Today in New Paltz there were over forty people standing with Women In Black in solidarity with the people of Palestine.
There were many new faces! Some SUNY New Paltz students and even a young Palestinian boy from Gaza who might have been eleven or twelve years old. He actually came up to me and asked if he could join our demonstration. I was humbled, a little embarrassed, but honored to stand with this young man. There was something surreal and ironic about a young Gazan standing with a group of Americans whose government is responsible for the decimation of his homeland. Having this young man stand with us was both joyful and heartbreaking.
The demonstration closed with our usual gathering “by the bench” (since we are banned from library property & surveilled by library board members every Saturday to enforce the ban). We sang (thank you Ruth), and chanted (thank you Tiff), made announcements, and closed with a moment of silence. It was lively, spirited, and joyful. This in stark contrast to the counter demonstrators who attempt to disrupt us with aggressive and vile language.
One of their favorite taunts is “stop the hate.” Today, we actually embraced the phrase and engaged in a vociferous “stop the hate” chant of our own. Despite the dire nature and seriousness of purpose of the WIB vigil, there is celebration, solidarity, joy, and love which permeate the WIB community. In my humble opinion, this positive and beautiful energy simply overwhelms and dis-empowers the pro-Zionist, pro-genocide opposition and their attempts to silence our truth telling. Below is an image of todays action, as well as, an image of singing from a previous action. Enjoy!
with love and peace,
Eli