To the editor

Since the question I've asked as to whether Israel is Jewish or democratic goes unanswered, I'll have to let it be, for the nonce. I've been accused of defending Fred Nagel, and that's absolutely not true; Fred needs no defense. The rabid Jewish defenders of Israel's politics at any cost, are the ones who are the anti-semites; they present a white-washed picture of who the Jewish people are. Just like everyone else, they are capable of goodness and of evil. I helped to liberate Buchenwald, Dachau, and Flossenburg, and I know anti-semites when I see or read them. They work mightily to maintain a facade of innocence, just like the Germans I encountered during the war. They use the Holocaust and attacks on Israel to cover over anything Israel is doing today to the Palestinians. A dangerous game; they remind me of children shouting "You did it first" as an excuse. I'm old enough to remember "Lebensraum", the Nazi acquisition of other people's lands because they, the Germans, claimed they needed that land for themselves, and I've seen the yellow Star of David that Jews were forced to wear during that regime. It's curious to me that todays Israeli's, for some reason, provide Palestinian automobiles with yellow license plates. An unfortunate choice, in a sea of ruinous choices. I still have hopes that the genius and creativity of the Jewish citizens in Israel will survive the destructiveness of the Governments there.

Jay Wenk

No Arms to Syria

There are many crises in the Middle East.  The most recent is in Syria.

Middle East Crisis Response (MECR) is opposed to the US sending military aid to the so-called "rebel" forces.  MECR deplores the violence of both the Assad government and the opposition forces.  We support the use of diplomacy and other non-violent means to resolve this bloody conflict, and we believe that it is only the Syrian people who have the right to determine their own future.

Providing more military weaponry to anyone in Syria will only enhance the possibility of more violence; unfortunately, the victims of this violence are predominantly civilians—men, women, and children who are left dead or mutilated, homeless or stateless.  Sadly, while civilians suffer and die, the only real beneficiaries of supplying weapons are the weapons manufacturers and dealers, who line their pockets, often with taxpayer money.

The US has no business engaging in regime change in the Middle East (or anywhere else).  US intervention is catastrophic and results in widespread death, destruction, and corruption; one only has to look at Iraq, Libya, or Afghanistan.  The only place we should be engaged in regime change is right here in the USA.

MECR Steering Committee

Nic Abramson
Pia Alexander
Eli Kassirer
Jim Mays
Helaine Meisler
Fred Nagel
Katja and Paul Rehm
Jane Toby

To the Editor:

School children buried beneath buildings in Oklahoma - many dead and many injured. To even contemplate this is unbearable, one can only imagine the suffering, grief, and distress of the mothers and fathers of these children.

Our hearts too are broken and we understand the grief and pain of the families with dead and missing children. This tornado was indeed a cruel and brutal act of nature. Sadly, there are man-made actions that also bury children beneath buildings.

In Pakistan our drones have killed nearly 5000 people since 2001 - at least 176 were children. In 2009 Israel attacked Palestine and "Operation Cast Lead" damaged or destroyed 20,000 buildings in Gaza. 1606 children were injured and 313 died, many were buried beneath the debris of bombed buildings.

We and our media rightly express profound compassion and empathy for the fate of buried children in Oklahoma, but somehow the identical suffering of Palestinian or Pakistani children is unacknowledged and unreported. Where are the tears for those innocent children buried beneath buildings demolished by US drones or those buried by buildings bombed by Israeli pilots in F-16 jet fighters (paid for with our tax dollars) ?

Surely the families of all children whether Palestinian, Pakistani, or American suffer and grieve the loss of loved ones. The tornado in Oklahoma was an act of nature but the drone attacks and Israeli bombings are intentional. What is wrong with us that we cannot make this connection and stop intentional government acts that result in children being buried beneath bombed out buildings?

Eli Kassirer

Guantanamo Nightmare

There are still 166 prisoners at the US Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  Of these, US authorities have cleared 86 for release, some in 2009 under President Obama, and others as early as 2004 under President Bush. The US government never charged these any of these 86 with crimes of terrorism or violence. Yet, they remain in Guantanamo because of our complete disregard for their basic legal and human rights. In addition, an executive order issued by President Obama two years ago, designated 46 other prisoners for indefinite detention without charge or trial. These 46 men were deemed too dangerous to release, even though not enough evidence exists to put them on trial. This is the same President Obama, a constitutional scholar, who promised to close Guantanamo more than four years ago.

More than 100 of these men are on a hunger strike, which began on February 6, in non-violent protest of worsening prison conditions, mistreatment of prisoners, religious provocations (alleged desecration of Qur’ans), and the reality that after 11 years of suffering in indefinite detention there is no end in sight. More than 29 of these prisoners are being force-fed, and 5 have been hospitalized. In a letter to the US Secretary of Defense, 20 organizations, including the ACLU, Human Rights Watch, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the NYU School of Law’s Global Justice Clinic, protested that the force-feeding of competent prisoners constitutes “cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.” Force-feeding violates the Geneva Conventions.

