Saratoga Springs (N.Y.) – One hundred days following the deadliest terrorist attack in Israeli history, elected officials in the Capital Region are urging Israel to cease hostilities in the Gaza Strip.
Minita Sanghvi, Commissioner of Finance in Saratoga Springs, Natalya Lakhtakia, Board of Education Trustee in the Saratoga Springs School District, and Jamaica Miles, Board of Education Trustee in the city of Schenectady, have all endorsed a resolution calling for a "durable ceasefire" and urging elected officials at all levels of government to de-escalate the violence.
However, the resolution itself contains assertions about the Jewish people and events in the Middle East that raise concerns. While it calls for the "release of all hostages" on both sides, it does not explicitly demand that Hamas lay down its arms or surrender. Instead, the resolution attempts to draw a moral equivalency between the actions of Hamas terrorists and the democratically elected government of Israel.
The resolution states, "We are heartbroken by the violence and bloodshed of the Oct 7th attacks by Hamas on Israel and by the Israel Defense Forces' ensuing assault on Gaza." It is crucial to emphasize that, while Israel has the right to defend itself against brutal attacks on its civilian population, Hamas initiated an attack on Israel's civilian population, resulting in the death of over a thousand people and the taking of hundreds of hostages, including American citizens.
The accusation that Israel holds political prisoners’ hostage is an absurdity; individuals imprisoned by Israel have been convicted of crimes in a court of law.
Furthermore, the resolution appears to suggest that the IDF intentionally targets civilians in the Gaza Strip as a form of collective punishment. It is crucial to reassure our readers that while collateral damage during warfare is always tragic, Hamas deliberately hides behind its civilian population, operating within an elaborate tunnel system beneath Gaza City and utilizing hospitals, mosques, and schools for their operations.
Finally, the signees assert their commitment to Western values, particularly the right to free speech and non-violent protest. They explicitly reject attempts to erode these rights, including doxing and weaponizing charges of antisemitism. While Moving Saratoga Forward acknowledges the fundamental importance of the right to free speech in our republican form of government, it's worth noting that these same individuals often label those who oppose their Marxist worldview as "racist" or "white supremacist."
Comments