BRATTLEBORO-I was sad to see my friends, acquaintances, and community members condemn our representative, Becca Balint, for naming Israel’s genocide in Gaza. I am perplexed as to why she was singled out when our whole congressional delegation called out the genocide while submitting a resolution calling for ceasefire, peace, and a two-nation solution.
I respectfully disagree with the recent letter from Vermont Friends of Israel asserting that Balint has relied on “long-debunked accusations and recycled falsehoods.” But I do agree with the Friends’ statement that Hamas didn’t just launch a physical assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, but also an international propaganda campaign that skewed clear-eyed evaluation of both their genocidal terrorism and Israel’s disproportionate response, especially on our campuses and with young people.
As described on Wikipedia, “Genocide is the destruction of a people through targeted violence. The concept of genocide was invented by Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in the early 1940s; Lemkin viewed it broadly as the replacement of the victims’ culture with that of their oppressor.”
I believe it is facetious to claim that “the first genocide in history conducted on a schedule set by its victims” has concluded when killing, withholding of food, water, medical care and education, and displacement of Palestinians continues in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Israel, and others are guilty of genocidal actions in Israel/Palestine.
I also disagree with the unbalanced and biased Town Meeting resolutions targeting Israel which were offered and passed in Brattleboro in 2025 and are reportedly being prepared again in Newfane for 2026.
I urge folks to support those in Israel, Palestine, and the world over working for peace and a two nation or a bi-national democratic state in Palestine/Israel. For more information, visit standing-together.org/en, nif.org, and seek information from similar organizations.
Jean Anne Kiewel
Brattleboro
This letter to the editor was submitted to The Commons.
This piece, published in print in the Voices section or as a column in the news sections, represents the opinion of the writer. In the newspaper and on this website, we strive to ensure that opinions are based on fair expression of established fact. In the spirit of transparency and accountability, The Commons is reviewing and developing more precise policies about editing of opinions and our role and our responsibility and standards in fact-checking our own work and the contributions to the newspaper. In the meantime, we heartily encourage civil and productive responses at voices@commonsnews.org.