Flyering in New Paltz for BDS

We had a number of very good discussions as we passed out another 300 or so flyers. Most people take them. Some come back to thank you, and a few others come back angry. It is good to hear all the reasons that standing up for Palestinian rights means that you "hate Jews." Most of us support LGBT rights; does that mean we hate hetrosexual men?

One man stopped his car in traffic and demanded a flyer. He was in a local police force that had gone to Israel for "counter terrorism training." He had seen through it all, and kept thanking us as the cars beeped behind him.

Flyering is emotionally taxing, but worth it. We don't touch people like this in our events and programs.

Max Blumenthal and Ali Abunimah at Vassar College

We counted 120 for this event at Vassar College. A good part of the discussion with these two authors involved the growing BDS movement on campuses around the country. Also, many links were made between Obama's war on immigrants, the "New Jim Crow" mass incarceration of African Americans, and the oppression of Native American peoples. Highly militarized and undemocratic societies use racist propaganda to keep their citizens in line. Max Blumenthal referred to Israel as the most militarized society in the world. But US spending on weaponry shows our country to be in the same category.

-Wednesday, April 30, in Poughkeepsie: Max Blumenthal and Ali Abunimah on The Battle for Justice in Palestine 6:00pm - 8:30pm at Taylor Hall 203, Vassar College, 124 Raymond Ave., Poughkeepsie, NY 12604Sponsored by the Vassar College Students for Justice in Palestine and Haymarket Books www.haymarketbooks.org. Cosponsored by Middle East Crisis Response www.mideastcrisis.org, Hudson Valley Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions www.hudsonvalleybds.org, and Hudson Valley International Socialist Organization, Contact: sjpvassar@gmail.com