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Destroying Marbletown’s heritage
In December 2022, the Marbletown Fire District was dissolved. The former firehouse is comprised of two historic buildings, the stone schoolhouse built in 1836 and the one-bay firehouse built in approximately 1940.
Ownership of the building was transferred by the Marbletown fire commissioners to the Town of Marbletown upon the dissolution of the fire company. The town board decided to sell the building but felt it would be more marketable if the zoning were changed from Residential to Business (B2). This zoning change was passed in February 2024.
The following is an excerpt of the Town of Marbletown’s historic preservation plan adopted in 2007: “The Marbletown Heritage Preservation law enables the Town, through a public legal process, to identify eligible properties and districts for designation as local historic landmarks, thereby ensuring the preservation of the integrity of those properties. Through landmark status, owners of historic homes can be assured that their properties will be protected for the long term, regardless of new ownership or neighborhood development.
“The purpose of the law as stated in section 128 of Town Law is “(To) protect and enhance the landmarks and historic districts which represent distinctive elements of Marbletown’s historic, architectural and culture heritage; foster civic pride in the accomplishments of the past; protect and enhance Marbletown’s attractiveness to visitors; and the support and stimulus to [the] economy thereby provided; and ensure the harmonious, orderly, and efficient growth and development of the Town.”
It is hard for me to understand the actions of our town board and the lack of action by the historic preservation committee by allowing this zoning action to take place. How is changing the zoning from Residential to B2 accomplishing any of the above?
The hamlet of North Marbletown is the oldest hamlet in the town, dating back to 1668 when it was first settled. The earliest town business was conducted in the historic Davis Tavern. Our cemetery has burials starting in the 1600s. We have approximately 13 stone houses, including the stone schoolhouse. In addition, we have six historic Dutch barns in our 3.1-mile-long hamlet.
Neighbors directly affected by this zoning change came out and protested this change. At the public hearings, we did not advocate for a museum. Our wishes were for the town board or historic preservation commission to institute zoning parameters on the schoolhouse and firehouse so they would not be ruined as they allowed the stone schoolhouse in Stone Ridge to be, or, worse yet, demolished. This is the last historic stone schoolhouse within our town which remains unaltered and restored.
It was easy to see the town board’s minds were made up well before the two public hearings were held. They had no inclination to preserve this historic building or part of our heritage.
I do not understand our town board’s snarky remarks during the meeting. I agree our fire commissioners probably should have had the buildings declared historic, but they didn’t.
Apparently our town board and historic preservation committee were not interested in preserving this historic landmark and took advantage of the fire commissioners’ oversight to turn it into a business transaction for the board members. What was the rush? Why was the real-estate description crafted to not describe the buildings making up the firehouse as historic? Is the board that money-hungry that we must sell this building with the good possibility that it will be altered, demolished or built over, as was another stone farmhouse a half-mile to the north.
In my opinion, our town board is more interested in money and feeding their egos than they are in preserving our heritage.
Eddie Croswell
Hamlet of Marbletown
Re: Dreams from inside an empty church
In your March 6, 2024 cover story, “Dreams from inside an empty church — Tom Kruger’s vision unfolds on Wurts Street,” the sentence: “The steeple is topped by a small gold gilded weathervane, a replica of the legendary Kingston steamship Mary Powell” caught my attention. That weathervane was not merely a dusty leftover from days of yore, but was the loving work of prior church owner Paul Joffe. It was rightfully the subject of much attention and conversation when Joffe single-handedly conceived, designed and installed it some 15 years ago, and it would be a damned shame for that work of art to be so quickly and easily forgotten. Not incidentally, Joffe was also responsible for the extensive restoration and recovery work on the neglected and derelict church that now makes Tom Kruger’s dream possible, and in its prior incarnation operated as a church dedicated to gay weddings, a particularly bold move when only a few years before, such weddings were illegal. I say this not to diminish Mr. Kruger’s work or his laudable dream, but simply to point out that dreams often occur on a longer continuum than is often acknowledged.
