A report from Josh:
It is now shortly after 8PM on Thursday, November 16. A few minutes ago, I returned from a rally titled Bring Them Home in the nearby town of Nyack, NY. This was about the Israeli hostages and here are my thoughts, roughly in chronological order as they came to me.
On the drive over, a solemn mood came over me, quite unexpectedly. I had not thought about how I'd feel but in the 15 minute drive something in me was shifting as I drove. The event was in a small park on Main Street which is a typical smallish town main street and as I drove closer, I saw that the town was already decorated for the holiday with hundreds of white lights. In the center of the park, there was a gazebo and it, too, had hundreds of white holiday lights and that seemed bizarre, considering the event. I also noticed a police presence, maybe a half dozen officers around the area which was about 100x100 feet. I went past the area to park my car and as I walked toward the park I saw colored balloons around the gazebo and wondered, who would put up balloons as if it were a birthday party for a Bring Them Home rally? Along with the holiday lights, it was as if this was planned by someone from Mars. It just didn't make sense.
Walking toward the gazebo, I also noticed rows and rows of chairs and my first thought was that the area was roped off for spectators and they'd open it soon. Then I realized the chairs represented hostages and once I was next to them I saw that on each chair was a picture with the name of a hostage. Approaching the gazebo, I saw that all the balloons were tied to baby strollers and, again, my first thought was that they had strollers there for families that brought children buy why balloons? Suddenly, I saw that on each stroller was a picture of a child hostage and I could not keep from crying. I don't have the words to describe this adequately, but I did take a few short videos and if you'll hit the link it will take you to a few short videos and a pictures.
The irony of the holiday lights and the nature of the gathering was jarring. The photos of children and adults, the physical representation of them in empty strollers and chairs made it so real I wept.
The speeches were brief, a few were prayers and there was nothing of note, except that there was no interest in war, not even a mention of it except for the hostages. There was a mention of peace, and the wish to live in peace including with our Palestinian neighbors.
You'll see in one of the pictures, that the gazebo has framing at the top that takes the form of the Magen David, the Star of David – 6 points. I doubt the architect had Jews in mind when it was designed, but it was fitting for this rally, even with the holiday lights on it.
One other note. I attended my first demonstration 60 years ago, when I went to DC with my father and brother as part of the Civil Rights movement and we heard Dr. King live. In the years after, I went to many other demonstrations but this was my first in a long time. But, I knew it was where I was supposed to be.
You can see a few pics and videos here, and you will hear me say a few words, but the pictures tell it better than I can: Link to photo and video files.
Follow that link above for more. Below is just one image from there.
We are grateful to Josh for the contribution, for letting us see what he saw.
"Portugal just ran on 100% renewables for six days in a row" https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/portugal-just-ran-on-100-renewables-for-six-days-in-a-row
Thanks, Josh.