property. This creates a hostile atmosphere for patrons, and gives the appearance of endorsement of an extreme version of Judaism.

I am Jewish. The Chanukah menorah is a religious symbol. In lighting a candle for each of the eight nights of Chanukah, three Hebrew prayers are recited, Each of the blessings uses the name of God, which is only uttered during religious ritual. In this way, unlike a Christmas tree (which is not prayed to), a menorah would be akin to erecting a large Christian Cross on the library grounds.

Further, this menorah is still on library grounds today, 1/11/25, even though the holiday of Chanukah concluded on January 1, 2025.

I urge the library to firstly, remove the menorah immediately. The holiday of Chanukah was over 10 days ago.

Secondly, do not allow a menorah on library grounds again. To emphasize, this is a religious ritual object, and has no place on the property of a public library.

Sincerely yours,

Marcy London

The Moral Issue Of Our Time

America's genocide in Gaza will someday come back to haunt us all. Generations to come will describe the empire that talked about human rights and freedom, while it slaughtered tens of thousands of civilians, and starved their children.

For proof of American's war crimes and crimes against humanity, historians need only look at last week's shameful events. As a parting gift to Israel, Genocide Joe is sending another 8 billion in bombs and missiles to get the job done faster. This while the House of Representatives is writing up a plan to sanction the International Criminal Court for its attempts to end the butchery.

To be honest, our Congress is awash in Zionist bribes. A quick look at opensecrets.org reveals the tens of thousands going to almost every member of this unscrupulous and venal institution. For 2024 the Israel Lobby spent twice as much on bribes than even the weapons makers.

As many of us know, our government represents the interests of the billionaire elites rather than the workers of this country. They don't care about our own children, much less about the wandering hoards of Palestinian youths, crying about their murdered parents and looking for a piece of bread.

Our news media suffers from the same affliction. It is owned by the billionaires, just like Congress and our president. That leaves only us to resist the American genocide of the Palestinian people. It is the moral issue of our time, the true measure of our humanity.

Fred Nagel

Our murderous parent

My country is like a bad parent who never really changes his abusive habits. He sent me off to war in 1967, only to have all the lies come back to haunt him. He killed two million Vietnamese along with 58,000 US troops, and never even said he was sorry.

In the 1980s, he was training death squads in Central America, and arming them to commit atrocities in Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador. And after all that bloodletting, he never whispered a word of remorse.

The invasion of Iraq was another inexcusable moment for my American family. The invasion was all based on his lies about weapons of mass destruction, and again we murdered millions of innocent people. But our media hid most of the slaughter from us, and neither political party thought to condemn his obvious war crimes.

Now our parent is paying for and perpetuating the worst genocide of the 21st century. True to form, he never bothers to look at the torture, the starvation, the endless bombing of hospitals and schools in Gaza. The charnel house of his wars reminds us once again of how criminal our parent really is. And how dangerous. His wars abroad are based on carnage, and that is what our shameless parent is very good at. He sees some strategic goal in the eradication of the Palestinian people and there is nothing that can stop him. Not even the slaughter of 20,000 children.

Our murderous parent will one day destroy our American family.  

Fred Nagel

Over $17 Billion of your tax dollars

To the Editor:

Imagine the agony of freezing to death or the horror of  starving to death slowly while being crushed beneath  tons of rubble  from bombed out buildings.  Imagine seeing your child incinerated before your very eyes. Imagine relentless drones, jets, and quad-copters circling above your head 24 hours a day.   Imagine  fighter jets, tanks, missiles and bulldozers bombing, burying, and blasting you, and your family and your neighbors ceaselessly.  Imagine no hospitals, no food, no water, no heat, no electricity.  Imagine no  place to hide.  No need to imagine.  This describes Gaza as  Israel  exterminates and cleanses  Palestinians from their homeland.  (see electronicintifada.net for documentation)

I have a hard time wishing you a  “Happy New Year”  while  genocide is being perpetrated by the Zionist entity called  Israel with the full support and encouragement of our government.  Over $17 Billion of your  tax dollars have gone to Israel in the last year alone (apnews.com).  Sadly, our elected officials are bought off or intimidated by the powerful Israeli lobby (AIPAC) to place Israel’s interests above the interests  of the American people.   If any of this bothers you maybe it’s time to call the  White House: 202-456-1111 or Pat Ryan:202-225-5614 and say, “No U.S. weapons or money to fund Israeli genocide.”

Although my heart is broken,  I still  pray that 2025 will bring an end to the genocide in Gaza,  and that this year will bring peace and justice to Palestine, as well as, to all oppressed beings  around the world.  With love in my heart, and tears in my eyes, I wish you “Happy New Year.”

Eli Kassirer