On May 17, as part of a national day of solidarity, 14 of your neighbors gathered on the Woodstock Village Green to protest the treatment of the prisoners at Guantanamo and to say, “No, not in our name.” Some of us are fasting in solidarity with them.

To what depths has our country fallen? Can we justify anything because of our fears? Do we know no bounds? Can we know about this and not be culpable? What responsibility do we have as human beings?

Please call the White House, 202-456-1111; Department of Defense, 703-571-3343; and your US representatives and senators to express your concerns about the hunger strikers, to demand freedom for those the US authorities have already cleared for release, to bring all other prisoners to speedy trials, and to insist on the closing of Guantanamo.

Nic Abramson

Our entire family is appreciative of the efforts of the Mid-Hudson Friends

Dear Friends of Rachel Corrie,

Below is some follow-up from the copy of our 2013 In Memoriam that I sent to Rachel's relatives.  Thanks again for making it possible!

Greg

-------- Begin forwarded message --------

Subject: Rachel Corrie

Date: 4/19/13 11:26:40 AM

From: "Gene Robbins"

Hi Greg,

I'm Gene Robbins (Cindy Corrie's brother-in-law).  My wife Bonnie is Cindy's sister.  We all really appreciate the interest and support you folks in Rhinebeck have shown over the years.  Rest assured none of us disagree with what was written.  Cindy is extremely busy right now and doesn't always get to her emails but has always expressed gratitude for your work in the past.   Colette and her husband Bill are likewise appreciative.  Bill (Pusateri) has spoken to Tom Shaker several times and has enjoyed their talks immensely. Bonnie and I are about to go down to Berkeley for the national Jewish Voice for Peace conference this week-end.  So many people are fighting for justice and decency in so many ways...we're all important!  Rachel has been a personal inspiration to me.  Our entire family is appreciative of the efforts of the Mid-Hudson Friends of Rachel Corrie. Thanks for contributing.

Gene

To the Editor:

I am a fisherman in Gaza. I am hungry and my children are hungry. We go fishing in legal waters but we are attacked by Israeli gunboats and our boat is riddled with bullets. We are still hungry. Please help us.

I am Palestinian and live in the Israeli occupied West Bank. Jewish settlers stole my land and water. My children are thirsty. I dug a well but the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) destroyed it. We are still thirsty and we drink putrid, contaminated water. Please help us.

I am Palestinian and live in Jerusalem. My wife is sick and needs emergency medical care. On the way to the hospital we are detained for hours at the Israeli military check point. My wife dies while waiting at the checkpoint. Please help me.

I am a Palestinian farmer in the Israeli occupied territories. My family is hungry and my fruit trees are ripe. The IDF bulldozers crushed and burned my orchard. We are still hungry. Please help us.

I am an American. My tax dollars support Israel. I believe the Zionist myths and Israeli propaganda scares me. I support the occupation but have lost my humanity. God help me.

We are all humans. Some of us are free. Please help. Go to www.hudsonvalleybds.org to see how. Thank you.

Eli Kassirer
New Paltz

The Jewish Smorgasbord

The Jewish Smorgasbord

Building up fairy tales out of disinformation and intellectual blindness is a dangerous mixture.

And so, when did it happen that standing in the center of Woodstock, excercisng the right of free speech, became a language of hate?

Since when has exposing the billions of dollars that gratuituosly we Americans are forced to give to a country like Israel becomes a hate speech?

Israel is a country that economically is in better shape than we are here at home.  Let's see, for example, their health care plan: universal.  the envy of every American.  Construction and infrastructure surpass the American dream  (of course, out of our expense, all that construction is done on stolen Palestinian land, illegal under all universal laws and rules). Military: we are the first power, with 300 million people, Israel is the fourth power, with barely 7 million people.

And then, with that same money, we are supporting the brutality of a regime that kills children, pregnant women, and has a system of ethnically cleansing the Palestinian population, by brutally destroying their livelihoods. And that same brutality is extended to U.S. citizens who commit the "crime" of trying to protect these helpless, innocent people, like what happened to U.S. citizen Rachel Corrie from Washington State, who was bulldozed to her death by an American-made vehicle driven by an Israeli citizen while our U.S. government did absolutely nothing.

Since when has exposing these atrocities become hate speech?

And now we come to the issue of the Jewish smorgasbord.  This fusion of long-past remembrances, trying to conflate Holocaust, hate speech, yoam hashoa, antisemitism, anti-israel, "goodness for all" (excluding some), Bible tales, and then fusing it with the reality of the present genocide makes a mockery of what should be something very serious and discussed, not ignored and crushed.

Bible tales and the European Holocaust belong to the past and are old issues.  The ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is a current issue; it is being conducted in front of our eyes, paid with our tax money, with the blessing of our own government and perpetrated by Israeli citizens. There is not enough space here to disentangle these two issues and put them in the same dish. 

Fanny Prizant 

Bearsville