Jeff Economy
Kingston
Match expenses with revenues to keep village tax rate unchanged
We are working on budgets for the water fund, sewer fund and the village’s general fund for fiscal year 24/25 (6/1/24 – 5/31/25).
Again we are trying to cover expenses with revenues to balance our general fund budget without increasing our current property tax rate of 4.912 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Since our administration took office nine years ago in 2015, the Village of New Paltz property tax rate was lowered slightly from 4.949 per $1,000. Another unchanged rate for FY 24/25, that would start June 1, 2024, would be our ninth budget without an increase. For example, if your house was assessed at $300,000, then your village property tax bill would have been no more than $1,474 for each of the last nine years.
Approximately one-half of the revenues in our village general fund have been derived from property taxes for the last few years. We anticipate only 1.6% of expenses to be covered by FY 24/25 sales tax because of our county’s limited sales tax sharing agreement.
The property tax rate has remained flat in spite of narrow revenues and health insurance premiums that have increased by 86.1% since 2015. For 2024, premiums for a NYSHIP family health insurance plan will cost $40,405 per employee. In 2015, the same plan was $21,706. Even with this rising cost, we have still pursued capital projects, purchased heavy equipment, raised staff wages and maintained responsible fund balances in our water, sewer, and general funds.
Please note that the total assessed value for the entire Village of New Paltz is currently almost $319 million, up $20 million from 2015’s total assessment of $299 million. In comparison, the assessed value for the wholly exempt SUNY New Paltz property is approximately $400 million, and the town assessor’s market value for the University property is $605 million.
We anticipate making our tentative budget public during our village board meeting on Wednesday, March 13.
Mayor Tim Rogers
New Paltz
Delusional?
In response to my post that normally when a volunteer is needed, the town, by passing a resolution, places an ad in the local newspaper, Gordon Wemp wrote, in part: “They certainly advertised … It must have been advertised as no one knew one of the applicants except as someone who had a variance before us,” regarding the appointment of two volunteers to the ZBA.
This is the same Gordon Wemp who, as chair of the ZBA, denied an application because he believed the applicant did not have the standing to apply to the ZBA. This belief brought about an Article 78 procedure, at a cost to us taxpayers that concluded he was incorrect.
The same Gordon Wemp who refused to accept the Shady Dump application because he believed that the request was not in the purview of the ZBA. This belief also brought about an Article 78 procedure, at a cost to us taxpayers that concluded he was incorrect.
Which brings me to point out that Wemp was wrong once again when he posted, ”They certainly advertised … It must have been advertised.” Was it his belief that there was a town resolution made and an ad placed? If so, when did they occur?
Howard Harris
Woodstock
Biden’s SOTU hallucinations
It would take hours to fact check all of Biden’s incorrect allegations during his recent State of the Union address. So, I’ll just highlight a few. Biden says “wages keep going up.” The reality is that during Biden’s entire presidency, wages are DOWN when adjusted for Biden’s inflation.
Biden says we have the best economy in the world and that our inflation rate, also, is “the best in the world.” A reality check shows that there are six countries with inflation rates better than ours: Denmark, Greece, Portugal, South Korea, Spain and Switzerland.
Biden says he’s cut the deficit by over one trillion dollars. Reality, however, shows declining deficits have largely been the result of expiring EMERGENCY PANDEMIC spending.
Biden goes on with “because of the ACA (Obama’s Affordable Care Act), over 100,000,000 people can no longer be denied health insurance due to pre-existing conditions. The reality is that, pre-ACA, employer plans covered most all of these people and could NOT deny health insurance policies.
And, of course, we save a couple of the most outrageous allegations, aka lies, during his address (and even on many prior occasions). Biden outlandishly, and with a straight face, says “our border is closed and more secure than under “the prior administration!” For our reality check, let’s let the numbers do the talking. Under Trump, around 1, 750,000 illegals crossed our border. Yet, reality statistics in just over three years of Biden, tell us anywhere from 8,000,000 to 12,000,000 illegals have used Biden’s red carpet welcome centers.
