On Saturday, May 15th, as a talented musician entertained the vibrant spring Farmers’ Market close by, more people than usual joined the weekly vigils on the Greenfield Common. From 10 am to noon, they stood with a large banner, signs and information to distribute.
The group of just under 20, some coming and going during the two hour vigil, spanned the Main Street side of the Common, greeting drivers and passersby. Their colorful banner, made by Wendell artist-activist Salley Stuffin, read:
“1/4 of the Military Budget can Lift the U.S. of America Entirely out of Poverty”, while posters showed that the Biden Administration’s budget for 2022 still allots almost half of all disposable funds to military related expenses.
If the weather was glorious, the mood was serious. “I feel such a disconnect,” explained a woman from Northfield, her handmade sign reading: Stop US $$ Aid to Israel Military.
“The spring is so beautiful, the birds are singing, and there is this horrible war going on.”
It was remarked by those taking part that the US media does not fairly present the extreme violence of the Israeli occupation and the completely disproportional level of attacks coming from the two communities.
May 14th was the 73rd anniversary of the declaration of the state of Israel, a date Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or “Catastrophe.” At that time, tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed, and more than 750,000 driven from their homes. Some of those forced from their villages settled in the part of East Jerusalem that has been the focus of Jewish settler take-overs of Palestinian homes.
Given the vigil’s Tax Day theme, the leaflet given out to passers-by had a focus on the extensive military aid provided by the US to Israel, demanding:
“Stop the $3.8 billion in US military aid given to Israel each year.
No tax dollars for violating the human rights of Palestinians.”
“Israel has received $146 billion of US taxpayers’ money as of November 2020,” continued the handout text. “How much of this annual $3.8 billion allocation do people in your state, congressional district, county, and city provide? What are the community needs that could be invested in instead?” In fact, this information is available at the website:
https://uscpr.org/militaryfunding
Information was also available on the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund’s efforts to pass The Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Bill. This legislation would create a fund in the Federal Treasury to receive taxes of conscientious objectors which would then be used for non-military programs.
The weekly vigil will continue next Saturday, May 22nd, supported by the Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution’s peace task force and the Traprock Center for Peace & Justice.