Dear Beacon City Council:

We are writing to you with a heavy heart. Since October 7th, we have seen our local communities in Beacon, in Newburgh, throughout the Hudson Valley, and around the US, ripped apart as the war between Israel and Hamas has been ongoing. To paraphrase MASH: "People say war is hell. War is not hell. It is worse than hell. At least in hell, only the bad people suffer. In war, good people suffer and can be killed." In this case, thousands and thousands have been killed.

 

Our communities have been torn apart for a variety of reasons. Today, we want to share with you our struggles as Jews and Jewish allies, who pride themselves on being willing to sit down and speak with anyone, and who have friends and colleagues on various sides of many issues. 

 

Since shortly after October 7th, highly organized groups within our communities have been protesting, calling for a ceasefire, and taking various actions to bring attention to the cause of the Palestinian people. At first sight, this is all well and good. The Palestinian people are suffering now, and they have suffered for many years, and deserve support and true help to have a state of their own. War is terrible, so a ceasefire sounds like an obvious solution.

 

As you are likely well aware, numerous ceasefire resolutions have been passed throughout the country, and there are strong attempts to pass one such resolution in Beacon. A different version of this resolution was recently passed in the City of Newburgh.

 

While the language of both the Beacon and Newburgh resolutions are one-sided, divisive, and painfully incomplete, what troubles us most is what we are seeing from the people who are calling for the ceasefire resolution, and who claim to represent the best interests of the Palestinian people. They claim that their movement is not antisemitic, and yet the images below will show that this is not the case. They claim that they are non-violent, and yet the images below will show direct support for violence. Some of them are vocally Pro-Hamas, while others say they oppose Hamas, and yet the language they use in their signs, protests, and chants, say the opposite.

 

In the past, our communities have been one community. We have broken bread together, celebrated holidays and birthdays together, and supported one another in innumerable ways. But today, we are concerned that our communities are torn apart, and to come back together, deep work is needed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This image was posted on November 10th, on the Instagram account of one of the organizers of the ceasefire resolution movement. The woman in this image is wearing a camo jacket that says "Love, Light, and Sharp Machetes," while she speaks at an Anti-Israel rally outside of Representative Pat Ryan's office in Newburgh. Just over one month after the October 7th massacres, when Hamas terrorists [TRIGGER WARNING] used sharp knives to behead people, this person is showing blatant support for the murderers and their terror tactics. Is this a peaceful protest?

 

At this same event, the protesters chanted:

"Resistance is Justified

When People are Colonized

Resistance is Justified

When People are Occupied"

Hamas is commonly referred to as part of the Palestinian resistance. This is a thinly veiled means of supporting Hamas and their actions.

 

Even if one might argue that their support of "resistance" does not refer to Hamas, the people leading these chants are aware of how these words will land for those of us who have family and friends in Israel. They know what they are doing.

On February 12th, this same Instagram account posted this image of posters over the Welcome to Beacon sign:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whatever one thinks of Zionism, the use of faces with horns is blatantly antisemitic. To quote the Fact Sheet on the Elements of Antisemitic Discourse from the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, "Since the Gospel of John, and especially since the fourth century, influential figures in Christian theology have associated Jews with the devil or with demonic elements. During the Middle Ages, Jews were frequently described as children of the devil, often portrayed with horns and bulging eyes, and associated with Satanic attributes, such as arrogance and devious logic. Similar depiction of Jews can be seen in Muslim texts from the twentieth century onward. In the contemporary world, these images are reflected in depictions of Jews, individually or collectively, as bearing cosmically malevolent characteristics. This can be seen in caricatures of Israeli and Jewish public figures depicted as devils or demons."

 

 

After the public comment session on February 6th in Beacon, a locally famous blogger attempted to "dox" and publicly shame one of the members of our community on their Instagram page. This community member simply spoke out against Beacon’s then-current proposed ceasefire resolution, and was harassed and trolled via this instagram post. This is an attempt at intimidation and the silencing of our community.