And, let’s not ignore the significant increase in crime across our entire nation, even though Biden and his crew desperately ignore this dangerous situation. Regardless of whose statistics you believe, just ask the average American — Republican, Democrat or Independent — if they felt safer under Trump or feel safer, now, under Biden’s allowable horrendous conditions.
In closing, I can’t resist complimenting the White House medical staff for its administration of a brilliantly concocted secret ingredient energy enema they gave Biden, resulting in a suddenly loud fire and brimstone tirade as if someone hid his dentures and he can’t find out who’s responsible. Of course, taking responsibility for anything in Biden’s White House is a completely foreign concept.
John N. Butz
Modena
Insane
When a bear is charging you, his paws pounding like a charging bull, you have two choices: square up and hit him really hard or die being mauled.
I stood motionless — watched it run by me, then kept on running. I never have figured out what was on his mind.
When Germany took Poland, America stood still, still sick from The Great War. Now Russia is the bear. And we know, Russia is mauling Ukraine.
Putin took Crimea with some men dressed in plain green, without firing a shot. Barack Obama was our president, and President Biden his VP. A few years pass, and wham, two years ago Putin started killing Ukrainians with missiles, bullets and artillery. Schools and hospitals were targets. The bear mauled the peaceful farmers who are still fighting back.
If Fox TV’s Carly Tucker believes Ukraine will be the bear’s last meal, he is as wrong as Obama was to not (at least) stomp his feet in rage. Yes, peaceniks, you are right, sort of … he could pretend we had no responsibility (forget we had a signed treaty … like we had with the Crow, the Sioux and the Cherokee).
NATO is scared and should be. Tens of millions of lives were lost because the world did not stand and fight Hitler soon enough. WWI had cost so many American lives, the nation was opposed to ‘getting involved’. Churchill begged FDR, but with so many men still in their 40’s missing arms and legs, our people understandably tried to stay out. Then Pearl Harbor was attacked, and when FDR declared war on Japan, Germany declared war on us (another treaty).
That changed America overnight, and our factories were converted to making cannons, tanks and bombers. Far too many people died fighting to end WWII. If we do not help Ukraine win their battle now, it will not be the end of Putin’s aggression. Ammo is running low, their heroic fighters are exhausted.
It is sad that mankind kills to get what it wants, but Putin needs to be defeated soon, and then he will be removed from power by his people.
Paul Raymond
New Paltz
Group opposes Woodstock STR fee increase
We are a group of short-term rental owners called “Woodstock Fair BnB.” We are Woodstock homeowners who contribute to the community in various ways. We have expended significant effort and expense to build small, clean, harmless businesses, to make ends meet in a difficult economic environment. We have complied with town codes, paid the fees and obtained an annual permit to operate an STR.
We recently received notice of our 2024 STR permit renewal. With neither public input nor explanations of rationale or intended allocation of funds, the town demands that we pay a 600-1,000% increase in our annual permit fee.
For background, we submitted a FOIL request to the town. Regarding rationale and justification, the answer was “no documents exist.” Regarding how such funds will be allocated, the answer was “Funds are General Fund revenue, no documents exist.” Clearly, no public discussion occurred in the town board.
Woodstock Municipal Code 260-56 (F) states that the town board will set the STR fee schedule on an annual basis. However, we contend that those few words do NOT grant unlimited authority to pick a number out of thin air to levy upon citizens for an unexplained reason. This action damages public trust of our local government. NY Public Officers Law, Article 6, Section 84, clearly states the legal necessity of governmental transparency. In addition, basic civic ethics require an explanation.
We now ask the town board to act in good faith, rescind this increase and engage in public discussion to collaboratively develop a fair and reasonable fee schedule for STR operating permits.
Brent Robison
Wendy Klein
Laura Hinton
Norman Savitt
Julia Jordan
Christina Beck
Belinda van Valkenburg
Laurel Cross
Daniel Blume
Chris Bailey
Len Beck
Karin Bruno
Tony Bruno
Adah Frank
Thea Hambright
Marta Szabo
Nidhi Adhiya-Huba
John Huba
Diane Dwyer
Susan Epstein
Members of Woodstock Fair BnB
How is it going?
