NEWFANE-I abhor the terrorist attack on Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, and I abhor the ongoing Israeli response on Palestinians living in Gaza. But Passing Article 38 at this year's Newfane Town Meeting will not change a complex conflict that predates biblical times.
To do so would be yet another example of American hubris and antithetical to Newfane's 2020 pledge to condemn "acts intended to induce fear in any person based on their identity." Article 38 induces fear in me, an ethnic Jew who - perhaps naively - has felt safe living here.
Some of what disturbs me about Article 38 is how it singles out one side of one conflict, when the conflict in the Middle East is just one of many conflicts around the world - conflicts that include territorial aggression, civil war, and ethnic cleansing, most fueled by greed for wealth, territory, and power.
Rather than repair the conflict, Article 38 has caused harm by singling out just one side of one world conflict. They all deserve our attention and concern, starting with those taking place here in the U.S.
Right here, right now, American-born citizens are threatened with deportation, we're plagued with mass shootings, and we have a long history of racism, misogyny, and homophobia that is ongoing. When we point a finger at something, three fingers point back at ourselves.
Now is a time for local, radical kindness. It would be better if, instead of passing an article outside the purview of town business, we aspired to fulfill our commitment to be a welcoming community, where "everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and feel safe in our beautiful town."
Deborah Lee Luskin
Newfane
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