And it's working. Many Jewish people are afraid to speak publicly - hence the need for this letter. They are afraid of the people who live among us who are celebrating and calling for the Intifada to continue. So while you may see many people speaking publicly in favor of a ceasefire, the lack of Jews and Jewish allies showing up to speak does not indicate a lack of numbers.

The movement that claims to be Pro-Palestine has repeatedly used the word "Flood" in their event promotion throughout the fall and into this winter, most recently in a call to "Flood the Roads." While participants might have been unaware of the significance of the word "Flood," the organizers most certainly were not, and neither are the Jewish communities who see these posts. The October 7th Attacks were referred to by Hamas as "Operation Al Aqsa Flood."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And lastly, during this past Sunday's (2/19/2024) car caravan, this vehicle was seen in Beacon, generating terror among Jewish members of our community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Second Intifada refers to a period Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israel, which began in 2000. It consisted of numerous bus bombings and terror attacks within Israel, leaving over 1000 Israelis killed and thousands severely wounded. For any person who lived in or visited Israel around that time, and for any Jew in the diaspora who read the news during those years, the word "Intifada" is inherently violent, calling to mind the images of exploded buses and [TRIGGER WARNING] bloody body parts strewn around Israeli streets.

The usage of this word is no accident. It is inexcusable, and it is a form of harassment and intimidation aimed at keeping any Jew who supports Israel's right to exist quiet and scared.

This is not the Beacon we know. This is not the Beacon that many of us live in, work in, worship in, and patronize. This is not the Beacon we want to continue to participate in. 

And these people who claim to be Pro-Palestine are doing nothing to actually help innocent Palestinians with their marches, hateful rhetoric, and aims at intimidation. When they call for "Resistance at any cost," they are calling for war. When they call to "Globalize the intifada," they are calling for war. When they say "Zionism is Terrorism," they are calling for the end of the State of Israel - this is a call for war. And who will die in these wars? Jews and Palestinians. Those are the people who will fight, and who will die, until there is a real and lasting peace in Israel and Palestine.

We believe in a two state solution. In fact, EVERYONE we have spoken with who supports Israel in this community is in favor of a two state solution.

What continues to cause us despair, is that none of us have not found even ONE person who claims to be "Pro-Palestine" who wants a two state solution. The only calls we have heard, both in public and in private, are for a one state solution with Palestinian self-determination. That means no Israel. That means perpetual war.

We cannot stand for such calls in our community.

We must foster opportunities for dialogue, where the Beacon leadership stands firmly on the side of reconciliation and unity.

Truly, everyone in our community of Jews who support Israel’s right to exist is both Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestine. We want BOTH to exist! Up until now, there has never been a State of Palestine. That is wrong! It should happen. But how can we even try to work together towards that here, when the loudest people advocating for the Palestinian cause are, in the same breath, calling for the destruction of the only Jewish state in the world?

This is a moment when we ALL, as a community, need your leadership. We need you to take a stand for doing the hard work towards peace and reconciliation right here at home. Yes, of course, we need peace in the middle east. But discord and hate-speech here will not bring that any closer.

Through all of this, we remain optimistic. We continue to be willing to sit down and speak one on one with the leaders of the ceasefire resolution movement. It likely won’t be easy, and there may be fundamental things we disagree on. We don't know if we will get somewhere that truly provides healing. But we believe in dialogue and our collective capacity for compassion, listening, and expansion. We believe we are all capable of holding nuance, and being a stand for one another. We believe in a future for Beacon where we can return to living in peace, working together, and improving our community, together. 

Let's do this, let's call for unity and civil discourse, let's call for listening, for a chance to grieve together. All is not lost. We can do this.

We call on the Beacon City Council to sponsor an event(s) to help foster dialogue and bring people together in a way we can all be proud of.

We thank you for your leadership, your courage, and your vision for the Beacon we all desire.

Signed,

Concerned Citizens