This is just a reminder that January 30 (anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination) through April 4 (anniversary of MLK’s assassination) is the season of nonviolence. We are called to work to solve disputes by peaceful means and never seek to harm another person (nor the environment). This demands trying to understand, rather than control or destroy, any “other” that we encounter. We are charged with looking for positive, peaceful solutions to difficulties rather than destructive acts. We are challenged to radiate a conscious sense of character by showing respect, living humility and practicing self-reflection. Since March 5 was the International Day of Awareness for Disarmament and Nonproliferation of Weapons, I wonder: Are we constructing a better world by conducting/supporting warfare? Write to the ministers of foreign affairs of Russia, France, North Korea, India, Great Britain, Israel, China and Pakistan and to the U.S. State Department and president to demand that dialogue/discussion/negotiation replace a reliance on militarism. Reach Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, Representatives Molinaro and Ryan through the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. Let them know your feelings regarding the conflicts that ravage the world and other areas of concern — maybe gun violence, immigration, racism, human trafficking, housing, funding of nursing homes and other health care facilities, etc.
While the challenges are many, so are the reasons to not stop trying — just look at the youngsters on playgrounds, going to school or working at jobs to better themselves, holding doors for us and saying “thank you” when we act respectfully toward them. Let us work with all ages to create the future that we see in our quiet moments. Be the change you wish to see in the world (Gandhi) and make our dreams become a reality.
Terence Lover
Woodstock
Daylight savings time
Memento mori —
the sun lingers longer now:
fleeting light, like life
Patrick Hammer, Jr.
Saugerties
Vote for Gabi Madden on June 25
The Democratic primary election is on June 25 and the race for New York Assembly District 103 will be a hot one. Incumbent socialist Sarahana Shrestha is being challenged by mainstream progressive Democrat Gabriella “Gabi” Madden. Madden is a 28-year-old powerhouse with six years of experience in senior staff roles for Democratic NYS legislators.
At a series of recent meetings with Democrats all over the 103rd District, she wowed attendees with the depth of her policy knowledge (especially regarding the delivery of social services, environmental protections and housing initiatives). Gabi’s obvious commitment to constituent services and her Albany political savvy are most impressive. She knows how to get things done in the statehouse.
Gabi’s dedication to public service was shaped by her family’s immigrant experience as well as the formidable personal challenges she has had to deal with in life. Her grandmother schooled her in generosity and empathy by driving her around handing out sandwiches from their restaurant to area homeless people. Despite losing her father when she was a child, she showed inner strength and resiliency and graduated Kingston High School and then college. After college, she began her career in the legislature and worked about every job in the offices of two powerful Democrats. She helped thousands of constituents solve every kind of problem involving state government and learned every nuance of how to get progressive legislation passed in Albany.
All of this is in sharp contrast to the 44-year-old incumbent, Shrestha, who never provided a resume or work history prior to her election to the Assembly in 2022, so her early-life details are opaque. Once elected, Shrestha quickly saw her allies not as regular Democrats, but as a small number of other legislators, members of the Democratic Socialists of America, working as a block to change the economic system, not focusing on the needs of her constituents, or legislating productively.
As a result, Shrestha has alienated the bulk of her Democratic colleagues and passed only one bill in all of the last Assembly session. Her constituent services accomplishments are similarly slim. She bragged recently of serving 200 constituents, but that is a tiny fraction of the typical services provided by a freshman in the Assembly. Shrestha prefers to focus not on how government actually works but on loud rallies on the steps of the statehouse criticizing fellow Democrats and in other performative antics in the District, standard operating procedure for the DSA. She has not earned the $142,000 salary taxpayers spent on her last year. It is time for a change.
The choice for Democrats in the 103rd Assembly District is clear. Elect a young, vibrant FDR Democrat with the skills and political and legislative know-how to really serve her district or a socialist idealogue who registered as a Democrat only out of expediency. Democrats, please vote for Gabi Madden on June 25.
Tom Kruglinski
Gardiner
Speak easy
I’m bilingual: I speak American and Canadian.
Sparrow
Phoenicia
The perfect plan
“So, here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna send a bunch of our guys into Israel. They’ll kill every Jew they see. Rape their women, slaughter their men and children, behead their babies, kidnap take hostages, fire a gazillion missiles into their cities. Then our guys will come back here and duck back into the tunnels under the schools, hospitals and homes.”
“But won’t the Israeli’s…?”
“Of course! They’ll come after us. But they’ll have to kill civilians we’re hiding among, beneath and behind. There will be thousands and thousands of martyrs.”
“But raping, beheading babies … won’t the world rise up.”
“Yes!”
“Against us.”
“No fool! Against Israel! Jew haters everywhere will take this opportunity to proclaim that we had every right to do what we did … because we are so oppressed. Our foolish friends in the U.N. will demand that Israel immediately end the slaughter of innocent civilians. Gullible anti-semitics on college campuses will demonstrate loudly and often. Ignorant politicians will give speeches painting us as the victims, the international media will publish our sad story … and so forth.
“I don’t know … do you really think …?
“Guaranteed. It’s a perfect plan. It will be a great victory.”
Rondavid Gold
Woodstock
Grand ballet of existence
As I weave my voice into the tapestry of Chief Luther Standing Bear’s wisdom, I find myself walking a path lined with the whispers of ancient trees and the soft murmur of distant rivers. Like the steady beat of a drum, his teachings resonate within me, echoing the profound reverence for nature and the solemn understanding of life’s delicate dance.
“In this grand ballet of existence, we are but dancers on a stage vast and endless. Let us move with respectful silence, our steps light and purposeful, like leaves that flutter to the ground without a sound. Our actions let them sing the melody of mindfulness, as deliberate and beautiful as the eagle’s glide across the open sky. In the symphony of life, may we harmonize with the chorus of all beings, understanding that we are but notes in a song far more significant than ourselves.
We learn the art of appreciation from the earth, our nurturing mother: each creature, each plant, a brush stroke on the canvas of existence. True grace, I have come to realize, is not found in the unending chatter of the mind but in the sacred pauses where we listen to the whispers of the wind and the secrets of the stars.
With the wisdom of the Lakota echoing in my heart, I see the world anew — as a living library, its volumes written not in ink but in the stories of mountains, rivers and creatures great and small. In every storm and gust of wind, I find beauty and a reminder of the Great mysteries surrounding us.
Life is not merely a journey of human footsteps but an expression in countless forms. This realization enriches my existence, painting each day with vibrant colors of awe and wonder. As I live, fully and deeply, from my first breath to my last, I embrace the teachings of Chief Luther Standing Bear, a guiding star in the night sky of my soul.”
In transforming these teachings for the era of screens and digital noise, I seek to bridge the ancient and the modern, inviting others to find stillness amid chaos and connection in a world often fragmented. Chief Luther Standing Bear’s legacy is a beacon, illuminating a path to living with respect, awareness, and a deep bond with all life forms.
Larry Winters
New Paltz
A nauseatingly, slow walking SCOTUS …
The Supreme Court announced it will determine if former president Donald Trump is entitled to broad immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct that occurred while he was in office. SCOTUS is now officially a disgrace. I really do want to see Trump in jail. To use a legal term, the entire basis for Trump’s appeal is without merit on its face. “His judges” have come through, giving him a back door exit from an obvious crime. A shocking situation — both in the fact that they need to take this case on at all, as well as the incomprehensible delayed date to do so. Yeah, his appointed supreme court stooges are stalling for him. Justice delayed is justice denied.
A case of such import should be handled with all due speed, rather than handing a political advantage to one candidate in an election year. As expected, we can all stop pretending the supreme court is operating in good faith, instead we should view them as a willing accomplice. Another display of the cravenness of this court. It’s good to have friends in the U.S. Supreme Court, isn’t it?
So, they think it’s plausible a president can do whatever they want with no consequences … I call that a dictatorship, right? If presidents are immune from insurrection, can Biden jail or even have Trump killed without repercussion? If the election isn’t in Biden’s favor, can he just overrule it? I mean if Trump can do all those things what’s stopping the person in power now from doing the same? Integrity???
This highest court in the land is failing the US voters. The sky is melting right down to the fragile bones. I cannot understand WHY — in America — someone who is in SO much trouble with the law is allowed to run for the presidency. Why is ‘fit and proper character’ not a prerequisite or contractual / constitutional requirement for someone holding a seat on the Supreme Court? So, any con / criminal can run, be successful, then diminish the country through corruption + incompetence as a result. It is extraordinary! They’ve become a political body too IMHO.
You can hold your breath and hope, or you can act in November. We are fact witnesses to former #45’s horror show. The only solution to Trump is to also be the jury at the ballot box.
Neil Jarmel
West Hurley
The MAGA moral compass: there is none
What this letter is not about:
1. Republican Mitch McConnell’s endorsement of the Former Guy after saying on the Senate floor on February 13, 2021 that “There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events [of January 6] … Fellow Americans beat and bloodied our own police. They stormed the Senate floor. They tried to hunt down the Speaker of the House. They built a gallows and chanted about murdering the vice president. They did this because they had been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on Earth because he was angry he lost an election.”
2. The crazy dude who’s clinched the North Carolina Republican nomination, Mark Robinson. Robinson is a tax cheat who believes Michelle Obama is a man, gay and trans people are “filth,” and that the 1969 moon landing may have been faked.
Trump (the Former Guy) calls Robinson “Martin Luther King on steroids.”
3. The Republican inconsistency about when an ovum and sperm cell become a person. This has been settled: the ovum graduates to personhood in the quantum moment of fertilization, when the zygote is formed AND when it takes place in the fallopian tube, which means that the woman carrying this tissue no longer has control over her body, which Republicans are okay with. But the ovum doesn’t graduate when fertilization takes place in vitro, at least in Alabama, where it’s now taken for granted that unneeded “extrauterine persons” will of course have to be destroyed as a normal part of the IVF process. In Alabama, in-vitro tissue is considered soulless and expendable because Republicans hopeful of becoming moms and dads are involved.
But when the “extrauterine person” is truly extrauterine, in the sense of an ectopic pregnancy, when the implantation takes place outside of the uterus AND Republican parents are not threatened with denial of much-desired IVF services, then the woman does lose control of her body, and she and her physicians must worry about prosecution for murder.
One recently reported example is that of Kelsie Norris-De La Cruz, who was turned away from the Texas hospital where she had been receiving ob-gyn services. She and her boyfriend had “thought the possibility of creating something that was a unity of us was really beautiful.” Then she began to cramp and bleed. Because physicians in Texas are fearful of narrowly conceived (pun intended), theologically derived abortion laws, she had to endure a weeks-long process of pain and anxiety before obtaining what became, due to delay, lifesaving medical care. When she finally received the care she needed, the fallopian tube had begun to rupture. Much of it needed to be removed, endangering her future fertility. For the full story, here’s a link: https://wapo.st/3v0I3Kb.
No, this letter is not about what you’ve just read. It’s really about the MAGA lack of a moral core and the need to vote for Joseph Biden in December.
William Weinstein
New Paltz
“Nothing” … a lamentation
From this registered Independent voter’s perspective, Joe Biden’s presidency has been an utter disaster. (Don’t take my word for it, just look at the latest polls which show Joe’s underwater in every category of accomplishment.) And though Biden has touted himself as a unifier, his State of the Union speech was so divisive, I almost thought Vice President Harris was going to pull a Nancy Pelosi and stand up from her seat behind him and tear her copy of the speech to shreds. With this in view, Joe’s record has inspired doubt in many of his former supporters: including registered Independents. The following is an Independent voter’s lament over the Biden candidacy in response to the desperate pleas of some writers to keep dysfunctional Joe as POTUS for another term.
(To the tune of the Beatles “Something”)
(Stanza)
Nothing in the way … Joe talks
can turn me from supporting … Donald
nothing in his record … moves me
You say … ”It would be a sin:
to give Trump another win”
(Stanza)
Nothing in Joe’s record’s … good
it’s a far left dream become a nightmare
Nothing that he’s done can soothe me
You say that he’s sharp and bright
But his gaffes are just such a fright
(Bridge)
You’re asking me to vote for Joe
I say no … I say no …
You’re saying faith in him can grow
Don’t think so … I don’t think so
(Stanza)
Democrats are being … coy
They say “we’ll never choose another”
But nothing that Joe’s done has helped them
They think he’s too old and slow
But they’re still gonna vote for Joe
(Bridge)
You say your candidate is strong
That’s your song … that’s your song
And while the press may sing along
the song’s so wrong; it’s just so wrong!
(Stanza)
Nothing in your plans … will work
You Democrats seem self … destructive
There’s nothing that you’ve done to woo me
Your party seems … fast asleep
Your front runner is … a creep
(Closing refrains to be sung with conviction)
You say that your Party’s … woke
I think … being woke’s … a joke:
You don’t want to lose … me now
but you’ve lost me so far … and how
(Song ends with familiar George Harrison guitar closing from “Something”)
George Civile
Gardiner
Consider proportionality
Now into 156 days of bombing innocent civilians, the Netanyahu war criminals have slaughtered, injured or caused to be missing over 120,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children because Hamas terrorists killed 1,139 Israeli’s on October 7, 2023. The death rate of elderly people is particularly soaring due to the bombing, starvation, dehydration and lack of health care. Israel has been accused of torturing and systematically executing Palestinian prisoners while Israeli hostages have said they were not mistreated (AP & CNN). Israeli citizens have been blocking roads to prevent aid from getting to the Palestinians as 68% of Israelis are basically saying they want Palestinians to starve to death (IsraelDemocracyInstitute). Israel has also been accused of committing the “Flour Massacre” where starving Palestinians were shot as they tried to obtain humanitarian aid from aid trucks. There is also evidence of the IDF deliberately running over Palestinians civilians with their military tanks. Injured Palestinian children have been undergoing amputations without any anesthesia as Doctors Without Borders have reported. These brave doctors have also declared they have never seen anything in their history of dealing with war conflicts, so horrific and barbaric as what they have witnessed in Gaza being committed against civilians by Israel. Most of this can be verified on the Euro-Med-Monitor human rights organization website, or Doctors Without Borders website. In addition to all of that there are now reports of the IDF raping Palestinian women and girls according to UN experts (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/idf-sexual-abuse-palestine-gaza-b2498888.html). The provisions of international humanitarian law are designed to protect civilians and their property during war. They include Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which requires humane treatment of civilians and noncombatants; Article 51 of the conventions’ Protocol I, which protects civilian populations from attack; and a host of provisions on war crimes and crimes against humanity in Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Yes, Israel has a right to self defense in their land but as occupying force in Gaza and its people, the Palestinians have a right to resist that occupation, break free of their imprisonment and defeat the illegal blockade that has denied them anything beyond subsistence.
The issue of approximately 140 hostages still being held by Hamas, which has to be a nightmare for their
families, is also a nightmare for the families of 7,000 Palestinians being held in Israeli jails most of which
have not been convicted of any crime and 2,900 of which have not even been charged (https://www.npr.org/2023/12/02/1216715999/how-israels-judicial-system-handles-the-estimated-7000-palestinians-in-its-priso).
Obviously one can see the vast disproportionate violations between of Israel and Hamas of the provisions of international humanitarian law which obviously includes genocide.
Steve Romine
Woodstock
A definition of oxymoronic
Biden’s support for unconditional military aid to Israel and announcements of humanitarian aid for Gaza.
Maggie Veve
New Paltz
Join the family! 
